Court of Appeals of Maryland August 5, 1987, 40, September Term, 1986 (Powell v. Gutierrez)

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COLE, Judge.

We are asked today to decide what standard a trial judge should use when ruling on a motion to defer dismissal for lack of prosecution under Maryland Rule 2-507(e).

The relevant facts can be quickly recounted. On May 11, 1983, Edward Powell

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filed a negligence action in the Circuit Court for Queen Anne’s County against Herbert Gutierrez and Gutierrez’s employer.