Maine Supreme Judicial Court Decisions 2012
Date: December 28, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 141
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed a complaint for protection from harassment against his former landlord (Defendant). Defendant moved for the entry of judgment as a matter of law after Plaintiff had presented his case. The court granted…
Date: December 28, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 142
Justia Opinion Summary: In the late 1990s, Bryan Carrier pled guilty to three counts of vehicular manslaughter and three counts of aggravated operating under the influence. The judgment and commitment notified Defendant that his license was…
Date: December 28, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 143
Justia Opinion Summary: When Restaurant was denied a requested liquor license by the Town of Bingham, Restaurant appealed to the Department of Public Safety. After a hearing, a Department hearing officer also denied the license. On appeal,…
Date: December 20, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 139
Justia Opinion Summary: Police brought Marcia E. to a Hospital's emergency room after Marcia lit herself on fire. Medical staff evaluated Marcia and determined that she meet the criteria for emergency involuntary admission pursuant to Me. Rev.…
Date: December 20, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 140
Justia Opinion Summary: When Mother's child was eleven weeks old, Mother left the infant in the care of her boyfriend. The boyfriend shook the baby and threw it into the couch, resulting in severe injuries to the child. The district court…
Date: December 18, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 138
Justia Opinion Summary: Relying on a licensed forester's markings of property boundaries, a company removed trees from 17.9 acres of Plaintiff's property. Plaintiff sued the forester, the company, and the owner of the neighboring property. The…
Date: December 13, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 137
Justia Opinion Summary: This was the second appeal from a judgment of the superior court finding that Annabelle Robbins had breached implied covenants in her deed when she sold land to David and Vickie Lloyd. On appeal, Robbins' estate argued…
Date: December 11, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 135
Justia Opinion Summary: Employee filed this action against Employer and her four individual supervisors (Supervisors), claiming whistleblower discrimination pursuant to the Whistleblowers' Protection Act (WPA) and the Maine Human Rights Act…
Date: December 11, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 136
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of intentional and knowing murder. The trial court sentenced Defendant to thirty-five years in prison. Defendant appealed, arguing (1) the court erred in denying him a new…
Date: December 6, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 133
Justia Opinion Summary: Following a nonjury trial, Defendant was convicted of domestic violence assault. Defendant's sentence included a period of two years of probation with a requirement that he participate in a certified batterers'…
Date: December 6, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 134
Justia Opinion Summary: The Board of Licensure in Medicine revoked Petitioner's medical license. The superior court dismissed Petitioner's complaint seeking judicial review, concluding (1) it lacked subject matter jurisdiction to review the…
Date: November 29, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 131
Justia Opinion Summary: Jeffrey Stephan was a GMAC Mortgage employee who signed summary judgment affidavits on behalf of GMAC in foreclosure proceedings instituted in Maine. The notarization on the summary judgment documents falsely stated that…
Date: November 29, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 132
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed from a judgment of conviction of one count of murder and one count of manslaughter entered in the trial court following a jury trial. Defendant argued that the trial court erred in denying his motion…
Date: November 27, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 130
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with the murder of her estranged husband. Following a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of attempted murder, elevated aggravated assault, and false public alarm or report. Defendant appealed,…
Date: November 20, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 129
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed from a judgment of conviction entered in the trial court finding him guilty of four counts of criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon, eleven counts of criminal restraint with a dangerous weapon,…
Date: November 15, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 128
Justia Opinion Summary: Brockway-Smith Company and MMTA Workers' Compensation Trust appealed from a decision of a Workers' Compensation Board hearing officer awarding incapacity benefits to Richard Graves for a 2003 work-related injury to his…
Date: November 13, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 127
Justia Opinion Summary: The parents of L.E. appealed from a judgment of the county probate court terminating their parental rights. The mother challenged the sufficiency of the evidence terminating her rights, and both parents argued that the…
