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 18, 2022

A Summer Smorgasbord – Rule Changes, Constitutional Law, and Settlement Agreements
Appellate Briefs, Cross-Appeals, Law Court, Maine, Maine Constitution, Rules
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It’s the middle of a beautiful Maine summer, a good time for a few quick hits on some interesting developments . . . First, as I previewed last month, new amendments to the Rules of Appellate Procedure became effective July 13.  The new rules streamline certain procedures (such as allowing electronic signatures), make a few […]

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June 14, 2022

Proposed Amendments to the Maine Rules of Appellate Procedure
Appellate Briefs, Cross-Appeals, Law Court, Maine, Rules
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The Advisory Committee on the Maine Rules of Appellate Procedure, of which I am a member, has been working with the SJC on potential changes to the rules.  The Court has made the proposals publicly available, and has invited public comment.  The deadline for any comments is July 1. A quick summary of key changes […]

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June 02, 2022

Covid-19, Emergency Pandemic Orders, and Force Majeure
COVID-19, Law Court, Maine
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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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April 25, 2022

Due Process, Preliminary Injunctions, and Final Judgments
Law Court, Maine
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The Court recently clarified an important issue of civil procedure – the precise point at which a court may consolidate a preliminary injunction hearing with a hearing on the merits. Rule 65 of the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure provides that a court may consolidate a preliminary injunction hearing with a trial on the merits […]

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March 16, 2022

The Rebirth of State Constitutionalism Continues
Law Court, Maine, Maine Constitution
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One of the most interesting trends in the Law Court’s jurisprudence (at least in the mind of this blogger) is the continued renaissance of the Court’s primacy doctrine – an issue addressed before on this blog.  As explained in two prior blog posts (here and here), the primacy doctrine, generally speaking, directs state courts to […]

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February 01, 2022

Can You Enforce an Online Contract In Maine? It Depends.
First Circuit, Law Court
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The Law Court recently weighed in on a matter of critical importance – the enforceability of online consumer contracts.  Confronting the issue in a case involving ride-sharing giant Uber’s efforts to enforce an arbitration provision, the Law Court held in Sarchi v. Uber Technologies that online contracts are enforceable only if the consumer (1) has […]

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January 18, 2022

Revisiting Appellate Trends from 2021
COVID-19, First Circuit, Law Court, Maine
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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 […]

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November 17, 2021

Tricky Issues of Appellate Procedure: Timeliness and Cross-Appeals Edition
Cross-Appeals, Law Court, Maine
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Yesterday the Law Court, in an opinion written by Justice Connors, Concord General Mutual Ins. Co. v. Estate of Collette J. Boure, touched on two important appellate issues – one of which has been addressed often on this blog.  The issues involve timeliness of an appeal and the need for cross-appeals. The case involved claims […]

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October 19, 2021

It’s Time to Clarify When Cross-Appeals Are Necessary
Cross-Appeals, Law Court, Maine
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Much has been said on this blog about when one should cross-appeal, given the Law Court’s jurisprudence on the topic.  I most recently addressed the issue here.  As I noted then, there is some tension between the text of the Maine Rules of Appellate Procedure, which provides that “[i]f the appellee seeks any change in […]

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September 28, 2021

A New Experiment In Oral Arguments
First Circuit, Law Court, Oral Argument, US Supreme Court
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For Supreme Court watchers and appellate practitioners, last week brought an interesting development – the Court is changing how it conducts oral argument.  Arguments will now feature both unstructured questioning by all justices and then uninterrupted questioning by individual justices. It will be fascinating to watch how this new approach affects oral arguments in the […]

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