Justia Maine Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

High Maine, LLC, challenged the Town of Kittery's issuance of a marijuana retail store license and approval of a change of use and modified site plan for GTF Kittery 8, LLC, to operate a marijuana retail store in the Town’s C-2 zone. High Maine argued that the Town's actions violated local and state regulations, particularly concerning the proximity of the proposed store to a nursery school.The Superior Court (York County) dismissed High Maine's complaint for lack of standing, reasoning that High Maine, as a pre-applicant on the waiting list for a marijuana retail store license, did not suffer a particularized injury. The court concluded that High Maine's status as a prospective license-holder was unchanged by the Town's decisions, and thus, it was not directly affected.The Maine Supreme Judicial Court reviewed the case and determined that High Maine had alleged a particularized injury sufficient to establish standing. The court noted that High Maine's opportunity to obtain the single license available in the C-2 zone was directly and negatively affected by the alleged defects in the licensing process. The court found that High Maine's complaint suggested that GTF Kittery 8 obtained an unfair advantage in the lottery by submitting multiple applications for the same building, which was within 1,000 feet of a school, in violation of state law.The Maine Supreme Judicial Court vacated the Superior Court's judgment and remanded the case for further proceedings, holding that High Maine's allegations were sufficient at the motion to dismiss stage to demonstrate its standing to challenge the Town's actions. View "High Maine, LLC v. Town of Kittery" on Justia Law

Roger K. Moreau sought to operate an automotive repair shop on his lot in the Town of Parsonsfield, which is accessed via Reed Lane, a private road. The lot, created from a larger parcel, lacks frontage on a public road. Reed Lane, dating back to 1991, is a fifty-foot-wide right-of-way with a fifteen-foot-wide gravel road. Moreau had been operating the repair shop without a permit since 2015-2018. Nelligan, who owns adjacent property, opposed the business.The Town of Parsonsfield Planning Board initially denied Moreau's application for a site plan review permit but later approved it after Moreau acquired additional property. The Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) vacated this approval, stating the lot remained nonconforming. Moreau submitted a third application, which the Planning Board approved, but the ZBA again vacated the decision, citing the insufficient width of Reed Lane for commercial use. Moreau appealed to the Superior Court, which vacated the ZBA's decision, finding the Planning Board's approval valid.The Maine Supreme Judicial Court reviewed the case and determined that the commercial road standards in the Town’s Land Use and Development Ordinance required a sixty-foot-wide right-of-way for a business, which Reed Lane did not meet. The court concluded that Moreau's commercial use of the lot was not grandfathered and must comply with current ordinance standards. Consequently, the court vacated the Superior Court's judgment and directed entry of judgment in favor of Nelligan and the Town of Parsonsfield, affirming the ZBA's decision. View "Moreau v. Town of Parsonsfield" on Justia Law

Steve L. Michaud sustained a traumatic injury to his left eye on December 26, 2014, while working as an auto mechanic, resulting in an immediate loss of more than eighty percent of his vision. Michaud underwent multiple surgeries between 2015 and 2019 in an attempt to restore his vision, but these efforts were largely unsuccessful. In September 2021, Michaud filed petitions for an award of compensation and specific-loss benefits. A doctor’s report in October 2021 confirmed that Michaud had reached maximum medical improvement (MMI) with a ninety-four percent vision loss in his left eye.An Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) determined that Michaud’s specific-loss benefits became due on October 14, 2021, the date of the doctor’s report, and ordered interest to be paid from that date. Michaud appealed, arguing that the benefits should accrue from the date of his injury in 2014. The Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) Appellate Division affirmed the ALJ’s decision, relying on the precedent set in Tracy v. Hershey Creamery Co., which held that specific-loss benefits for an eye injury are determined when the injury reaches a reasonable medical endpoint.The Maine Supreme Judicial Court reviewed the case and found that Michaud’s injury immediately resulted in more than eighty percent vision loss and that his condition did not materially improve despite medical interventions. The court held that Michaud’s specific-loss benefits became due on the date of his injury, December 26, 2014, and that interest should accrue from that date. The court vacated the Appellate Division’s decision and remanded the case for entry of a decree ordering Michaud’s employer to pay interest from the date of the injury. View "Michaud v. Caribou Ford-Mercury, Inc." on Justia Law