Date: November 8, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 126
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant appealed from a judgment of conviction entered by the trial court following his conditional guilty plea to manslaughter. Defendant contended (1) the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress…
Date: November 6, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 124
Justia Opinion Summary: Home Loan Investment Bank appealed from a judgment entered in the superior court following a bench trial that confirmed the validity of the mechanic's liens to Jim's Plumbing and Heating, Inc. and Westbrook Tools, Inc.…
Date: November 6, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 125
Justia Opinion Summary: The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) appealed from a judgment entered in the district court modifying a child support order of the family law magistrate. DHHS asserted (1) the district court erred in…
Date: November 1, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 123
Justia Opinion Summary: A jury convicted Defendant of unlawful sexual contact and of violating a condition of release. Defendant challenged his convictions on appeal, asserting (1) the superior court erred in denying his request to instruct the…
Date: October 25, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 121
Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal arose from a motor vehicle collision involving Roger Linton and James Carey that resulted in Carey's death. At the time of the collision, Linton was driving a truck owned by Jonathan Jennings, for whom Linton…
Date: October 25, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 122
Justia Opinion Summary: Norman Budge and twenty-eight additional parties (collectively, Employees) filed a complaint for review of government action for the Town of Millinocket's (Town) amendments to its personnel policy originally adopted as a…
Date: October 23, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 118
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother appealed from a judgment entered in the district court terminating her parental rights to her son. Mother argued (1) because she was in law enforcement custody on the morning of the trial, the court violated her…
Date: October 23, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 119
Justia Opinion Summary: Following a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of manslaughter, aggravated criminal operating under the influence, aggravated leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident, and operating under the influence. The Supreme…
Date: October 23, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 120
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of gross sexual assault and two counts of aggravated assault. On appeal Appellant challenged the trial court's failure to sanction the State for what he asserted was a…
Date: October 11, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 115
Justia Opinion Summary: Leete & Lemieux (L&L) filed a four-count complaint against Appellant for failure to pay $10,917 for legal services rendered, plus accrued interest. The district court stayed the action until resolution by a panel of the…
Date: October 11, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 117
Justia Opinion Summary: J. Cole and P. Daphne Harris filed a complaint against The Woodlands Club and The Woodlands Homeowners Association (collectively, the Woodlands), alleging that the Woodlands tortiously discharged surface water onto their…
Date: October 4, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 113
Justia Opinion Summary: Nancy Ramsey filed a complaint against Baxter Title Company and the company's owner, James Lemieux, for breach of fiduciary duty and duty of care and for punitive damages arising from a real estate transaction. The…
Date: October 4, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 114
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed a complaint against her former employer, Adroscoggin County, alleging gender discrimination, constructive discharge, and retaliation. The superior court granted partial summary judgment in favor of the…
Date: September 11, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 111
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue before the Supreme Court in this case was whether a resort violated the requirement to pay its employees the minimum wage when it paid wait staff a portion of the standard "service charge" that it added to its…
Date: August 28, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 110
Justia Opinion Summary: Sears, Roebuck & Company appealed a judgment which concluded as a matter of law that the Supreme Court's holding in "Linnehan Leasing v. State Tax Assessor," (898 A.2d 408) applied retroactively. Sears argued that Maine…
Date: August 21, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 109
Justia Opinion Summary: In this appeal, the question presented to the Supreme Court based on the facts of this case was: "[w]hen a physician is alleged to have acted as an apparent agent of a hospital, does the Maine Health Security Act require…
Date: August 14, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 108
Justia Opinion Summary: Former Bushmaster shareholders Thomas Barr Jr. and Claude Warren appealed a judgment entered in the Business and Consumer Docket in which the court granted summary judgment to all defendants on Barr and Warren’s…
Date: August 9, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 106
