Justia Maine Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

The trial court entered summary judgment in favor of Defendants on Plaintiff’s claims for wrongful use of civil proceedings and abuse of process. Plaintiff appealed, arguing that the trial court erred in concluding that Plaintiff failed to establish a prima facie case for each element of both causes of action. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed but noted that the trial court would have been well within its discretion to have granted a summary judgment in favor of Defendant based solely on Plaintiff’s failure to comply with the requirements of Me. R. Civ. P. 56(h), or to have denied summary judgment altogether based on the manner in which both parties availed themselves of the summary judgment process. View "First Tracks Invs., LLC v. Murray, Plumb & Murray" on Justia Law

The Workers’ Compensation Board imposed a $30,000 penalty on Nale Holyoke and his construction company (collectively, Holyoke) for violating the insurance coverage requirements of the Workers’ Compensation Act (WCA). The Workers’ Compensation Board Appellate Division vacated the Board’s imposition of penalties on Holyoke. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, albeit for a different reason than that expressed by the Appellate Division, holding that Holyoke complied with Me. Rev. Stat. 39-A, 401 and 403 by maintaining workers’ compensation policies that would have provided compensation to any worker entitled to benefits, and therefore, Holyoke complied with the coverage requirements of the WCA. View "Workers Comp. Bd. Abuse Investigation Unit v. Nate Holyoke Builders, Inc." on Justia Law

After a formal investigation, the Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices determined that the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) - a national nonprofit advocacy corporation “dedicated to preserving the institution of marriage as between one man and one woman” - was a “ballot question committee” and was therefore subject to and in violation of the registration and reporting requirements of Me. Rev. Stat. 21-A, 1056-B. The business and consumer docket denied NOM’s petition for review. NOM filed a petition for review of the Commission’s decision, accompanied by a motion for a stay pending the resolution of its appeal. The trial court denied NOM’s request for a stay. NOM then filed a petition with the Supreme Judicial Court seeking “clarification” that the Commission’s decision was automatically stayed or, alternatively, seeking a stay pursuant to the Court’s inherent power to grant a stay. The Supreme Judicial Court denied NOM’s motion for a stay, holding (1) the Commission’s determination is not automatically stayed pending appeal pursuant to Me. R. Civ. P. 62(e); and (2) the Court declines to stay the Commission’s decision pursuant to its inherent equitable authority. View "Nat’l Org. for Marriage v. Comm’n of Governmental Ethics & Elections Practices" on Justia Law

Husband filed a divorce action in Maine. At the time, there was an action for child custody and child and spousal support pending in the Virginia courts that was filed by Wife. Wife moved to dismiss Husband’s action. The Maine district court stayed the divorce proceedings and left to be determined whether the action would be dismissed because a party filed a divorce action in Virginia or whether the action would remain pending because neither party filed in Virginia or the Virginia court declined jurisdiction. The Supreme Judicial Court dismissed Father’s appeal, concluding that this appeal was interlocutory and not subject to any exception to the final judgment rule. View "Willey v. Willey" on Justia Law

Libby O’Brien Kingsley & Champion, LLC (LOKC) filed a complaint for breach of contract against Sharon Blanchard and simultaneously filed a motion for approval of attachment and trustee process against Blanchard’s property. Blanchard objected to LOKC’s motion but did include a supporting affidavit or other supporting documentation. The district court determined that Blanchard had waived her objection to the motion and considered the merits of the attachment motion without a hearing. The court then ordered attachment and trustee process against Blanchard’s real and personal property. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, holding that the district court’s findings in support of attachment and trustee process were supported by competent evidence in the motion record. View "Kingsley v. Blanchard" on Justia Law

After a hearing, the district court terminated Father’s parental rights pursuant to Me. Rev. Stat. 22, 4055. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, holding (1) the district court did not improperly terminate Father’s parental rights solely because he had been diagnosed as having borderline personality disorder and thus did not violate Father’s equal protection rights; (2) the district court provided Father with the due process required in the context of a termination of parental rights by providing him with a reasonable period of time for reunification and not improperly placing a burden of proof upon Father; and (3) there was clear and convincing evidence to support the court’s finding of at least one ground of parental unfitness and that termination was in the child’s best interest. View "In re I.S." on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of two counts of gross sexual assault. Defendant appealed, arguing that his due process rights were violated by the State’s failure to preserve a recording of a police interview of the victim and by the State’s twenty-two-year delay between the alleged assaults and the indictment. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment, holding (1) Defendant did not prove the elements necessary to establish a violation of his constitutional rights due to the State’s loss of evidence where the missing recording was not apparently exculpatory at the time it was lost and because the State did not act in bad faith in causing its disappearance; and (2) the trial court did not err in finding that Defendant failed to meet his burden of proving prejudice from the pre-indictment delay. View "State v. Cote" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of two counts of gross sexual assault. Defendant appealed, arguing that his due process rights were violated by the State’s failure to preserve a recording of a police interview of the victim and by the State’s twenty-two-year delay between the alleged assaults and the indictment. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the judgment, holding (1) Defendant did not prove the elements necessary to establish a violation of his constitutional rights due to the State’s loss of evidence where the missing recording was not apparently exculpatory at the time it was lost and because the State did not act in bad faith in causing its disappearance; and (2) the trial court did not err in finding that Defendant failed to meet his burden of proving prejudice from the pre-indictment delay. View "State v. Cote" on Justia Law

A district elementary school principal interpreted an educational policy to mean that elementary school teachers were expected to be present in their classrooms ten minutes before the start of the instructional day. The Coastal Education Association, an affiliate of a union representing teachers, filed a grievance with Regional School District Unit No. 5 (RSU No. 5) challenging the principal’s interpretation as a violation of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the Association and the Board of Directors of RSU No. 5. An arbitrator concluded that the principal’s directive violated the CBA and directed RSU No. 5 to rescind the educational policy. RSU No. 5 filed an application to vacate the arbitration award. The superior court granted the application, concluding that the dispute was not substantively arbitrable pursuant to the Municipal Public Employees Labor Relations Law, which prevents school boards from bargaining on matters of educational policy or submitting educational policy disputes to interest arbitration. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, holding that the trial court did not err in concluding that the educational policy at issue in this case was, as a matter of law, not substantively arbitrable. View "Reg’l Sch. Unit No. 5 v. Coastal Educ. Ass’n" on Justia Law

A district elementary school principal interpreted an educational policy to mean that elementary school teachers were expected to be present in their classrooms ten minutes before the start of the instructional day. The Coastal Education Association, an affiliate of a union representing teachers, filed a grievance with Regional School District Unit No. 5 (RSU No. 5) challenging the principal’s interpretation as a violation of the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the Association and the Board of Directors of RSU No. 5. An arbitrator concluded that the principal’s directive violated the CBA and directed RSU No. 5 to rescind the educational policy. RSU No. 5 filed an application to vacate the arbitration award. The superior court granted the application, concluding that the dispute was not substantively arbitrable pursuant to the Municipal Public Employees Labor Relations Law, which prevents school boards from bargaining on matters of educational policy or submitting educational policy disputes to interest arbitration. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, holding that the trial court did not err in concluding that the educational policy at issue in this case was, as a matter of law, not substantively arbitrable. View "Reg’l Sch. Unit No. 5 v. Coastal Educ. Ass’n" on Justia Law