Wilcox v. Orellano, 94 A.3d 127

Wilcox underwent a lumpectomy performed by Dr. Tristan Orellano; postoperative signs of infection persisted and ultimately required mastectomy.
Wilcox filed a medical-malpractice claim with the Health Care Alternative Dispute Resolution Office and submitted the certificate of a qualified expert but failed to attach the expert report required by statute.
She waived arbitration and sued in Howard County Circuit Court; Orellano moved to dismiss for failure to file the expert report (per Walzer v. Osborne).
Before the dismissal hearing, the parties filed and the court docketed a stipulation of dismissal without prejudice signed by both counsel under Md. Rule 2-506(a).
Within two weeks Wilcox refiled a new claim (with the expert report attached) in Prince George’s County; Orellano moved to dismiss on statute-of-limitations grounds.
The circuit court held that CJP § 5-119(b) (the “savings provision”) does not permit refiling after a voluntary dismissal by the party who commenced the action (including a stipulation signed by all parties); this appeal followed, and the Court of Special Appeals affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether a stipulation of dismissal signed by all parties is a “voluntary dismissal of a civil action or claim by the party who commenced the action” under CJP § 5-119(a) and thus precludes the § 5-119(b) savings remedy	Wilcox: the statutory exception precluding § 5-119(b) relief applies only to unilateral voluntary dismissals by the plaintiff; a bilateral stipulation should not bar refiling under § 5-119(b)	Orellano: the statute’s language covers voluntary dismissals by stipulation; no reason to distinguish unilateral vs bilateral dismissals	The court held that a stipulation of dismissal signed by the parties qualifies as a voluntary dismissal by the plaintiff under § 5-119(a), so the savings provision did not apply and refiling was precluded when the limitations period had run

Walzer v. Osborne, 395 Md. 563 (Court of Appeals of Maryland) (expert certificate incomplete without expert report; failure to file report mandates dismissal without prejudice)
George v. Mt. Sinai Hosp., 53 A.D.2d 10 (App. Div. 1976) (discussed by New York appellate courts and the Court of Special Appeals; upholds refiling under a savings statute when stipulation expressly preserved the statutory right)
Witte v. Azarian, 369 Md. 518 (Court of Appeals of Maryland) (use of legislative history and other indicia when statutory language is ambiguous)