Justia Opinion Summary: Alisa Morgan appealed the superior court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Robert and Ann Marquis on her complaint alleging that she was entitled to damages on theories of common law strict liability, common law…
Date: August 9, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 107
Justia Opinion Summary: Paul Clark obtained a temporary protection from abuse order on behalf of his thirteen-year-old son against Defendant Michelle Fundalewicz, the child’s mother and Paul’s ex-girlfriend. At the time, the child resided with…
Date: August 7, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 104
Justia Opinion Summary: William Buckley appealed a decision of a Workers' Compensation Board hearing officer on remand from the Supreme Court. Buckley contended that, when determining whether his permanent impairment level was above the…
Date: August 7, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 105
Justia Opinion Summary: Daniel Whitney appealed his conviction on one count of operating under the influence following his conditional guilty plea. Whitney argued on appeal that the trial court erred in issuing an order denying his motion to…
Date: August 2, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 102
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Tammy Bragg appealed her conviction for operating under the influence following a jury trial. On appeal, Defendant contended that the court erred when it refused to suppress statements she made at the scene of…
Date: August 2, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 103
Justia Opinion Summary: The Lougee Conservancy; Eleanor Lougee Chapin, as trustee and beneficiary of the Lougee Conservancy; David Lougee, as trustee and beneficiary of the Lougee Conservancy; and Arthur “Jim” Lougee, as beneficiary of the…
Date: July 26, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 101
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Aaron J. Patton appealed his conviction following a jury trial at which he was found guilty of four counts of gross sexual assault; one count of unlawful sexual contact; and two counts of sexual abuse of a…
Date: July 24, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 100
Justia Opinion Summary: Alfred Miliano appealed a divorce judgment, contending that the court clearly erred or abused its discretion by: (1) erroneously classifying his nonmarital real property as marital property and then awarding certain…
Date: July 19, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 97
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue on appeal before the Supreme Court in this case was whether the notice provision of the Paper Streets Act requires that the person asserting the claim to own a paper street notify all record lot owners in the…
Date: July 19, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 98
Justia Opinion Summary: William Weber, Jr. appealed a protection from abuse order entered in district court on a complaint filed by Maureen O'Brien on behalf of her sixteen year old daughter. Weber contended that the court lacked authority to…
Date: July 19, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 99
Justia Opinion Summary: Dale Henderson Logging, Inc. (DHL), and Oak Leaf Realty, Inc. (OLR). DHL owned property in Washington County, and OLR owned several thousand acres in Hancock County. The DHL and OLR properties have a four-rod-wide rail…
Date: July 17, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 94
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Colin Haag appealed his conviction on two counts of kidnapping after a jury trial at superior court. Defendant was charged with kidnapping stemming from divorce proceedings through which Defendant's ex-wife…
Date: July 17, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 95
Justia Opinion Summary: Maine Public Employees Retirement System (the System) appealed a superior court judgment reversing a decision of the System’s Board of Trustees that denied Petitioner Ellen Goodrich basic life insurance coverage under…
Date: July 17, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 96
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Rachel Prescott appealed her conviction following a conditional guilty plea to operating while under the influence and for failing to report an accident. Defendant's plea preserved her right to appeal the trial…
Date: July 12, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 90
Justia Opinion Summary: Ed Friedman and others (collectively, Friedman) appealed the Maine Public Utilities Commission's dismissal of their complaint against Central Maine Power Company (CMP) regarding CMP's use of smart-meter technology.…
Date: July 12, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 92
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Jacklyne S. Poole appealed her conviction on domestic violence assault following a bench trial. Defendant's charge arose from an incident in which she assaulted her boyfriend. She was sentenced to 180 days in…
Date: July 12, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 93
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant Colin Koehler was found guilty of the intentional or knowing murder of a young woman he had known for less than a day, for which the court sentenced him to life in prison. On appeal,…
Date: July 10, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 89
