Maine Supreme Judicial Court Decisions 2016

Justia Opinion Summary: Philip Barnard was significantly injured when a deck attached to an apartment owed by William Condon collapsed while Barnard was standing on it. Barnard and his wife, Jaime Wilson, filed a complaint against Condon,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The district court terminated Mother’s rights to her daughter after police discovered that Mother had taken a series of “shocking, graphic, and abusive photographs” of her daughter. In addition, Mother declined to…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of two counts of unlawful trafficking in schedule W drugs. Defendant appealed. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, holding (1) Defendant was not deprived of a fair trial by…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of two counts of unlawful sexual contact. The trial court imposed concurrent sentences of three years’ imprisonment with all but fifteen months suspended and eight years of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The district court issued a warrant authorizing officers to search Defendant’s residence. The search resulted in the seizure of container of “Molotov cocktails” and a handgun. Defendant moved to suppress the evidence…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2004, Jason Begin was committed to the custody of the Commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services based upon a finding that he was not criminally responsible for certain crimes by reason of insanity.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Barnie’s Bar & Grill, Inc. held an insurance policy by the United States Liability Insurance Company (USLIC) when Barnie’s was sued for negligence in connection with one man’s attack by a group of other patrons of the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In a divorce judgment, the district court awarded Mother the right to provide the parties’ minor child’s primary residence. Mother moved to modify the terms of the divorce judgment and later moved to enforce the divorce…

Justia Opinion Summary: The district court terminated Father’s parental rights to his child, determining that Father was parentally unfit within the meaning of the child protection statutes and that termination was in the child’s best interest.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Friends of the Motherhouse, a nonprofit corporation and two individuals (collectively, Friends) filed a complaint seeking a declaration that the Portland City Council’s rezoning of a parcel owned by Sea Coast at Baxter…

Justia Opinion Summary: Melody Boulette and Richard Boulette were divorced pursuant to a judgment that granted the parties shared parental rights and responsibilities and shared residence with respect to their two sons. Richard subsequently…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs owed parcels of real estate in the Town of Liberty that were accessed by a public road. Plaintiffs unsuccessfully requested that the Town repair the road. The Town Select Board subsequently voted that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Fryeburg Academy, a private secondary school, applied to the Town of Fryeburg Planning Board for permits authorizing changes in the use of two parcels of leased land. Following a hearing, the Planning Board approved…

Justia Opinion Summary: Arundel Valley, LLC, the developer of a facility for a butter manufacturer, filed a complaint against Branch River Plastics, Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of insulated roofing panels, alleging, inter alia, defects…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of two counts of gross sexual assault, one count of unlawful sexual contact, and one count of visual sexual aggression against a child. Defendant appealed, arguing that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, the district court issued a parental rights and responsibilities judgment pertaining to the minor child of Mother and Father. The judgment granted primary physical residence to Father and mode provisions for…

Justia Opinion Summary: This dispute arose out of the franchise relationship between Ford Motor Company and Darling’s, an automobile dealer. In Ford I, the Maine Motor Vehicle Franchise Board entered an award of damages against Ford, concluding…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of six counts of gross sexual assault and six counts of unlawful sexual contact. Defendant appealed, arguing, inter alia, that the trial court erred in denying his motion to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner was charged with terrorizing and criminal restraint with a dangerous weapon. Petitioner was found not criminally responsible by reason of mental disease or defect and committed to the custody of the…

Justia Opinion Summary: James Levis filed a complaint for declaratory judgment and quiet title claiming title to a section of mudflat by adverse possession and by deed from his ex-wife. Levis named Gustav Konitzky, an abutting neighbor and…

Justia Opinion Summary: Bangor Hydro-Electric (BHE) and Maine Public Service Company (MPS) were regulated utilities engaged in the transmission and distribution of electric it. The companies merged to become Emera Maine during the pendency of…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a hearing, the district court court terminated both Mother’s and Father’s rights to their four minor children. Mother and Father both appealed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the trial court did not err…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with operating under the influence. Defendant moved to suppress evidence obtained during his detention and arrest, arguing that the detention was not supported by a reasonable articulable suspicion.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Eric Verite and Lindsay Verite were divorced in 2011 pursuant to a judgment that awarded them shared parental rights and responsibilities to their three children and that awarded Lindsay primary residence with rights of…

