Maine Supreme Judicial Court Decisions 2022

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated the judgment of the superior court dismissing Plaintiff's tort complaint against Defendant, the firm that represented her ex-husband in her complaint for divorce, as being barred by the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction and sentence for gross sexual assault but remanded for the court to determine the appropriate length and conditions of supervised release to be imposed, holding…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the summary judgment entered in the business and consumer docket in favor of Employee on the parties' cross-motions for summary judgment after the trial court concluded that Employer…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the district court dismissing with prejudice Plaintiff's protection from abuse (PFA) case, holding that the court did not err in determining that Plaintiff had agreed…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of, among other charges, seventeen counts of sexual exploitation of a minor under the age of twelve, holding that a search of Defendant's smartphone did not…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated the judgment of the business and consumer docket entered in favor of Plaintiffs vacating the Bureau of Parks and Lands' lease of public reserved land to NECEC Transmission LLC and…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated the judgment of foreclosure and order of sale entered by the district court in favor of Plaintiffs on their complaint for residential foreclosure, holding that Plaintiffs failed to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated the judgment of the district court striking Mother's "motion to reopen evidence" on Father's motion to modify child support because she failed to pay a filing fee, holding that Mother…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's convictions for attempted murder, aggravated assault, and other crimes following a nonjury trial, holding that there was no error or abuse of discretion in the proceedings…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated the judgment of conviction of attempted murder and other offenses entered by the trial court, holding that multiple acts of prosecutorial error occurred in this case, requiring remand…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated the judgment of the district court dismissing with prejudice Grandmother's complaints for determination of de facto parentage concerning her two minor grandchildren, holding that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment entered by the probate court appointing the Department of Health and Human Services as T.'s adult guardian and conservator pursuant to Me. Rev. Stat. 5-301, 5-401(2),…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated the judgment of the district court granting Wife's complaint for divorce, holding that the trial court's factual findings were not supported by competent record evidence. On appeal,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the trial court convicting Defendant on two charges of aggravated furnishing of cocaine, which were merged for sentencing, holding that the trial court erred when it denied…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of conviction entered in the trial court upon his conditional guilty plea to drug-related offenses and endangering the welfare of a child, holding that the trial court did…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of conviction of criminal operating under the influence (OUI) with one previous OUI offense and violation of condition of release entered by the trial court after a jury…

Justia Opinion Summary: On interlocutory appeal in this case involving the New England Clean Energy Connect project (Project), the Supreme Judicial Court held that retroactive application of legislation enacted by voters (the Initiative) to the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of aggravated trafficking of scheduled drugs, holding that the trial court did not err in denying Defendant's motion to suppress, and Defendant's remaining…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this post-dissolution action, the Supreme Judicial Court vacated the judgment of the district court granting Appellant's motion to amend a stipulated order, holding that the motion to amend the stipulated order was…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated in part and remanded in part the divorce judgment entered by the district court on Husband's complaint, holding that the judgment was improper was to the property division and attorney…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the summary judgment entered by the superior court in favor of Somatex, Inc. on Kim Boivin's complaint alleging that she suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the decision of the superior court affirming the order of the Saco River Corridor Commission denying Appellant's application to build a privacy fence along a portion of his property,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction for murder and his sentence of fifty years in prison, holding that there was no error or abuse of discretion. At issue on appeal was whether the trial court…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated the judgment of the superior court affirming the decision of the Town of Boothbay Harbor's Board of Appeals (BOA) denying 29 McKown, LLC's administrative appeal from a code enforcement…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the interlocutory order of the district court allowing discovery in a protection from abuse action instituted by Pat Doe against Sam Roe and denying in part Doe's request for a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the summary judgment entered by the superior court in favor of the University of Maine System on Plaintiff's claim of negligence based on an injury he sustained from an industrial…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated in part the summary judgment granted in favor of the Maine Tax Assessor entered in the business and consumer docket ruling that TracFone Wireless, Inc.'s Lifeline service was subject to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed in part and remanded in part a judgment awarding parental rights and responsibilities entered in the district court as to Father's four children with Mother, holding that the court's…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment entered by the district court extending a weapons restriction placed on J because J presented a likelihood of foreseeable harm, holding that there was no error in the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the decision of the superior court denying the Town of Wells's motion for summary judgment in the underlying personal injury suit, holding that the plain language of the Maine Tort…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the district court determining