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners David F. and Jeannette A. D'Alessandro appealed a superior Court judgment that affirmed a Town of Harpswell Board of Appeals decision. The Board had denied the D'Alessandros' appeal of a permit issued by the…
Date: July 5, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 88
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Kevin Jones appealed a district court's judgment following a bench trial at which he was found guilty of carrying a concealed weapon. On appeal, Defendant argued that the evidence was insufficient to establish…
Date: July 3, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 85
Justia Opinion Summary: The Estate of Stanley Pinkham appealed a superior court judgment granting Cargill, Inc.’s motion for summary judgment on the Estate’s complaint. In 2004, Mr. Pinkham consumed a boneless turkey sandwich that contained a…
Date: July 3, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 86
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Bradley Lemay appealed his convictions of felony gross sexual assault; criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon' eluding an officer; attempted escape; and tampering with a victim. The charges stemmed from…
Date: July 3, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 87
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Steven R. Danzig appealed a superior court order that affirmed the Maine Board of Social Worker Licensure’s denial of his application to become a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW). The Board denied…
Date: June 28, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 84
Justia Opinion Summary: Richard Hurlbert, Audrey McGlashan, and Hurlbert-McGlashan, LLC (collectively, Hurlbert) had record title to property abutting Andrew and Melinda Weinstein's (collectively, Weinstein) property. This action arose from the…
Date: June 26, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 83
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant's mother (Miller) opened a checking account with Bank. Appellant alleged that Miller added him as joint owner of the account with right of survivorship. After Miller died, Appellant withdrew all of the funds in…
Date: June 21, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 80
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Timothy Daniels appealed a superior court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Defendants Narraguagus Bay Health Care Facility and North Country Associates, Inc. Appellant contended that the court erred in…
Date: June 21, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 81
Justia Opinion Summary: Scott Liberty appealed a superior court's interlocutory order that denied his motion to reconsider his motion to disqualify attorney Martha Gaythwaite from representing Jeffrey Bennett. Liberty contended that Gaythwaite…
Date: June 21, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 82
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Rogers Harrell appealed his conviction on domestic violence charges for which he received seven months' incarceration and a fine of $300. On appeal, Defendant argued that the fine was not mandatory, and that…
Date: June 19, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 79
Justia Opinion Summary: Jessica Hamm appealed a judgment of the district court awarding sole parental rights and responsibilities of the parties' daughter to Budd Grant. Hamm argued that the court abused its discretion by relying largely on its…
Date: June 14, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 77
Justia Opinion Summary: Andrew and Abby Desmond divorced pursuant to a judgment providing that their child would have primary physical residence with Abby and that no set schedule for contact with Andrew was anticipated as a result of Andrew's…
Date: June 14, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 78
Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal concerned a consent decree entered into by the City of Westbrook, Pike Industries, Inc., and intervenor IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. to settle a land use dispute arising from Pike's operation of a quarry in…
Date: June 12, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 76
Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal arose from the City of Saco's approval of a contract zoning agreement for property purchased by Estates at Bay View, LLC. Several nearby property owners (collectively, the Neighbors) filed a five-count…
Date: June 5, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 73
Justia Opinion Summary: Richard Herzog was convicted of domestic violence assault and sentenced to twenty days in jail, all suspended, and two years of probation with conditions, including the condition that Herzog could not possess or use…
Date: June 5, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 74
Justia Opinion Summary: Covanta Maine, LLC (Covanta), a subsidiary of Covanta Energy, appealed from orders of the Public Utilities Commission denying Covanta's requests for certification of two of its facilities as Class I new renewable…
Date: June 5, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 75
Justia Opinion Summary: Timothy Akers appealed from a judgment on judgment on the parties' cross-motions for modification of their stipulated amended divorce judgment entered in the district court. The court left primary residence of the…
Date: May 31, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 71