Justia Opinion Summary: BCN Telecom, Inc. was assessed a state service provider tax on certain flat charges that BCN imposed on some business customers’ lines from 2008 to 2011. The charges were designed both to reimburse BCN for presubscribed…

Justia Opinion Summary: Harris Management and JJR Associates filed a complaint against Paul Coulombe and two LLCs under his control (collectively, Defendants), alleging seven causes of action arising from allegations that Coulombe had…

Justia Opinion Summary: Jon and Winifred Prime brought suit against Dawn Harlor stemming from a dispute over the Primes’ right to use a dock according to an easement Harlor had granted the the Primes. At all relevant times, Harlor was insured…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury-waived trial, Defendant was convicted of depraved indifference murder for the death of his wife, who died after several days of beatings and injuries inflicted on her by Defendant while her children were…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2012, Wife instituted divorce proceedings against Husband on the ground of irreconcilable differences. The district court divided the parties’ assets and debts, awarded Wife spousal support, and denied Wife’s requests…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury-waived trial, Defendant was convicted of solicitation of a child to commit a prohibited act. The trial court imposed a suspended jail term of six months and one year of probation. Defendant appealed,…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of aggravated trafficking of scheduled drugs. Defendant appealed, arguing that the superior court erred by denying his motion to suppress evidence of drugs that the arresting…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of two counts of gross sexual assault, four counts of impersonating a public servant, and two counts of engaging a prostitute. The convictions were based on Defendant’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of two counts of aggravated assault and two counts of domestic violence assault. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, holding that the trial court did not err in (1)…

Justia Opinion Summary: NDC Communications, LLC and Kenneth Carle III engaged in a complex set of agreements in the context of the development of a piece of land. When the parties’ working relationship broke down, NDC filed a complaint…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006, Mark Amero and Maria Amero divorced. The district court entered a divorce judgment that ordered Mark to pay Maria general spousal support. The award was subject to the condition that it terminate upon Maria’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was arrested in New Hampshire on a domestic violence charge and released that day on bail, subject to certain no-contact conditions. Thereafter, Defendant allegedly assaulted the victim in Maine. Defendant was…

Justia Opinion Summary: In Petrin v. Town of Scarborough, the Supreme Judicial Court, in considering challenges to increases in municipal property taxes for parcels located in neighborhoods in the Town of Scarborough, concluded that the Town’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, who was injured when the car she was driving was rear-ended by an underinsured motorist, claimed uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage and medical payments coverage under two State Farm Mutual Automobile…

Justia Opinion Summary: Bank brought this foreclosure action against Mortgagor. Mortgagor filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that Bank’s notices of right to cure were deficient because they did not satisfy the requirements of Me. Rev.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Susan Berube was terminated from her employment with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) for having alcohol on her breath while meeting with a client. The Maine State Employees Association, SEIU Local 1989…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of three counts of theft by misapplication of property, one count of conspiracy to commit intentional evasion of tax, and three counts of failure to collect, account for, or…

Justia Opinion Summary: Jon Haddow, an attorney, represented and Frank and Beverly Pawlendzio in personal bankruptcy proceedings. Following the proceedings, the Pawlendzios filed a complaint against Haddow, asserting claims of legal malpractice…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of five counts of unlawful sexual contact and one count of visual sexual aggression against a child. At trial, the court did not require the jury to find one element of the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Catherine Brochu and Richard McLeod were married in 1970 and had two children. In 1977, the parties executed a separation agreement setting forth McLeod’s child and spousal support obligations. McLeod, who was in the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Richard and Ann Cayer filed a petition to secede from the Town of Madawaska. Thereafter, the Legislature enacted and the Governor approved a bill changing the Legislature’s practice for receiving and considering…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs received a loan from JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. that was secured by a mortgage on their real property in Portland. When Plaintiffs finished paying off the mortgage, Chase executed a written mortgage release and…

Justia Opinion Summary: After her divorce from Robert Ballou was final, Gina Childs sought a protection from abuse order against Ballou. A protection order was entered upon the parties’ agreement without a finding of abuse. The district court…

Justia Opinion Summary: Four days before they were married, Sharon and Ronald Blanchard executed a premarital agreement, which governed the equitable distribution of property and the award of spousal support. Twenty-six years later, Sharon…