In October 2020, Elliot Fama, employed by Sanford Contracting, was working on a project in Scarborough, Maine. After work, he and his co-worker, Robert Clarke, consumed alcohol at a hotel and a tavern. Later, in the hotel parking lot, Clarke struck Mr. Fama, causing him to fall and sustain fatal injuries. Laureen Fama, Mr. Fama’s widow, settled a workers’ compensation claim in Massachusetts for $400,000.Laureen Fama then filed a lawsuit in Cumberland County Superior Court against Bob’s LLC, which operated the tavern, and Clarke. She alleged liquor liability, wrongful death, loss of consortium, and battery. The defendants moved for summary judgment, arguing that the workers’ compensation settlement precluded the lawsuit. The Superior Court denied these motions, leading to the current appeal.The Maine Supreme Judicial Court reviewed the case. It held that under Maine’s Workers’ Compensation Act (MWCA), Ms. Fama’s settlement barred her from suing Clarke, as the Act’s immunity provisions extend to co-employees. Consequently, Clarke was exempt from the lawsuit. The court further held that because Clarke could not be retained as a defendant, the claims against Bob’s LLC failed under the “named and retained” provisions of Maine’s Liquor Liability Act (MLLA).The court vacated the Superior Court’s order denying summary judgment and remanded the case for entry of judgment in favor of Bob’s LLC and Clarke. View "Fama v. Bob's LLC" on Justia Law

From 2018 to 2020, Central Maine Power Company (CMP) sent misleading communications to customers behind on their electric bills, threatening winter disconnection without providing accurate information about customers' rights and the required process under Maine Public Utilities Commission rules. In 2020, the Commission investigated and CMP consented to a finding of rule violations and paid a $500,000 penalty.Brett Deane, Henry Lavender, and Joleen Mitchell, CMP customers who received these misleading communications, filed a multicount complaint against CMP in January 2020. The Business and Consumer Docket dismissed claims of fraudulent misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation, and statutory violations, and granted summary judgment for CMP on the claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED).The Maine Supreme Judicial Court reviewed the case. The court affirmed the lower court's dismissal of the misrepresentation claims, concluding that the plaintiffs failed to allege pecuniary harm, which is necessary for such claims. The court also affirmed the dismissal of the statutory cause of action, determining that 35-A M.R.S. § 1501 does not create a private right of action. Finally, the court upheld the summary judgment on the IIED claim, finding that the plaintiffs did not demonstrate severe emotional distress as required by law, and that CMP's conduct, while extreme and outrageous, did not warrant an inference of severe emotional distress. View "Deane v. Central Maine Power Company" on Justia Law

The parties were married in October 1996, and John A. Jewell Sr. filed for divorce in February 2018. The divorce judgment, entered in March 2019, required Jewell to pay Carol L. Brewer $2,000 per month in spousal support indefinitely. Jewell was found to have an earning capacity of $80,000, while Brewer was deemed fully disabled with no formal education or training. Jewell later moved to modify the spousal support, citing decreased earning capacity and Brewer’s cohabitation, but his motion was denied in June 2021. Jewell appealed, but the denial was upheld.In December 2022, Jewell filed another motion to modify the spousal support, again alleging Brewer’s cohabitation. The District Court (Bangor, Szylvian, J.) held a hearing in August 2023 and found that Jewell’s income had decreased to $52,000 per year and that Brewer had the capacity to work, despite her disability claims. The court terminated Jewell’s spousal support obligation but required him to pay $500 per month towards arrearages and attorney fees.The Maine Supreme Judicial Court reviewed the case and found that there was no evidentiary support for the District Court’s finding that Brewer had the capacity to earn income. The court vacated the judgment and remanded the case for the District Court to reevaluate whether there has been a substantial change in circumstances since the most recent judgment. If such a change is found, the court must then determine whether to modify the spousal support based on the new findings. View "Jewell v. Brewer" on Justia Law

The case involves a dispute between two condominium associations, Longview Hotel Condominium Association (Longview) and Pearl Inn Condominium Association (Pearl), over a strip of land used for parking. Longview owns a beachfront property with six units and an adjacent parking lot, while Pearl owns a nearby property with eight units. The contested area is a rectangular strip of land adjacent to Pearl's building, which has been used by Pearl's residents for parking for decades. Longview claims that Pearl's use of this land constitutes trespass, while Pearl asserts it has acquired the land through adverse possession.The Superior Court (York County) ruled in favor of Pearl, finding that Pearl had acquired the strip of land by adverse possession. The court determined that Pearl's use of the land was continuous, open, and notorious for the required twenty-year period. The court also directed Pearl to submit a proposed judgment with a specific metes-and-bounds description of the adversely possessed area. Longview appealed, arguing that the court erred in its determination of continuous use and in setting the boundaries of the land acquired by adverse possession.The Maine Supreme Judicial Court reviewed the case and affirmed the lower court's finding that Pearl had satisfied the elements of adverse possession, including continuous use. The court found sufficient evidence that Pearl's residents had used the disputed area for parking consistently over the years. However, the Supreme Judicial Court vacated the portion of the judgment concerning the boundaries of the adversely possessed land. The court found that the description provided by Pearl included areas not supported by evidence of actual or continuous use. The case was remanded for a revised metes-and-bounds description that accurately reflects the area used by Pearl's residents. View "Longview Hotel Condominium Association v. Pearl Inn" on Justia Law