Justia Opinion Summary: Leete & Lemieux, P.A. (L&L) provided legal services to James Horowitz and Oxford Aviation, Inc. (collectively, Horowitz) for several years. When L&L stopped receiving payments for its services, it filed a four-count…
Date: May 31, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 72
Justia Opinion Summary: After three years of marriage, George Sloan filed a complaint for divorce from Erin Christianson. The district court entered a divorce judgment awarding shared parental rights and responsibilities of the couple's son to…
Date: May 29, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 69
Justia Opinion Summary: Following a jury trial, Timothy Mooney was found guilty of trafficking in prison contraband. Mooney appealed, arguing that the superior court erred by (1) allowing a corrections officer to testify about details of the…
Date: May 29, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 70
Justia Opinion Summary: Several lot owners appealed from a judgment entered in the superior court finding that they were not entitled to form a road association pursuant to Me. Rev. Stat. 23, 3101 and were bound by certain restrictive covenants…
Date: May 24, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 68
Justia Opinion Summary: Following a jury-waived trial, Peter DeGennaro was convicted of theft by unauthorized taking or transfer. DeGennaro appealed, contending that the evidence was insufficient as a matter of law to support the superior…
Date: May 22, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 67
Justia Opinion Summary: Lisa Douglas appealed from the district court's order granting Paul Douglas's motion to modify the couple's divorce judgment. Lisa argued that the court abused its discretion in modifying the divorce judgment to permit…
Date: May 15, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 65
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Cory LaForge was charged with criminal operating under the influence. LaForge filed a motion to suppress evidence obtained as a result of the stop of his vehicle, arguing that the stop was not justified by an…
Date: May 3, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 61
Justia Opinion Summary: Kristen LaBree gave birth to a child. Neither Kristen nor her husband, Jeffrey LaBree, was genetically related to the child. Nine month before the birth, a zygote created through the in vitro fertilization of Celia…
Date: May 3, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 62
Justia Opinion Summary: Michael Joyce, who was frequently exposed to airborne asbestos while working, died of lung cancer. His last documented exposure to asbestos dust was while working for Commercial Welding. A Workers' Compensation Board…
Date: May 3, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 63
Justia Opinion Summary: Following a joint jury trial, Jeffrey Williams was convicted of intentional or knowing murder and conspiracy to commit murder. The Supreme Court affirmed Williams's convictions, holding (1) Williams was not denied a fair…
Date: May 3, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 64
Justia Opinion Summary: Following a jury trial, Darlene George was convicted of intentional or knowing murder and conspiracy to commit murder. The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment, holding (1) the circuit court did not err in denying…
Date: May 1, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 58
Justia Opinion Summary: Janice and Steven Dunwoody were divorced pursuant to a divorce judgment entered in the district court. Steven filed a motion to clarify the divorce judgment, seeking to establish a life insurance trust as provided in the…
Date: May 1, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 59
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff was seriously injured at an intersection when he lost control of his motorcycle as he was attempting to avoid a vehicle driven by former defendant Charlotte Small. At issue was whether there was prima facie…
Date: May 1, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 60
Justia Opinion Summary: Following a jury trial, Kirk Gould was convicted of gross sexual assault (Class A) and gross sexual assault (Class B). Gould appealed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the trial court properly denied Gould's…
Date: April 19, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 57
Justia Opinion Summary: Ralph Nader, an independent candidate for President in the 2004 presidential election, and his Maine presidential electors (collectively, Nader) filed a six-count complaint against the Maine Democratic Party (MDP) and…
Date: April 12, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 55
Justia Opinion Summary: Jack Bailey appealed from a judgment of conviction of ten counts of gross sexual assault and two counts of unlawful sexual conduct entered in the superior court, arguing that the court erred in denying his motion to…
Date: April 12, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 56
Justia Opinion Summary: Robert Borjarski appealed from a divorce judgment entered in the district court ending his marriage to Keri Bojarksi. On appeal, Robert made several allegations of error on the part of the district court, including its…
Date: April 5, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 51
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury-waived trial, David Christian was convicted of three counts of theft by unauthorized taking, a Class D theft, and one count of theft by unauthorized taking, a Class E theft. Christian appealed, contending…