Justia Opinion Summary: David Savell filed a complaint against Michael Duddy and the law firm of Kelly, Remmel & Zimmerman (KRZ) founded upon his assertion that an attorney-client relationship existed between himself and Duddy. Among other…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2015, the Department of Health and Human Services filed a petition to terminate Father’s parental rights to his child. After a hearing, the district court terminated Father’s parental rights on the grounds of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Harold Burbank was the owner of an interest in a coastal property that was owned in joint tenancy by fourteen owners (collectively, Defendants). Plaintiffs, the owners of a cluster of properties neighboring the Burbank…

Justia Opinion Summary: Kyle Dietrich and Hilary Dietrich were divorced in 2011 pursuant to a judgment that granted the parties shared parental rights and responsibilities of their three children and did not order either party to pay child…

Justia Opinion Summary: Drilling Blasting Rock Specialists, Inc. (DBRS) filed a complaint against Paul Rheaume, asserting that Rheaume should be held personally liable for intentionally and negligently misrepresenting that there were no…

Justia Opinion Summary: After Barbara Frost died, her half-sister, Nancy Gamash, initiated a will contest, asserting that Frost’s will was a product of undue influence. In conjunction with that contest, Gamash sought a declaratory judgment that…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant entered a conditional guilty plea to the Class B charge of unlawful trafficking in scheduled drugs. Defendant appealed, challenging the denial of his motion to suppress statements he made during an…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a bench trial, Defendant was convicted of intentional or knowing murder and depraved indifference murder. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment, holding (1) there was sufficient evidence to support the…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of one count of assault. Defendant appealed, asserting that the superior court committed prejudicial error by failing to give his proposed jury instructions on eyewitness…

Justia Opinion Summary: As a result of a partial revaluation of parcels of land located within the Town of Scarborough, including land owned by Plaintiffs, the municipal assessment of the parcels of land increased. Plaintiffs sought abatements…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of multiple drug offenses. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, holding (1) the suppression court did not err by denying Defendant’s motion to suppress evidence seized from his…

Justia Opinion Summary: After learning of allegations of inappropriate and unwanted physical contact by Mark Langlais against Marviline Luneau in Luneau’s nursing home, the Department of Health and Human Services filed a petition for ex parte…

Justia Opinion Summary: Husband and Wife had been married for about seventeen years when Wife filed a complaint for divorce. After a trial, the district court entered a divorce judgment granting the parties a divorce on the ground of…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2005, Cecile Poulin, then approximately eighty-five years old, asked her nephew, Paul Gagnon, to assist her with her financial affairs. In 2011, Poulin signed a durable power of attorney appointing Gagnon as her…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Board of Trustees of the Maine Public Employees Retirement System affirmed an administrative determination that Appellant was ineligible for disability retirement benefits. Appellant later filed an incomplete…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a hearing, the district court terminated the parental rights of Mother and Father to their three children. The parents appealed. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, holding (1) Mother’s and Father’s arguments that…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty in the trial court to a number of burglaries and thefts committed from nearby residences in the woods near Rome. When Defendant was sentenced, he paid almost an entire agreed amount of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Day’s Auto Body, Inc. (Day’s Auto) filed a complaint alleging that Town of Medway and Emery Lee and Sons, Inc. (ELS) negligently used vehicles, machinery, and equipment in the course of their response to a fire at Day’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, an inmate, filed a petition for judicial review of a Department of Corrections' decision finding him guilty of the disciplinary offense of tattooing. The superior court dismissed Plaintiff’s petition for…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants, two cousins, were convicted of unlawful trafficking in scheduled drugs. Defendants appealed, challenging the trial court’s denial of their motion to suppress evidence obtained during a warrantless search and…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with two criminal counts. Defendant consented to a deferred disposition in the district court and pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child. Following a hearing on the final disposition,…

Justia Opinion Summary: American Express Bank FSB filed a complaint alleging that Diane Deering owed $22,339.94 in credit card debt. After a trial, the district court entered judgment in favor of American Express in that amount. On appeal,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Ocean Communities Federal Credit Union filed a foreclosure complaint against Guy Roberge and Lisa Pombriant concerning certain residential property. The district court granted a summary judgment for foreclosure and sale…

