What is the jurisdiction of a decision made by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals?

Question

I am not a lawyer so please correct any terminology I have used incorrectly.

What is the jurisdiction of the decision made in Warren v. District of Columbia? I.e. supposing the events that led to this court case were to occur again but in a different district, would the decision made by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals also apply in that other district?

Answer 1

Generally speaking, a decision from the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia is binding only in the District of Columbia. Courts of other jurisdictions are not required to adhere to its decisions.

If the issue came up again in Virginia or Maryland, courts there would have no obligation to follow it. Virginia tort law is different from D.C. tort law, so Virginia courts would need to determine whether their law is different on this particular point.