Date: April 5, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 52
Justia Opinion Summary: Judith Kehl and Port of Call, LLC filed a motion to modify an order of prejudgment attachment and attachment on trustee process that had been entered in favor of Centrix Bank and Trust, following a contested hearing, ten…
Date: April 5, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 53
Justia Opinion Summary: The Land Use Regulation Commission (LURC) approved the issuance of a permit to TransCanada Maine Wind Development, Inc. to construct a wind energy facility. Friends of the Boundary Mountains (FBM) appealed. The Supreme…
Date: April 5, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 54
Justia Opinion Summary: Employee filed a complaint against Employer alleging employment discrimination based on numerous factual allegations. After a jury trial, the jury found (1) Employer had taken adverse employment action against Employee…
Date: April 3, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 50
Justia Opinion Summary: Sharon and Nathan Weston divorced in 2005 pursuant to a divorce decree stating that Nathan would provide child support for the couple's adult disabled son, Alex, as long as Alex was unemancipated, which was defined as…
Date: March 29, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 45
Justia Opinion Summary: R.M. appealed from a judgment entered in the probate court denying his petition to establish his parental rights to Tobias D. and granting the petition of the child's current guardians to terminate R.M.'s parental rights…
Date: March 29, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 46
Justia Opinion Summary: In this property dispute, Robert Spickler (Robert) filed claims for declaratory judgment and to quiet title, and Adah Ginn (Adah) filed a claim for adverse possession. After a jury made findings of fact, the superior…
Date: March 29, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 47
Justia Opinion Summary: J. Russell Tarason sought injunctive relief and a declaratory judgment declaring that he held an easement over a portion of Wesson Realty's property. The superior court concluded that Tarason did not hold an easement…
Date: March 29, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 48
Justia Opinion Summary: Robert Stanton filed a complaint against Michael Strong alleging nuisance and trespass and requesting injunctive relief, declaratory judgment, and punitive damages. Stanton requested that the superior court permanently…
Date: March 27, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 42
Justia Opinion Summary: Beginning in 2007, the City of Lewiston assessed stormwater fees on Robert Gladu's property, which contained a small shopping mall and parking lot, pursuant to the City's stormwater ordinance. The ordinance at issue…
Date: March 27, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 43
Justia Opinion Summary: Kristin Cummings, a twenty-five-year-old mother of two, committed suicide in her parents' home thirty-six hours after she had been discharged from Stephens Memorial Hospital, where she was acknowledged to have severe…
Date: March 27, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 44
Justia Opinion Summary: MacImage of Maine and its principal asked six Maine counties to provide to them, in a specified digital format, copies of every document contained in the counties' registries of deeds, including the indexes to the…
Date: March 22, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 38
Justia Opinion Summary: Michael Bryant, an owner and employee of Prime Cut Meat Market, assaulted another motorist, Francis Latanowich, in an apparent incident of road rage. Prime Cut and its employees were insured by a policy issued by The…
Date: March 22, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 39
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Frank Johnson was convicted for operating after habitual offender revocation. Johnson appealed, arguing that the superior court erred in denying his motion to strike an earlier conviction offered by the State…
Date: March 22, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 40
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant William Hanaman was convicted of intentional or knowing murder following a jury trial. Hanaman appealed, contending that the trial court erred in refusing to instruct the jury on the affirmative defense of…
Date: March 22, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 41
Justia Opinion Summary: Employee suffered a work-related stroke, after which the Workers' Compensation Board awarded Employee 800 weeks of total incapacity benefits for the permanent and total loss of industrial use of one leg and one arm.…
Date: March 20, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 37
Justia Opinion Summary: Maine School Administrative District 61 (MSAD 61) contracted with International WoodFuels for the installation of a heating system at a school owned by MSAD 61. Woodfuels contracted with Thayer Corporation to assemble…
Date: March 15, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 36
Justia Opinion Summary: The Land Use Regulation Commission (LURC) and Plum Creek Timberlands, LLC and Plum Creek Land Company (collectively, Plum Creek) appealed from a judgment entered in the business and consumer docket vacating LURC's…
Date: March 13, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 31