In May 2021, Ronald A. Harding lived with his girlfriend, her three children, and their infant son. On May 31, 2021, Harding was holding the infant when the child became unresponsive and later died. Medical examinations revealed that the infant suffered from a fatal brain injury consistent with non-accidental trauma, specifically shaken impact syndrome. Harding was arrested on June 4, 2021, and charged with manslaughter. He was later indicted by a grand jury on one count of manslaughter.The trial took place over four days in early 2023. The State presented testimony from medical professionals and experts who treated the infant and performed the autopsy. The defense argued that the death could have been caused by COVID-19 or an earlier injury, presenting testimony from their own expert, Dr. Jane Turner. The jury found Harding guilty of manslaughter. Harding's motions for a judgment of acquittal and a judgment notwithstanding the verdict were denied by the trial court.The Maine Supreme Judicial Court reviewed the case. Harding argued that the evidence was insufficient to support the conviction and that the State committed prosecutorial error during its closing argument. The court held that the evidence was sufficient for a rational jury to find Harding guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The court also found that Harding had waived his prosecutorial error argument by withdrawing his request for a curative instruction during the trial. Consequently, the court affirmed the judgment of conviction. View "State of Maine v. Harding" on Justia Law

Geoffrey S. Stiff and Carolyn B. Stiff own a lot on Long Pond in Belgrade, Maine. Their neighbors, Stephen C. Jones and Jody C. Jones, own an adjacent 1.23-acre lot within the limited residential district of the Belgrade shoreland zone. The Joneses' lot is legally non-conforming and already contains a non-conforming house and a shed. In 2017, the Joneses sought a permit to build a garage with a laundry room and playroom. However, they constructed a two-story structure with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a laundry room, and a playroom with kitchen appliances, which was not in accordance with the permit.The Stiffs objected to the new structure, leading the Joneses to apply for an after-the-fact permit from the Town of Belgrade Planning Board. The Planning Board approved the permit with the condition that kitchen appliances be removed. The Stiffs appealed to the Board of Appeals (BOA), which remanded the matter due to a lack of findings of fact or conclusions of law. On remand, the Planning Board again approved the permit, finding the new structure to be an accessory structure. The Stiffs appealed to the BOA again, and after the BOA denied their appeal, they filed a complaint in the Superior Court, which also denied their appeal.The Maine Supreme Judicial Court reviewed the case and found that the Planning Board had misconstrued the Belgrade Shoreland Zoning Ordinance (SZO). The court held that the new structure was not an accessory structure as defined by the SZO because it was not incidental and subordinate to the existing house. The court vacated the judgment and remanded the case to the Superior Court with instructions to remand to the BOA, which would then remand to the Planning Board for further proceedings consistent with the opinion. View "Stiff v. Town of Belgrade" on Justia Law

In May 2021, Ronald A. Harding lived with his girlfriend, her three children, and their infant son. On May 31, 2021, Harding was holding the infant when the child became unresponsive and later died. Medical examinations revealed that the infant suffered from a fatal brain injury consistent with non-accidental trauma, specifically shaken impact syndrome. Harding was arrested on June 4, 2021, and charged with manslaughter. A grand jury indicted him on June 30, 2021. During the trial, the State presented evidence from medical professionals and experts who testified that the infant's injuries were caused by traumatic head injury while in Harding's care.The Penobscot County Unified Criminal Docket oversaw the initial trial. Harding moved for a judgment of acquittal after the State rested its case and renewed the motion after the close of evidence, but the trial court denied both motions. The jury found Harding guilty of manslaughter, and the court entered a judgment of conviction on September 19, 2023. Harding was sentenced to fifteen years, with all but eight and a half years suspended, and six years of probation. Harding appealed, arguing insufficient evidence and prosecutorial error during closing arguments.The Maine Supreme Judicial Court reviewed the case. The court held that sufficient evidence supported the manslaughter conviction, noting that the jury was entitled to resolve conflicting evidence and determine witness credibility. The court also found that Harding waived his prosecutorial error argument by withdrawing his request for a curative instruction and not moving for a mistrial. Consequently, the court affirmed the judgment of conviction. View "In re Children of Destiny H." on Justia Law