that a settlement agreement signed by the parties constituted a binding contract and granting Plaintiff's motion to enforce the agreement, holding…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the order entered by the district court dismissing Grandmother's petition for grandparent visitation for lack of standing, holding that there was no error. Grandmother petitioned…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction for operating under the influence, entered after a jury trial, holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief on her allegations of error. After a trial, a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed in part and vacated in part the summary judgment entered by the superior court in favor of the City of Lewiston on the City's land use complaint alleging two violations of City…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court dismissed this appeal from a decision of the superior court denying the City of Bangor's motion for summary judgment in a personal injury suit brought by the estate of Albert Bean (the Estate),…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated the judgment of the superior court affirming the judgment of the district court that denied Landlord's forcible entry and detainer (FED) action to oust Tenant from possession of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction for certain domestic violence incidents, including possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief on his…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court dismissed this appeal from an order entered in the business and consumer document granting a motion to dismiss Plaintiffs' complaint seeking to enforce a prior judgment awarding them damages…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court convicting Defendant of murdering a deputy sheriff and sentencing Defendant to life imprisonment, holding that there was no error. After his…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated in part the judgment of the superior court affirming the Board of Environmental Protection's decision to upheld a cleanup order issued by the Commissioner of the Department of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated the judgment of the trial court suppressing Defendant's blood test results in the State's prosecution of Defendant for operating under the influence, holding that the findings of the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated the judgment of the district court that characterized the court's prior order on Appellants' motion for a preliminary injunction as a ruling on the merits and entering a final judgment…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court affirming the decision of the Department of Marine Resources (DMR) to grant an aquaculture lease to Mere Point Oyster Company, LLC (MPOC) in Maquoit…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court dismissed this appeal from an order of the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) declining to open a formal investigation into a water bill issued to General Marine Construction Corp. by the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the order of the superior court granting summary judgment in favor of the University of Maine System and the University of Maine and dismissing Plaintiff's complaint asserting…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court dismissing Plaintiff's seven-count complaint against Marina Narowetz, DDS, and her dental practice (collectively, Defendants), holding that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated the order entered by the superior court affirming the decision of the Town of Old Orchard Beach to deny Appellant's application to build a greenhouse in the front yard of her…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the district court terminating Father's parental rights as to his child, holding that Father was not denied due process and that Father failed to prove his claim of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the divorce judgment entered by the district court in which the court adopted a referee's determination of the parties' child's primary residence and awarded Kristina Toland marital…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court declined to consider a question certified to the Court by the First Circuit Court of Appeals, holding that there was no clear controlling precedent. Plaintiff brought a complaint in a federal…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court convicting Defendant of intentional or knowing murder, holding that there was no error. On appeal, Defendant argued that the trial court erred in…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant's conviction for gross sexual assault and sexual misconduct with a child under twelve years of age, holding that the trial court did not err or abuse its discretion in…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court dismissed as interlocutory this appeal from a partial summary judgment entered by the superior court in favor of Defendants on Plaintiffs' complaint, holding that the court improvidently…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated the divorce judgment entered by the district court that awarded shared parental rights and responsibilities concerning the parties' minor children, holding that the court impermissibly…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the decision of the superior court denying the motion to compel arbitration brought by Uber Technologies, Inc. and Rasier, LLC (collectively, Uber) in this action brought by Patricia…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the district court in favor of Quang Pham on Atlantic Home Solutions, Inc.'s claim for recovery of personal property pursuant to Me. Rev. Stat. 14, 7071, holding that…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed in part the judgment entered in the Business and Consumer Docket (BCD) awarding attorney fees and expenses to Forney & Weygandt, Inc. (F&W) but vacated a portion of the judgment…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the superior court's order concluding that because Jackson Lumber & Millwork Co. was both the mortgagee and the purchaser at the public sale of certain foreclosed property the fair market value…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court granting the motion of Defendant, Plaintiff's former employer, to dismiss Plaintiff's disability discrimination and failure to accommodate claims as…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court vacated the judgment of the probate court denying Mother's petition to modify or terminate an order of the superior court that transferred custody and guardianship of her child to the child's…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the summary judgment entered in the superior court in favor of Defendant and dismissing Plaintiff's complaint alleging unlawful discrimination, retaliation, and discharge, holding that…