Justia Opinion Summary: After Robert Rossignol was notified that his teaching contract would not be renewed, Rossignol applied to the Maine Public Employees Retirement System (MPERS) for disability retirement benefits. Rossignol alleged that he…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Committee on Judicial Responsibility and Disability filed a report against Probate Judge Robert Nadeau. The Committee alleged that Judge Nadeau violated the Maine Code of Judicial Conduct based on statements he made…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2015, the Department of Health and Human Services filed a petition to terminate Father’s parental rights to his son. At the commencement of the termination hearing, Father told the court that he was unwell and that he…

Justia Opinion Summary: Claimants, members of the public, brought an action seeking a declaratory judgment that the public had acquired a prescriptive easement over a parcel of property known as Cedar Beach Road owned by Gables Real Estate LLC.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff was driving her car when she was struck from behind from an underinsured motorist. Plaintiff claimed uninsured/underinsured (UM/UIM) coverage and medical payments under two State Farm Mutual Automobile…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of murder and arson. Defendant was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder. During the proceedings, the trial court excluded GPS data and handwritten notes from the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2012, GNP Parent, LLC entered into a sales agreement to purchase compressed natural gas from Xpress Natural Gas, LLC as fuel for the Great Northern Paper Mill. Cate Street Capital, Inc., the corporate owner of GNP,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Stephen Cushing and Ann Cushing were divorced in 2011. In 2014, Stephen filed a motion to modify the divorce judgment’s child contact schedule and child support provision. In 2015, due to Stephen’s continued failure to…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of three counts of murder. Defendant filed a motion for a new trial, arguing that he had been deprived of due process by being tried jointly with his co-defendant and by…

Justia Opinion Summary: The two defendants in this case - James Simmons and Frederick Campbell - were each charged with and indicted for two counts of arson. Simmons filed a motion to suppress the evidence seized as a result of search warrants,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff applied to the State Harness Racing Commission to renew his driver/trainer license for horse harness racing in Maine. The Commission denied the application because Plaintiff had previously been denied a license…

Justia Opinion Summary: After taking maternity leave, Plaintiff returned to work. She quit, however, after disputes between her and Employer arose over a change to her schedule that made her childcare situation more difficult, and over an…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Department of Health and Human Services filed a petition to terminate Mother’s parental rights to her child. After a termination hearing, the district court terminated Mother’s parental rights, determining by clear…

Justia Opinion Summary: After resigning from her job as director of nursing at St. Joseph’s Rehabilitation and Residence, Plaintiff sued St. Joseph’s under the Whistleblowers’ Protection Act, alleging retaliation and constructive discharge. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, Dennis Kay was driving a van owned by Budget Truck Rental when the van slid off an icy road. Kay was ejected from the vehicle and died as a result of the accident. Kay was driving the vehicle during the course…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed a complaint for negligence and wrongful death against Defendant, who owned and operated a guesthouse at which Plaintiff’s wife died. Plaintiff alleged that the guesthouse premises were unreasonably…

Justia Opinion Summary: Camden National Bank filed a complaint for foreclosure against Ilene Weintraub. Weintraub brought several counterclaims against the bank, including violations of the Maine Consumer Credit Code, breach of contract, and a…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, Father and Mother were divorced pursuant to a divorce judgment. In 2015, the district court found Father in contempt for violating the divorce judgment. The court also denied Father’s motion to modify his child…

Justia Opinion Summary: The probate court issued an adjudication of incapacity and appointed the Department of Health and Human Services as the public guardian of Harold Sanders, finding that Sanders was incapacitated, that no suitable private…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2012, Nationstar Mortgage LLC filed a foreclosure action against Timothy Halfacre. The trial court entered judgment for Halfacre. Nationstar subsequently filed a new foreclosure action against Halfacre. The superior…

Justia Opinion Summary: Lois Young filed a complaint claiming that her transfer of her home to her former foster child, Joseph Lagasse, and his wife was the result of undue influence and therefore should be voided. The trial court concluded…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case involved a dispute primarily among siblings regarding the substance of and rights to their mother’s estate. Plaintiff commenced an action against Defendants for tortious interference with an expectancy of an…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant entered a conditional plea of nolo contendere to the crime of operating after suspension. A judgment of conviction was entered accordingly. Defendant appealed, arguing that the lower court erred in denying his…

