Maine Supreme Judicial Court Decisions 2011
Date: December 29, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: While Shawn Sayer was incarcerated, the district court granted a final order for protection from abuse to Liv Morrison. Sayer appealed, asserting, inter alia, that he was deprived of due process by not being given the…
Date: December 29, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: After Valley Firewood and Tree Farm (collectively, Valley) terminated its firewood business, Gary Voisine, on behalf of Valley, filed a three-count shareholder's derivative action against Valley and Robert Berube, a…
Date: December 22, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Edwin Mitchell, a lobster fisherman, was sued by Victor Ames, who alleged that a group of lobster fishermen had conspired to prevent him from fishing for lobster in the area. The Ames complaint alleged that Mitchell had,…
Date: December 22, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: This case involved a dispute between the Mattesons and the Batchelders over fee ownership of less than one acre of land on a stream and the location of a deeded right-of-way on property owned by the Mattesons. The…
Date: December 22, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Arrow Financial Services filed a complaint against Sarah Guiliani alleging breach of contract and unjust enrichment. Arrow then filed a motion for summary judgment seeking to establish that Arrow owned a credit card…
Date: December 20, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Humboldt Field Research Institute and Eagle Hill foundation applied for a property tax exemption pursuant to Me. Rev. Stat. 36, 652(1)(A) and (B), which the Town assessors denied. The county commissioners upheld the…
Date: December 20, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Laurie Katon was involved in continuing litigation with her daughter and former son-in-law concerning their child, her granddaughter. In the instant case, Katon petitioned for visitation pursuant to the Grandparents…
Date: December 20, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Larry Hilderbrand, a law enforcement officer employed by the police department, was working with the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency (MDEA) when the county sheriff received a video of Hilderbrand behaving crassly. The…
Date: December 15, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Liberty Group (Liberty) retained Reliable Copy Service (Reliable) to provide services in connection with litigation. Later, Reliable filed a complaint in a Pennsylvania court of common pleas in an effort to collect on…
Date: December 15, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: The town planning board (Board) granted a dredge-and-fill permit for two culverts on property owned by the Berdeens. Scott Marquis, who owned property abutting the Berdeens' property, (1) appealed the Board's decision,…
Date: December 15, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: After Tenants failed to pay rent for the last four months of living in a home owned by Landlord, Landlord commenced a forcible entry and detainer action against Tenants. Landlord did not respond to Tenants' request for a…
Date: December 13, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Daniel Fortune was found guilty on eleven counts related to the attempted murder of a five-member family in their home. The Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and resulting sentences, holding (1)…
Date: December 13, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Employer, an employment agency, hired Employee and assigned him to work at a facility owned by a client company (Client). Employer paid Employee's salary, and Client paid Employer a fee for his services. Employee was…
Date: December 8, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose from an investigation by the Board of Overseers of the Bar in into the actions of six law firm attorneys who were involved in the discovery and reporting of the misconduct of a former partner in the law…
Date: December 6, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Fannie Mae instituted foreclosure proceedings against Nicolle Bradbury for residential property she owed in Maine. Fannie Mae named GMAC Mortgage, the loan servicer, as a party-in-interest. During a deposition, a GMAC…
Date: December 6, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant David Churchill was found guilty of one count of unlawful sexual contact. Defendant appealed, arguing that the trial court erred by admitting in evidence a printout of an online chat between…
Date: December 6, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted for aggravated trafficking in scheduled drugs. The superior court denied Defendant's motion for a new trial. Defendant appealed, arguing that he was entitled to a new trial because he was denied…
Date: December 6, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Employee brought an employment discrimination claim against Employer pursuant to the Maine Human Rights Act, alleging that Employer discriminated against him based on his sexual orientation. A jury entered a verdict for…
Date: December 1, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court received a report from the Committee on Judicial Responsibility and Disability recommending that Probate Judge Lyman Holmes be sanctioned for certain violations of the Maine Code of Judicial Conduct…
Date: November 29, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: After Wife filed a complaint for divorce from Husband, the district court learned that the couple had not obtained a legally enforceable marriage license. Therefore, the court converted the complaint for divorce into a…
Date: November 29, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant Scott Brockelbank was convicted of aggravated criminal trespass and assault. The Court of Appeals affirmed Appellant's judgment and sentence, holding (1) the evidence was sufficient to…
Date: November 22, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Hannaford Brothers applied for a site plan review permit to construct a grocery store and drive-through pharmacy. The town's Planning Board voted to grant the permit. The Biziers and other concerned citizens directly…
