A "security deposit" is any payment of money, including the last month's rent paid in advance, that the tenant pays to the landlord to protect the landlord. A judgment creditor may ask the court to seize your property in order to pay a debt for which the court has issued a judgment.This brochure is for people in Maryland with unsecured consumer debt who want to know what happens if they get sued. Unsecured consumer debt. Maryland debt collection laws prohibit collectors and creditors from engaging in deceptive, threatening, and other abusive collection behavior. Your debt may be too old to collect. In Maryland, this is generally true if you have been sued more than three years after the last time you missed a payment. Any person or business can be subject to garnishment. You have 1530 days to respond to a Writ of Summons for debt collection in Maryland. The heavy equipment seller is a good example.