Justia Opinion Summary: Wife and Husband divorced pursuant to a judgment entered in April 2009. The trial court subsequently granted Wife's motion to modify and motion for contempt. Husband appealed, arguing that the court erred when it (1)…
Date: March 13, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 32
Justia Opinion Summary: Victor Bravo Aviation, LLC purchased an aircraft in Connecticut in 2004 that was flown to Victor Bravo in Connecticut. Victor Bravo did not register the aircraft in Maine but used it regularly in Maine during the first…
Date: March 13, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 33
Justia Opinion Summary: Following a bench trial in the district court, Defendant John Maynard was convicted of operating while his license was suspended, with a prior conviction (OAS). Maynard appealed, arguing that the Secretary of State's…
Date: March 13, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 34
Justia Opinion Summary: Wells Fargo Bank, NA (the Bank) filed a complaint for foreclosure against David and Lee Anne deBree, alleging that the deBrees were in default of a mortgage note owned by the Bank. The complaint also alleged that the…
Date: March 13, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 35
Justia Opinion Summary: Lewis Hatch signed a promissory note to an institution later renamed to The Bank of Maine. Although Lewis alone signed the note, both Lewis and Kathleen Hatch secured it by mortgaging undeveloped land. The Bank…
Date: March 8, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 27
Justia Opinion Summary: April Casale filed a complaint for protection from abuse against her then-husband, Randall Casale, on behalf of herself, her child, and Randall's three minor children. The district court issued a final protection order,…
Date: March 8, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 28
Justia Opinion Summary: The town manager of the Town of Freeport signed a contract transferring the Town's emergency dispatch services to another town. Plaintiffs, two Town residents, filed an amended complaint requesting a declaratory judgment…
Date: March 8, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 29
Justia Opinion Summary: Galen Porter was the sole shareholder in County Forest Products. Porter began operating a fuel delivery business as Porter Cash Fuel but never registered that name with the Secretary of State. Porter ordered fuel and gas…
Date: March 8, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 30
Justia Opinion Summary: This dispute centered around the status of Steele Road. The Fred D. Gay Revocable Trust claimed title by deed or by adverse possession to a triangular piece of property (the triangle) bordering Steele Road and to a fee…
Date: March 6, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 25
Justia Opinion Summary: Chuck Starbird submitted an application for a building permit for the construction of a home on a lot abutting a public easement portion of a road in the Town of Minot. The Town denied the application. The Board of…
Date: March 6, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 26
Justia Opinion Summary: The district court found that Michael Dee committed the civil violation of possessing a useable amount of marijuana. The Supreme Court affirmed. Dee subsequently filed a motion for reconsideration, arguing that Maine's…
Date: February 28, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 19
Justia Opinion Summary: Timothy Robbins entered a conditional plea of guilty to and was convicted of operating under the influence (OUI), with two prior convictions, and operating after suspension. Robbins appealed, contending that the trial…
Date: February 28, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 20
Justia Opinion Summary: Christopher McCormick filed a complaint against Lawrence Crane alleging breach of warranty because the warranty deed by which Crane and his wife conveyed oceanfront property to McCormick inaccurately specified the…
Date: February 28, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 21
Justia Opinion Summary: Anthem Health Plans of Maine appealed from a judgment entered in the Business and Consumer Docket affirming a decision by the Superintendent of Insurance (1) determining that Anthem's proposed rate increase for its…
Date: February 28, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 22
Justia Opinion Summary: The Town of Westport Island issued a building permit to George Richardson to build a single-family residence on his property. Abutting landowner Deirdre Dunlop filed a notice of appeal, and the Westport Island board of…
Date: February 28, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 23
Justia Opinion Summary: Joshuah Farrington struck a moose while driving a vehicle loaned to him by Darling's Rent-a-Car, causing damages. Philadelphia Indemnity, Darling's insurer, compensated Darling's pursuant to the property damage provision…
Date: February 28, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 24
Justia Opinion Summary: Husband and Wife divorced in 1989 pursuant to a divorce judgment that incorporated an agreement dividing the parties' property. Husband retired from the Air National Guard in 2002 and began collecting his retirement…
Date: February 21, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 16
Justia Opinion Summary: Following a nonjury trial, James Soucy was convicted of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of intoxicants (OUI) with one previous OUI conviction within a ten-year period. Soucy appealed, arguing that the…