Date: November 17, 2011
Date: November 17, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellees in McCormick v. LaChance (McCormick I) brought a motion for reconsideration, seeking reconsideration of a portion of the Supreme Court's opinion in McCormick I. In McCormick I, Appellant appealed the judgment…
Date: November 17, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Wife initiated a divorce from Husband. After a trial and after applying the parties' premarital agreement to the evidence presented to divide the parties' real and personal property, the court ordered Husband to pay Wife…
Date: November 17, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: The State filed an antitrust enforcement action against four MaineHealth entities based on the proposed acquisition by MaineHealth of two major cardiology practices. The matter was transferred to the business and…
Date: November 15, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Deutsche Bank, the holder of a note and mortgage on the Pelletiers' home, filed a complaint for foreclosure against the Pelletiers. The Pelletiers filed a motion to dismiss and asserted affirmative defenses through which…
Date: November 8, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: The Belangers rented a trailer from John Mulholland. The Belangers informed Mulholland about problems with their running water and toilet, but no repairs were made. When the Belangers were eventually evicted from their…
Date: November 8, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, two individuals, purchased a parcel of land bisected by a railroad track. Maine Central Railroad Company denied Plaintiffs' request to install utility lines across the railroad track for residential access.…
Date: November 8, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: The district court entered a jeopardy order based on a finding that jeopardy had been established by Mother's inadequate care and supervision of Child. During the pendency of Mother's appeal, Child turned eighteen years…
Date: November 1, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: The Witham Family Partnership challenged two decisions of the Town of Bar Harbor's Zoning Board of Appeals (Board) in connection with North South Corporation's application to construct a hotel. The Partnership attended…
Date: November 1, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: The district court appointed Karen Wolf as referee to hear the divorce case of Wife and Husband. After a hearing conducted by Wolf, the district court entered a divorce judgment incorporating the referee's report. After…
Date: November 1, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Edgar and Sheryl Peters owned a parcel of land that abutted and was uphill from oceanfront property owned by Richard O'Leary. After a series of disputes with the Peterses, O'Leary planted a row of at least seventy-four…
Date: October 25, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: After Dorothy Leighton failed to pay taxes on her property and the Town of Blue Hill recorded a tax collector's lien certificate on the property, the Town filed a complaint against Leighton for forcible entry and…
Date: September 15, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Janelle Gabay defaulted on a promissory note secured by a mortgage of her real property. HSBC Bank USA, the holder of the mortgage, filed a complaint for foreclosure and sale against Gabay. The district court granted…
Date: September 13, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Luis Pabon was convicted of elevated aggravated assault and attempted murder for the stabbing of his girlfriend and housemate at the time. Pabon's defense was partially built around the claim that he…
Date: September 8, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: The Town of Millinocket appealed and Mary Walsh cross-appealed from a judgment of the superior court following a jury trial finding that Walsh, the former town recreation director, had engaged in activities protected by…
Date: August 30, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Ryan Preston was found guilty of criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon. On appeal, Preston argued (1) that the statutory provisions defining deadly force and discussing defense of premises were…
Date: August 25, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Benjamin Cook pleaded guilty to gross sexual assault and unlawful sexual contact. The superior court imposed an aggregate sentence of twelve years' imprisonment followed by thirty years of supervised release pursuant to…
Date: August 25, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: While away for a competition in a school-supported event, students caused damage to a motel where they were lodging. The motel's property insurer paid to repair the damage then exercised its right of subrogation pursuant…
Date: August 25, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Malcolm LaVallee-Davidson killed a man by putting a gun to his head and pulling the trigger during consensual sexual activity. At trial, Defendant argued that he did not know that the gun was loaded. The trial…
Date: August 25, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs owned intertidal land on Maine's coast that lay in front of the property of Defendants. Defendants owned a commercial scuba diving business and would walk with their clients from their property onto and across…
Date: August 23, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Timothy Burns was convicted of theft of unauthorized taking, a Class C offense, following a jury trial. The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and sentence, holding (1) because the jury could not have rationally found…
Date: August 23, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Sarah Graham filed a complaint against Shyam Brown, alleging physical, emotional, and mental abuse, and seeking damages. Brown did not file an answer, and the district court entered a default against him. After a hearing…
Date: August 18, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Paul Davis was struck and seriously injured by a truck driven by Edwin Rodriguez. Rodriguez was driving while intoxicated soon after he and Davis exited a chartered bus at the conclusion of a business promotion trip.…
