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
Maine Appeals
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Keeping Form Subservient to Substance in Rule 80B (and 80C) Actions
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…
Standing, Cross-Appeals, and Rule 80B
Due Process, Retroactive Laws, and Vested Rights in Development Projects
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…
You Should Be Respectful (But You Don’t Have to Be)
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.…
Respect the Process: Late Appeals and Wrongful Use of Civil Proceedings
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,…
Is It Appropriate to Defer to Agency Interpretations under the Maine Constitution?
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…
District of Maine Judicial Conference
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…
The First Circuit Reframes Preemption
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…
The Dormant Commerce Clause and Discrimination in Illegal Interstate Markets
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…