Justia Opinion Summary: In January 2012, after the death of John Gilbert, intestate probate proceedings were commenced. In November 2013, the probate court concluded that the relationship between Judith Gilbert, John’s widow, and Nathan…

Justia Opinion Summary: A divorce judgment was entered providing for the shared primary residence of Mother and Father’s child. The district court subsequently modified the judgment, which created a more complicated schedule of contact. Due to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed an application for disability retirement benefits alleging that she was unable to perform her job with the Maine Department of Transportation because of her numerous disabilities. The Maine Public…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1997, Jeanne Reed died. In 2013, George Reed, Jeanne’s son, filed a petition for formal probate of his mother’s will. The county probate court denied the petition as time barred. In 2014, George and his brother,…

Justia Opinion Summary: At jury selection for Frisbee’s trial on charges of unlawful sexual contact, Frisbee’s attorney saw a former client, who had no connection to the matter, in the courtroom. The spectator had spent 11 months in prison for…

Justia Opinion Summary: During the course of an argument at the victim's Chelsea home, Dupont scratched the victim’s face and neck with her fingernails, leaving wounds on his cheek. Dupont was convicted of assault (Class D), 17-A M.R.S. …

Justia Opinion Summary: Grant worked for Bath Iron Works from 1964-1970, and again from 1978-1994. During Grant’s first period of employment, asbestos was a common component of the insulation and other materials used at Bath, including for the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Pursuant to 19-A M.R.S. 252(1)(A), a referee held hearings and issued a report, finding: The parties were married in France, in 2006. Their child was born in 2008. A protection order had issued, based on findings that…

Justia Opinion Summary: Richard and Armande's 1999 divorce judgment ordered Richard to pay Armande $2,500 per month until Armande’s death or remarriage, “subject to review upon a significant change in the circumstances of either party,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Five suits filed against Nisbet, the owner of an apartment building where several people died in a 2014 fire, make claims for wrongful death, alleging that the property was in a state of general disrepair with no working…

Justia Opinion Summary: The trust sought a building permit, to replace a dilapidated 1950s minesweeper deckhouse on the Owls Head property with a new, larger single-family residence. The existing structure is located partly within a 75-foot…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Department of Health and Human Services filed child protection petitions regarding three boys, alleging that the children were in jeopardy due to mother's failure to protect them from physical abuse by her husband,…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2009 Priscilla’s birth parents consented to termination of their parental rights. Her maternal grandmother adopted Priscilla, then six-years-old. Despite the consent, the court explicitly found that the parents were…

Justia Opinion Summary: After 26 years of marriage, including six years legally separated, McLeod, who resides in Shanghai, and Macul, who resides in Malaysia, divorced in 2012. In consideration of an unequal division of property, Macul was…

Justia Opinion Summary: Kelley and Gordius had a romantic relationship for 10 years before they married in May 2012. Gordius’s child was born in July 2011, while the two were together but unmarried. Although they had been living together for…

Justia Opinion Summary: A daughter was born to Carey and Knight in 2010. The child was hospitalized with a serious illness when she was about a month old. Knight ended his relationship with Carey and removed himself from his daughter’s life.…

Justia Opinion Summary: The father of Woodard’s child died seven months after the child’s birth. There is no evidence that Woodard is an unfit parent. Dorr, the mother of the deceased father, sought court-ordered visitation with Woodard’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2014, Hailey’s mother petitioned the Cumberland County Probate Court for Hailey’s paternal grandparents to be appointed as guardians so that Hailey could attend school in Freeport. She withdrew the petition weeks…

Justia Opinion Summary: Brown, a 95-year-old resident of North Yarmouth, lives on his farm and keeps bees. Karen helped Brown and also raised her own bees and harvested honey there. Brown's family was concerned about Karen’s influence over…

Justia Opinion Summary: Terrence E. Pinkham appealed the Superior Court's award of $41,500 as just compensation for the MDOT's taking of a portion of his property by eminent domain for a road improvement project. The court agreed with Pinkham's…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, on behalf of her child, filed a complaint for protection from abuse against Defendant, a neighbor, on behalf of Defendant’s child. After a hearing, the district court entered a protection order, finding that…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a bench trial, Defendant was convicted of the crime of escape from arrest. Defendant was sentenced to fourteen days in jail. Defendant appealed, arguing that there was insufficient evidence to support the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Fryeburg Water Company (FWC) sought approval from the Public Utilities Commission to execute an agreement with Nestle Waters North America, Inc. (NWNA) providing for the lease of premises and purchase of water from FWC.…

