Maine Appeals
Maine Appeals

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In this blog, we seek to discuss issues relating to appeals and appellate law in Maine, including the activities and decisions of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court and First Circuit Court of Appeals relevant to Maine, and other participants in the Maine appellate community.

July 12, 2023

Appellate Preservation and Summary Judgment
US Supreme Court
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The necessity of preserving issues for appeal can be a trap for the unwary, leaving litigants without recourse if they fail to take proper steps to preserve a particular argument.  Near the end of its recent term, the Supreme Court made this requirement slightly less fraught.  In Dupree v. Younger, the Court clarified that a […]

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June 26, 2023

Keeping Form Subservient to Substance in Rule 80B (and 80C) Actions
Law Court, Maine
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What is the proper remedy when a party challenges a municipal action under Rule 80B, but the court later determines that this was the wrong procedural vehicle to challenge the municipal action?  In Hurricane Island Foundation v. Town of Vinalhaven, the Law Court took a pragmatic approach by treating the proceeding as a declaratory judgment […]

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June 13, 2023

Standing, Cross-Appeals, and Rule 80B
Cross-Appeals, Law Court, Maine
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Maine law regarding cross-appeals has long been murky, and as a result that subject has often been the subject of commentary both at this blog (here and here, for instance) and elsewhere.  The Law Court brought additional clarity in this area of the law in its recent decision in Tominsky v. Town of Ogunquit.  In […]

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May 17, 2023

Due Process, Retroactive Laws, and Vested Rights in Development Projects
Law Court, Maine, Maine Constitution
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Last week marked the close of a major legal dispute under Maine law regarding the applicability of retroactive laws to development projects already under construction.  The issue in the case was one of fundamental fairness: if a person obtains a valid permit under existing law and then in good faith expends significant sums building a […]

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March 21, 2023

You Should Be Respectful (But You Don’t Have to Be)
Massachusetts
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In an interesting parallel to the developments in the Maine Law Court that indicate a revival of state constitutional interpretation, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued a noteworthy opinion examining the protections granted to free speech under the Commonwealth’s constitution. The case, Barron v. Kolenda, involved a town ordinance requiring all comments in public meetings […]

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February 22, 2023

Respect the Process: Late Appeals and Wrongful Use of Civil Proceedings
Law Court, Maine
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Last week the Law Court handed down two decisions relating to judicial process, addressing the time limits for notices of appeal and the situations in which relief can be sought for wrongful use of civil proceedings. In the first case, Witham v. Board of Trustees of the Maine Criminal Justice Academy, a petitioner challenging an […]

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January 09, 2023

Is It Appropriate to Defer to Agency Interpretations under the Maine Constitution?
Maine, Maine Constitution
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The issue of whether courts should defer to an executive agency’s interpretation of a statute is a familiar one.  Going back all the way to Marbury v. Madison, we know that courts decide the meaning of a statute.  Courts therefore routinely decide how to interpret ambiguous statutes.  But what happens when a statute is ambiguous […]

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November 17, 2022

District of Maine Judicial Conference
First Circuit
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I had the opportunity to attend the District of Maine Judicial Conference earlier this week, and it did not disappoint.  It was the first one held in four years given the pandemic, and it was great to hear from practitioners and judges in person.  My partner Nolan Reichl, along with Valerie Wicks, moderated a great […]

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October 13, 2022

The First Circuit Reframes Preemption
First Circuit
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Yesterday the First Circuit handed down a notable decision in Maine Forest Products Council v. Cormier, a case in which my firm represented the plaintiffs-appellees.  In MFPC, plaintiffs challenged a state law barring non-resident workers from hauling logs within Maine under the federal H-2A visa program.   The First Circuit concluded that plaintiffs demonstrated a substantial […]

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August 23, 2022

The Dormant Commerce Clause and Discrimination in Illegal Interstate Markets
First Circuit
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Last week the First Circuit reached an interesting conclusion: the U.S. Constitution prohibits states from adopting protectionist legislation affecting illegal interstate markets.  The case, Northeast Patients Group v. United Cannabis Patients and Caregivers of Maine, involved a state law requiring officers and directors of medical marijuana dispensaries operating in Maine to be Maine residents.  The […]

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