Date: August 18, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: After being diagnosed with prostate cancer, Philip Baker filed a notice of claim in accordance with the Health Security Act, alleging that his primary care physician violated the applicable standard of care by failing to…
Date: August 16, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants Samantha Young and Rebekah Alley were injured while riding in a vehicle driven by Joshua Weeks. Appellants appealed from a judgment entered in the superior court in which the court held Weeks liable but…
Date: August 11, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Marilyn Davis, a hospital employee, was injured when she slipped and fell in the hospital parking lot. The hospital had contracted with Defendants R C & Sons to plow and sand all of its parking areas. At the time Davis…
Date: August 9, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Deutsche Bank National Trust Company, as trustee in trust for the registered holders of Ameriquest Mortgage Securities, Inc., appealed from a summary judgment entered in the district court in favor of Donald and Kim…
Date: August 4, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Eli Blackhouse filed a complaint for protection from abuse against Jane Doe, alleging he was a victim of Doe's stalking and asserting that Doe's actions contributed to the deterioration of his health. Blackhouse sought…
Date: August 2, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Following a jury-waived trial, Daniel Milne was convicted of eluding an officer, passing a roadblock, operating a vehicle after suspension, and driving to endanger. Milne appealed, contending that the evidence was…
Date: August 2, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: After pleading guilty to criminal charges, Terry Chesnel received judgments of conviction requiring him to pay $3700 in court fines. Soon after Chesnel was incarcerated, the Department of Corrections began withdrawing…
Date: August 2, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: While on patrol, a state police trooper clocked a Pontiac traveling at a speed well above the speed limit. As the trooper was making a turn to pursue the car, a motorcycle driven by Ronald LaPlante passed him. The…
Date: July 19, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Kaihlil Nigro was convicted of two counts of aggravated trafficking of scheduled drugs with an accompanying order for criminal forfeiture following a jury trial. Nigro appealed, contending that he was deprived of a fair…
Date: July 19, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Eric and Martha Hankins executed a promissory note and mortgage on their residence in favor of the lender, Option One Mortgage Corporation, which later assigned the mortgage and note to Deutsche Bank. A loan modification…
Date: July 14, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: David Archer was convicted for attempted murder and elevated aggravated assault in superior court following a jury trial. On appeal, the Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the trial court did not err when it allowed the…
Date: July 12, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: The Town of Lebanon filed a land use complaint against East Lebanon Auto Sales (the LLC) and Linda Corbin, the sole member of the LLC, alleging that property owned by the LLC in Lebanon constituted an illegal automobile…
Date: July 12, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Peter Miller injured his lower back in 1992, 1995, and 1996 while working for S.D. Warren and in 1999 while working for Spinnaker Coating. A Workers' Compensation Board hearing officer awarded Miller sixty-five percent…
Date: July 7, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: After Beneficial Maine filed a complaint for foreclosure against Timothy and Kathleen Carter in district court, Beneficial moved for summary judgment. To support its motion, Beneficial relied on an affidvait of an…
Date: July 5, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Gary Gauthier Jr. and his co-defendant were each convicted of murder following a joint jury trial. After the Supreme Court affirmed their convictions, Gauthier filed a petition for post-conviction review,…
Date: July 5, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: After defendant Price-Rite, a fuel delivery business, failed to fulfill its prepaid delivery contracts, the state filed a five-count complaint charging Price-Rite with four violations of the Maine Unfair Trade Practices…
Date: June 30, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Stanley Ward was convicted of kidnapping, attempted murder, and robbery and was sentenced to an aggregate sentence of fifty years, all but forty-five years suspended. Ward challenged the sentences on the…
Date: June 28, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Eryn Steele was married to Chris Steele when Ryan Botticello allegedly assaulted Chris. Chris sued Ryan and his father for damages related to his injuries and later settled and released his claim against the Botticellos.…
Date: June 28, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Robert St. Onge, president and member of Winterwood, operated a composting facility at his farm that accepted solid waste and converted it into compost for sale. The Department of Environmental Protection filed…
Date: June 23, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Pursuant to a 2005 divorce judgment, the court awarded Christiane McAllister possession of the couple's marital home and monthly spousal support that would cover the house expenses until October 2009. Christiane was…
Date: June 23, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Cach, L.L.C., alleging that it was an assignee of Bank of America, filed a complaint against Nathaniel Kulas seeking principal and interest on an unpaid credit card balance. The complaint stated that Kulas owed $6042 on…
Date: June 23, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Scott Hackett aggravated a pre-existing low back injury while working as a long distance truck driver for Western Express. After Hackett was terminated for reasons unconnected to his injury, Hackett filed a…