Justia Opinion Summary: The shareholders of Sheepscot Island Company approved a plan to convert a for-profit corporation into a nonprofit corporation. Some dissenting shareholders (Plaintiffs) filed a complaint seeking declaratory and…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to theft by deception and aggravated forgery. Defendant’s crimes arose from her wrongful procurement of public benefits through material misrepresentations. Defendant was sentenced to two years…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to one count of theft by deception for submitting hundreds of fraudulent claims to MaineCare, totaling more than $40,000. After a sentencing hearing, the sentencing court sentenced Defendant to…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of criminal operating under the influence (OUI), with one prior conviction (Class D). Defendant was sentenced to forty-five days in jail, a $700 fine, and a three-year license…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant entered a conditional plea to the charge of operating under the influence with two prior convictions for operating under the influence. Defendant appealed the denial of his motion to suppress the evidence…

Justia Opinion Summary: Mother, who had been awarded sole parental rights and the right to provide Child’s primary residence, petitioned to adopt Child and to terminate the parental rights of Father. After a final hearing, the probate court…

Justia Opinion Summary: Steven Lake murdered his wife, Amy, and their two children before committing suicide. George Lake, Steven’s father, was appointed as the personal representative of Steven’s Estate (“the Estate”). Thereafter, Ralph…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2015, Jennifer Kilton filed a complaint for divorce from Darin Kilton. The trial court held an uncontested final hearing, which Darin did not attend. The court subsequently granted the parties’ divorce, adopting the…

Justia Opinion Summary: After entering conditional guilty pleas to several counts of an indictment and a bench trial on aggravating factors only, Defendant was convicted of three counts of aggravated trafficking in scheduled drugs (Class A) and…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Kevin Strong and Defendants Rebecca Brakeley and Jonathan Bausman were all physicians licensed to practice medicine in Maine. Plaintiff filed a complaint against Defendants alleging that certain negative…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of thirteen hunting, fishing, and firearm-related offenses. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, holding (1) there was sufficient evidence to support a conviction on five of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Chadwick-BaRoss Inc., a business located in the City of Westbrook, is a heavy-equipment dealer that sells equipment at retail and occasionally leases equipment to customers. After receiving a 2012 personal property tax…

Justia Opinion Summary: On February 17, 2012, John Deschenes fell down stairs at Sanford City Hall. On August 13, 2012, 178 days after his fall, Deschenes appeared at City Hall and spoke to the Finance Assistant and the Finance Director…

Justia Opinion Summary: Mainers for Fair Bear Hunting (MFBH) is a Maine ballot question committee that was a proponent of November 2014 Ballot Question 1 concerning bear hunting and trapping. As early as September 2013, the Department of Inland…

Justia Opinion Summary: Benjamin Yap filed a complaint for protection from abuse against Alyssa Vinton on behalf of himself and the parties’ child. A temporary protection was granted awarding Yap temporary sole parental rights and…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, Richard and Suzan Collins were divorced. In 2009, the court issued an amended judgment that contained an order of enforcement. In 2014, the court held Richard in contempt for failing to comply with the payment…

Justia Opinion Summary: After Child’s mother died, Child’s maternal grandparents (Grandparents) petitioned for coguardianship of Child, alleging that Father had never provided direct care for Child, was unable to care for her, and had…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2014, Defendant entered a conditional guilty plea to operating under the influence (OUI), elevated to a Class C felony by two prior convictions for operating under the influence. Defendant appealed, asserting that his…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of criminal threatening. Before trial, Defendant filed a motion to suppress statements he had made after police officers stopped his vehicle, took his license and registration,…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose from disputes regarding the permissible uses of an easement that burdened the land owned by Charles Wardwell and benefitted and abutting parcel owned by John and Corie Duggins. Wardwell filed a complaint…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of kidnapping and murdering a fifteen-year-old girl. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, holding (1) the trial court did not err by admitting nonexpert opinion testimony…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant entered a conditional guilty plea to operating under the influence. Defendant appealed, arguing that the suppression court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence obtained from the stop of his vehicle…