Date: February 21, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 17
Justia Opinion Summary: Husband and Wife divorced pursuant to a divorce judgment entered in the district court. The judgment awarded shared primary residence of the parties' two children and ordered Husband to pay child support. Husband…
Date: February 21, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 18
Justia Opinion Summary: Robert Laux and Cynthia Moran-Laux (collectively Laux) appealed, and Ralph Harrington cross-appealed, from a judgment of the superior court declaring the continued existence and location of a road easement in favor of…
Date: February 9, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 15
Justia Opinion Summary: John and Paul Pelletier formed St. Sauveur Development in the 1970s and transferred title of several jointly-owned properties to the corporation. In 2002, an appraiser appraised the corporation's property holdings. After…
Date: February 7, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 14
Justia Opinion Summary: Chad Gurney was convicted of murder and arson following a jury-waived trial. The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court, holding that the court did not err in (1) denying Gurney's motions to suppress…
Date: February 2, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 12
Justia Opinion Summary: Mallory McPartland appealed from a judgment of conviction entered in the criminal docket upon her conditional guilty plea to operating under the influence (OUI) following the denial of her motion to suppress evidence.…
Date: February 2, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 13
Justia Opinion Summary: Mrs. T. was the mother of C.T., a fifteen-year-old boy with severe disabilities. At issue in this case was C.T.'s eligibility for the Department of Health and Human Services' home and community-based waiver program. C.T.…
Date: January 31, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 10
Justia Opinion Summary: Christine Angell filed a complaint against Renald Hallee and the Roman Catholic Bishop of Portland, alleging that Hallee sexually abused her during her childhood while he was a priest. Hallee and the Bishop asserted the…
Date: January 31, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 11
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Kenny Ouellette was convicted of reckless conduct. Ouellette appealed, arguing that the superior court erred in (1) declining to instruct the jury on his justification of self-defense to the charge of…
Date: January 24, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 5
Justia Opinion Summary: Employee suffered a gradual injury while working for Employer. After Employee retired, he underwent spinal fusion surgery. Employee subsequently filed a petition for award. A Workers' Compensation Board hearing officer…
Date: January 24, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 6
Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal involved six siblings and their mother. The parties participated in mediation that resulted in an agreement, which, among other things, divided Mother's real property. After disputes arose over the agreement,…
Date: January 24, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 7
Justia Opinion Summary: Mark Cookson purchased two homeowner's insurance policies from Liberty Mutual, one to cover his primary residence in West Newfield and another to cover property in Acton, where he was constructing a house. Cookson would…
Date: January 24, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 8
Justia Opinion Summary: Jeffrey Buhrman, the sole trustee of the Clifton Pike Family Trust, a testamentary trust established under Clifton Pike's will, appealed the decision of the probate court granting the petition of the two adult children…
Date: January 24, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 9
Justia Opinion Summary: Following a jury trial, Jesse Guyette was convicted of unlawful possession of scheduled drugs. Guyette appealed, arguing that the superior court erred by admitting several statements at trial pursuant to the Me. R. Evid.…
Date: January 19, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 4
Justia Opinion Summary: Raymond Cloutier appealed from a judgment entered in the district court granting Robin Turner's motion to enforce the child support provisions of a 1992 amended divorce judgment. The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment,…
Date: January 17, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 3
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was indicted for aggravated trafficking of scheduled drugs, unlawful trafficking in scheduled drugs, and illegal importation of scheduled drugs. Defendant moved to suppress incriminating statements he made to a…
Date: January 12, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 2
Justia Opinion Summary: Following a jury trial, Rory Holland was convicted of two counts of intentional or knowing murder and sentenced to two concurrent life sentences. The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment and sentences, holding (1) the…
Date: January 10, 2012
Citation: 2012 ME 1
Justia Opinion Summary: Fore LLC, a Maine entity, purchased a Maine business from a New Hampshire client of William Benoit, a Massachusetts-based accountant. Fore sued Benoit, alleging that Benoit fraudulently misrepresented that the tax…
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