Lee v. Town of Denmark
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The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court in favor of the Town of Denmark on Plaintiff's claim that the Town violated Maine's Whistleblowers' Protection Act (WPA), Me. Rev. Stat. 26, 831-40, by suspending Plaintiff after he engaged in what he alleged was WPA-protected activity, holding that the Town's actions were not unlawful.
The trial court granted the Town's motion for summary judgment, concluding that Plaintiff had not engaged in WPA-protected activity, a necessary element to succeed in a WPA claim. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, holding (1) a dispute over the interpretation of an employment contract, without more, does not constitute a report of illegal activity; and (2) even if Plaintiff subjectively believed that the Town's action violated Maine law or the Town's charter, his subject belief alone was insufficient to meet the WPA's "reasonable cause" requirement.
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