Justia Opinion Summary: Brenda Freeman was injured in a work-related accident in 2007. Freeman returned to work but in a lower-paying position. Because of the decrease in her wages, Freeman received partial incapacity benefit payments. In 2011,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was charged with improperly accepting more than $109,003 in benefits from MaineCare by misrepresenting the composition of her household. After a jury-waived trial, Appellant was convicted of one count of theft…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of one count of gross sexual assault and three counts of endangering the welfare of a child. Appellant appealed, arguing that the trial court erred in excluding a licensed…

Justia Opinion Summary: Darling’s Auto Mall is a franchisee of General Motors LLC (GM) and and authorized dealer. Darling’s filed two small claims actions in district court alleging that it had been underpaid by GM for certain warranty repairs…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose from the revocation of a building permit previously granted to R. Bruce Montgomery and Wanda Haddock (collectively, Montgomery). Montgomery, represented by Judy A.S. Metcalf and William V. Ferdinand Jr.…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2015, the district court entered a judgment of divorce and parental rights and responsibilities regarding the minor son of Husband and Wife. Husband appealed, arguing that the district court erred in determining his…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of two counts of criminal restraint by a parent. Defendant appealed, asserting that the trial court erred by failing to declare a mistrial sua sponte after Defendant’s mother…

Justia Opinion Summary: Arthur Murdock, then a lieutenant with the Maine State Police, was injured when his cruiser was struck by another vehicle after Martin Thorne indicated that Murdock could turn in front of him into an intersection.…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Town of Carthage filed a complaint seeking to quiet title to two 160-acres parcels of undeveloped land and claiming that it owned the land based on its uninterrupted possession of the land for over a century. Friends…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, Defendant pleaded guilty to theft, and in 2009, Defendant pleaded guilty to trafficking in a schedule Z drug. Defendant was ordered to pay fines in both cases. In 2014, Defendant was arrested for nonpayment of…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of theft by unauthorized taking or transfer. Defendant appealed, arguing that the trial court erred in finding that the State had met its burden to demonstrate the corpus…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury-waived trial, Defendant was convicted of murder for causing the death of her two-year-old daughter by giving her a large dose of Benadryl and then physically suffocating her. Defendant appealed, arguing that…

Justia Opinion Summary: The beach easement dispute in this case concerned the intertidal area in front of oceanfront lots owned by Beverly and David Gravison, Sandra Titcomb, and Darlene and Lewis Edwards. The Gravisons filed a deed reformation…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of robbery. Defendant proceeded to trial without representation after the trial court determined that Defendant had forfeited his right to counsel after threatening to cause…

Justia Opinion Summary: After Sloan’s Cove, LLC executed a power of sale foreclosure on Armand Vachon’s property, Vachon and Oceanic Inn, Inc. (collectively, Oceanic) filed suit claiming that Sloan’s Cove improperly conducted the sale. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of operating under the influence and violating a condition of release. Defendant was sentenced to a term of sevens days in county jail. On appeal, Defendant argued that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: After Father’s one-year-old child was hospitalized for ingesting a strip of Suboxone while in Father’s care, Father was removed from the home pursuant to a Department of Health and Human Services safety plan. Father was…

Justia Opinion Summary: Somerset County receives income generated by boarding federal prisons at the Somerset County Jail (SCJ). That income is used to support the jail budget. During fiscal year 2013, the County received more federal boarding…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a trial, the district court terminated the parental rights to Mother, the mother of Aiden and Benjamin, and Father, the father of Carl, Daryl, and Benjamin. On appeal, Father argued that the district court erred in…

Justia Opinion Summary: Paul Galipeau was involved in a fatal accident while riding his motorcycle. Galipeau and his wife were insured under four vehicle policies issued by State farm, one on the motorcycle and the others covering three…

Justia Opinion Summary: The two children at issue in this case lived with their grandmother both before and after their mother died. The grandmother filed petitions seeking guardianship of the children alleging that she was a de facto guardian…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the Supreme Court considered when a municipal agency’s decision constitutes a final action subject to immediate judicial review. The owner of the Camden Harbour Inn applied to the Town of Camden for…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was found guilty of aggravated trafficking of a schedule W drug, a Class A crime, for selling a single strip of Suboxone to a confidential informant. The trial court sentenced defendant to eight years in…

