COVID-19 Law Court Maine
June 2, 2022 by Joshua Dunlap
The Law Court recently weighed in on a trending legal issue – the extent to which Covid-19 restrictions trigger “force majeure” contract clauses. In 55 Oak Street LLC v. RDR Enterprises, Inc., the Law Court considered the applicability of a force majeure clause in the context of emergency pandemic orders. In what is a very […]
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COVID-19 First Circuit Law Court Maine
January 18, 2022 by Joshua Dunlap
Around this time last year, I took a look at statistics showing that the filing of new civil appeals had declined in federal courts and in Maine. As I observed then, the 2020 statistics had not yet fully captured the impact of the pandemic on appeals and civil appeal statistics would bear monitoring. I decided […]
COVID-19 First Circuit Maine
February 1, 2021 by Joshua Dunlap
Chief Justice Roberts recently issued his year-end report on the federal judiciary, appropriately focusing on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Chief Justice noted that 2020 ended with the judiciary in much the same situation as when the American court system began – in the midst of a public health crisis. In 1790, it […]
January 12, 2021 by Joshua Dunlap
Interlocutory appeals, including those relating to injunctive relief, often present traps for the unwary. In state court in Maine, parties typically cannot appeal an order granting or denying a motion for preliminary injunction. The Law Court has so held in numerous cases, including Sanborn v. Sanborn. In federal court, by contrast, it is possible to […]
COVID-19 Elections Law Court Maine Maine Constitution
October 27, 2020 / October 27, 2020 by Joshua Dunlap
Late last week, the Law Court issued an important election law decision in Alliance for Retired Americans v. Secretary of State. In its opinion, the Court held that Maine’s deadline for receiving absentee ballots (8:00 p.m. on election day) as well as the statutory provisions governing the validation of absentee ballots are not unconstitutional as […]
COVID-19 Law Court Maine Constitution
May 4, 2020 / May 1, 2020 by Joshua Dunlap
The coronavirus shut-down has been anything but a slow-down for this attorney-blogger, but it hasn’t entirely prevented me from continuing to muse about the Maine Constitution during its now-cancelled bicentennial celebration. So I thought I would give the Constitution a little more of the attention it is due, despite the coronavirus. (A welcome respite to […]
April 1, 2020 by Joshua Dunlap
I recently wrote about the orders affecting appellate practice during the COVID-19 pandemic, noting the importance of staying up to date with current developments. While those developments continue at a relentless pace, there was one I thought it particularly helpful to highlight here. The Maine Supreme Court recently issued a consolidated Pandemic Management Order. That […]
COVID-19 First Circuit Law Court Maine Massachusetts New Hampshire Rhode Island US Supreme Court
March 23, 2020 / April 3, 2020 by Joshua Dunlap
Holed up here in my home office like many of you, I thought it would be a helpful time to take stock of the current state of affairs in the courts of appeal during this pandemic. As with most of life, COVID-19 has disrupted normal operations, leaving all of us in a state of uncertainty. […]