Date: June 9, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2004, Matthew Doucette injured his back while working for Sysco. Doucette did not lose any earnings as a result of his injury and had no further problems with his back until 2008 when he reinjured it while working for…
Date: June 7, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Theodore Stanislaw pleaded guilty to nine counts of unlawful sexual contact and assault, among them three counts of Class B unlawful sexual contact. On each of the three Class B offenses, the superior court…
Date: June 2, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Following a jury trial, appellant Michael Skarbinski was convicted on several counts, all of which arose from appellant's filing requests for tax refunds claiming no taxable income for three years when appellant had…
Date: June 2, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: The district court's dismissal of Arthur Neudek's motion to modify parental rights and responsibilities provisions in connection with his 2006 divorce from Deborah Neudek, is vacated and remanded where the district court…
Date: May 31, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, a former corrections officer, was dismissed after an administrative hearing on November 4, 2009. On November 18, the commissioners issued their written decision which containted their findings and rationale.…
Date: May 31, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: In district court, appellants were held liable for violating the Town of Levant’s Article 1010 land use ordinance by allowing a third party’s mobile home to be moved onto and remain on their land after receiving multiple…
Date: May 26, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Sisters of Charity Health System, Inc. (SOCHS) sued its former employees, Douglas Farrago, MD, Raymond Stone, DO and Carolyn Kase, DO, to enforce restrictive covenants contained in contractual agreements between the…
Date: May 24, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: sPlaintiff Craig Burns was injured when an overhead garage door struck him on the head when he was at work. Plaintiff sued the installer of the door, Defendant Architectural Doors and Windows (ADW), on a products…
Date: May 19, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners Dana and Robin Murphy appealed a judgment entered in favor of Respondent HSBC Mortgage Services, Inc. (HSBC), which allowed HSBC to foreclose on and sell the Murphy’s house. The Murphys contended that the…
Date: May 19, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Philip Galarneau, III appealed his conviction as a “habitual offender” for “operating while under the influence.” In 2008, without a lawyer, Defendant pled not guilty to the charges in the district court. On…
Date: May 17, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: “Penelope W.” appealed lower courts’ decisions that involuntarily committed her to a state psychiatric center. In all aspects of her case, Penelope represented herself. The trial court concluded that she was mentally…
Date: May 10, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: MMG Insurance Company (MMG) appealed a summary judgment entered in Superior Court in favor of Jennifer Jacobi. Ms. Jacobi rented a home from MMG's insured, Barbara Bennett. Ms. Bennett left Maine to live in New Mexico,…
Date: May 10, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Andrew Desmond appealed a judgment of the district court that denied his motion to change the primary residence of his minor child. Mr. Desmond and his wife Abby divorced in 2007. The Supreme Court, in reviewing the…
Date: May 5, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Lynne Bond appealed a judgment entered in the district court that denied part of her appeal to have her divorce decree amended. Mrs. Bond argued that the court erred or abused its discretion when it characterized her…
Date: May 5, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: On appeal to the Supreme Court, Dana Ramsdell contends that a provision in his 2006 divorce decree is ambiguous. While his divorce petition was pending, Mr. Ramsdell won a personal injury lawsuit. Under the terms of the…
Date: May 3, 2011
Docket Numbers: 2011 ME 52, BCD-10-86
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants Daniel Luker and several other attorneys appealed the grant of summary judgment to the State Tax Assessor on their petitions for review of tax assessments for the 2004 and 2005 tax years. The firm for which…
Date: May 3, 2011
Docket Numbers: 2011 ME 53, Pen-10-147
Justia Opinion Summary: In October, 2002, a trial court entered a judgment on a jury verdict finding Defendant Jeffrey Cookson guilty on two counts of intentional murder for the deaths of his ex-girlfriend and her best friend. The court…
Date: April 26, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Blue Yonder is a company owned by Stephen Kahn and his wife. Blue Yonder purchased an aircraft from Cirrus Design Corporation in 2002 in Minnesota. Kahn flew the aircraft from Minnesota to Massachusetts. The aircraft was…
Date: April 26, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Victor Bravo Aviation is a Connecticut company founded and established by E. Brian Cleary and his wife Vicki in 2002. In 2004, Victor Bravo contracted to purchase an aircraft from Columbia Aircraft Sales in Connecticut.…
Date: April 26, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Robert and Candy Smith are the parents of a developmentally disabled child, Justan. In April, 2009, Mrs. Smith filed an appointment petition in the Probate Court to become Justan's sole guardian and conservator. The…
Date: April 21, 2011
Justia Opinion Summary: Anthem Health Plans of Maine, Inc., appealed a judgment that affirmed a decision by the Superintendent of Insurance. The Superintendent determined that Anthem’s proposed average rate increase of 18.5% applicable to its…
Date: April 12, 2011
Docket Number: 2011 ME 46
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs-Appellants Dwayne and Debbie Bonney appeal the lower court’s decision granting summary judgment to Defendant-Appellee Stephens Memorial Hospital. The Court vacated the decision on the state law claims, and…
Date: March 24, 2011
Date: March 22, 2011
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