Justia Opinion Summary: Fiduciary Trust Co. filed a complaint to determine the proper method of distributing the principal of a trust of which Manchester H. Wheeler Jr. was a beneficiary. The superior court granted summary judgment in favor of…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of murder. Defendant was sentenced to a term of fifty-five years in prison and ordered to pay restitution to the State Victims’ Compensation Fund. Defendant subsequently filed…

Justia Opinion Summary: Doug Lothrop and Julie Lothrop were divorced in 2008. In 2014, Doug filed a motion to modify the divorce judgment pursuant to Me. Rev. Stat. 19-A, 951-A(12), requesting termination or reduction of his spousal support…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Department of Health and Human Services petitioned for termination of Parents’ parental rights to their two minor children. After a hearing, the district court terminated both parents’ parental rights to the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Ed Friedman, joined by others, filed a complaint raising issues regarding the health effects Central Maine Power Company’s (CMP) advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) system. After conducting an investigation, the Maine…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010, the City of Eastport learned that Husson University would no longer lease seventeen acres of publicly owned oceanfront property after the 2011-12 school year. In 2011, the City Council voted to accept an offer…

Justia Opinion Summary: The district court appointed a referee to recommend a judgment in the divorce matter between John Simpson and Elena Wechsler. The referee filed a report making recommendations regarding custody issues and the division of…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of one count of Class B unlawful sexual contact and two counts of Class C unlawful sexual contact. Defendant appealed, arguing that his conviction on the Class B charge should…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff applied for abatement of real property taxes that the Town of Lebanon assessed against her property for the tax years 2011 through 2013. The Town denied the application on the basis that the taxes had been…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants defaulted on their mortgage, and U.S. Bank filed a complaint for foreclosure. Following the Supreme Judicial Court’s decision in Bank of America, N.A. v. Greenleaf, the Bank filed a motion to voluntarily…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of failing to label an observation stand. Defendant appealed, arguing that the State was equitably estopped from prosecuting him because, when he purchased his hunting license, he was given a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Kevin and Lisa Dube divorced pursuant to a final divorce judgment granting Lisa and Kevin shared parental rights and responsibilities of the parties’ daughter. Kevin appealed. The Supreme Court vacated the judgment as to…

Justia Opinion Summary: John Dyer gave a promissory note and a mortgage on property securing the note to Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. The mortgage contained language naming Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS) as lender’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a construction company, perfected a mechanic’s lien on Defendants’ property and filed a five-count complaint alleging that Defendants breached a contract with Plaintiff to renovate their house by failing to…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of aggravated assault. Defendant appealed, arguing that a statement made by the prosecutor during closing argument constituted prosecutorial misconduct that deprived him of a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed a complaint against the Town of Eddington Planning Board and Board of Selectmen seeking declaratory and injunctive relief to prevent a public vote on a moratorium on quarries and a declaration that any…

Justia Opinion Summary: Carol Reece applied for a coastal sand dune permit to create a vehicle access way to her property abutting a beach and to develop and lawn and walkway on the property. The Department of Environmental Protection granted…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2009, Mother and Father were divorced pursuant to a judgment of divorce that awarded Mother primary residence of the couple’s children and provided Father eight weeks of visitation with the children per year. In 2013,…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of attempted murder and related crimes. Before trial, Defendant moved for a change of venue on the ground that the pretrial publicity surrounding the case was so prejudicial…

Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal concerned the third petition brought by the Department of Health and Human Services to terminate the parental rights of Parents to their two sons. The court denied two prior petitions. After a hearing on the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Father and Mother were the parents of a child born in 2012. In 2014, Father brought this action seeking a determination of their parental rights and responsibilities. After a hearing, the district court ordered Father to…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2014, Husband and Wife were divorced pursuant to a divorce judgment that incorporated the terms of a mutual agreement between the properties. In 2015, Wife filed a motion to enforce a provision of the judgment…

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of domestic violence assault with prior convictions. Defendant appealed, arguing that there was insufficient evidence to convict him of domestic violence assault. Specifically,…

Justia Opinion Summary: A Deputy of the Department of Labor, Bureau of Unemployment Compensation determined that Plaintiff had been overpaid $13,157 in unemployment insurance benefits and was required to reimburse the Bureau in that amount.…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2014, the trial court terminated Father’s rights to his child after finding all four grounds of parental unfitness. Father moved for a new trial and to set aside the termination judgment. The trial court denied the…