Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Maryland

Maryland law sets forth the order for payments to be applied and by law interest is paid first:

"Payments received by the creditor shall be credited first against accrued interest on the unpaid balance of the judgment, then against the principal amount of the judgment, and finally against attorney's fees and costs assessed against the debtor." MD RULE 2-646

That said, it would be unusual for someone who owes money to want to keep on paying interest only on a judgment and never get around to paying the principal since they would by that method not only keep a lien against their property but would wind up paying far more.

It is usually also in the judgment debtor's interest to get the principal paid. From the judgment creditor's perspective, they would presumably prefer to get paid in full rather than wait for money to come in drips, although Maryland's post-judgment interest rate is pretty generous.

While not legal advice I hope this helps answer your question.