Shannon,

It sounds like the amount of your claim would probably put you into small claims territory. If the jurisdictional laws of your state require you to file in Maryland, why not contact a Maryland law firm to respesent you. It can be done over the phone, and is a simple matter to handle. Law firms are used to handling claims like this for out of state clients, and I would encourange everybody with collection problems to pursue it. You may even be able to find a Maryland law firm in the business directory of SOT that might be willing to take the case. Many of the delinquent clients are just gambling that you are not going to go to the expense of chasing them accross the state line, and that you will just write off the loss. The big question is your client's financial condition and whether it is going to be worth the expense of litigating if the client has no funds available to pay a judgment. That is a business decision that you will have to make after some investigation.The bright side is that the judgment is good for many years, and eventually the client will have to pay it with statutory legal interest if the client stays in business. Very often the delinquent client will want to settle the case before having a judgment enter on their credit rating. I just had this happen in a case here in Connecticut this month. However, they don't get serious about until there is a marshal knocking on the door to serve a summons.