GORMAN , J. [ 1] William M. Peterson appeals from a judgment of foreclosure entered in the Superior Court (Lincoln County, Hjelm, J. ) granting summary judgment to The Bank of Maine (the Bank) following the court's denial of Peterson's request for mediation. Peterson contends that the denial of mediation was an abuse of discretion and that the Supreme Judicial Court exceeded its rulemaking authority when it enacted M.R. Civ. P. 93, which governs foreclosure mediation. We affirm the...
SILVER , J. [ 1] Daniel P. Roberts appeals from an order of the Superior Court (Androscoggin County, Wheeler, J. ) denying his petition for post-conviction review. Because we conclude that Roberts's Sixth Amendment right to a public trial was not violated during any stage of his 2007 murder trial, we affirm. I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND [ 2] In December 2005, Roberts was indicted for the murder of Melissa Mendoza, the mother of his child. 1 Roberts pleaded not guilty, and the case proceeded...
PER CURIAM. [ 1] Michael J. Dee appeals from a judgment entered in the Superior Court (Cumberland County, Wheeler, J. ) dismissing with prejudice his complaint for a judgment declaring that provisions in several Maine marijuana statutes — 22 M.R.S. 2383(1) (2013) (possession of marijuana), 17-A M.R.S. 1117(1) (2013) (cultivating marijuana), and 17-A M.R.S. 1106(1-A) (2013) (unlawfully furnishing scheduled drugs) — are unconstitutional, both facially and as applied to him. Specifically,...
SILVER, J. [ 1] Reva Merrill appeals from a judgment entered in the Superior Court (Kennebec County, Marden, J. ) affirming a decision of the Board of Trustees for the Maine Public Employees Retirement System denying her request for a waiver of past-due life insurance premiums. Merrill contends that the Board erred in interpreting 5 M.R.S. 17103(6) (2008) 1 to prohibit it from waiving past-due payments for the non-mandatory Group Life Insurance Program, and that the Board's...
JABAR, J. [ 1] Dwight A. Norwood appeals from a judgment of conviction of unlawful trafficking of oxycodone (Class B), 17-A M.R.S. 1102(1)(I), 1103(1-A)(A) (2013), unlawful possession of oxycodone (Class C), 17-A M.R.S. 1107-A(1)(B)(4) (2013), and carrying a concealed weapon (Class D), 25 M.R.S. 2001-A(1)(B) (2013), entered in the trial court ( A. Murray, J. ) following a jury trial. Norwood argues that the trial court abused its discretion in declining to determine whether Norwood's...
ALEXANDER, J. [ 1] North Atlantic Securities, LLC; Michael J. Dell'Olio & Associates, LLC; and Michael J. Dell'Olio appeal from a judgment entered in the Business and Consumer Docket ( Nivison, J. ) affirming the revocation of each of their securities licenses by the Securities Administrator of the Office of Securities. The revocations resulted from transactions in 2006 and 2008 through which Dell'Olio, his son, and the entities under Dell'Olio's control received more than $200,000 in loans...
LEVY, J. [ 1] The Board of Bar Examiners appeals from the judgment of a single justice of the Supreme Judicial Court ( Alexander, J. ) concluding that applicant F. Lee Bailey presently possesses the requisite good character and fitness required by M. Bar R. 7.3(j)(5) to be admitted to practice law in Maine. [ 2] The Board advances several reasons in support of its position that the single justice erred in authorizing Bailey's admission to the Maine bar. 1 Because we conclude that the...
MEAD, J. [ 1] Mallinckrodt U.S. LLC and United States Surgical Corporation 1 (collectively, "Mallinckrodt") appeal from a judgment entered in the Business and Consumer Docket ( Nivison, J. ) affirming a decision of the Board of Environmental Protection, which modified and affirmed a compliance order issued by the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection. The Commissioner's order required Mallinckrodt to excavate material containing mercury and other contaminants from five...
JABAR, J. [ 1] John S. Zablotny appeals from a judgment of the District Court (Machias, Romei, J. ) affirming the State Board of Nursing's (Board) decision to revoke his professional nursing license for two years. On appeal, Zablotny's primary contention is that the court erred in the manner in which it undertook, in accordance with 10 M.R.S. 8003(5) (2013), a "de novo judicial review" of the Board's decision because it (1) deferred to the Board's factual findings and (2) denied the...
MEAD, J. [ 1] Arnold A. Diana appeals from a judgment of conviction entered by the trial court ( Hjelm, J. ), and from the sentence it imposed, following a jury verdict finding him guilty of murder, 17-A M.R.S. 201(1)(A) (2013). Diana contends that the court erred in (1) denying his motion to suppress the evidence resulting from three searches of his residence by law enforcement officers, (2) allowing a prospective juror who was once a victim of domestic violence to serve on the jury, (3)...
SILVER, J. [ 1] Bayview Loan Servicing, LLC, 1 appeals from a judgment entered in the District Court (York, Cantara, J. ) dismissing with prejudice Bayview's complaint seeking a judgment of foreclosure against John H. Bartlett and Cheryl J. Bartlett. Bayview argues that the District Court erred or abused its discretion in dismissing the action based on Bayview's failure to appear at three mediation sessions. We affirm the judgment. I. BACKGROUND [ 2] On November 23, 2009, Bayview filed a...
MEAD, J. [ 1] Joel A. Hayden appeals from a judgment of conviction entered by the trial court ( Mills, J.) on a jury verdict finding him guilty of two counts of knowing or intentional murder, 17-A M.R.S. 201(1)(A) (2013). On appeal, Hayden argues that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support the jury verdict, that the court misapplied sentencing principles, and that the court abused its discretion when it determined that aggravating and mitigating factors did not require...
GORMAN, J. [ 1] In this third appeal stemming from Jeffrey A. Cookson's 2002 conviction of two counts of intentional or knowing murder, 17-A M.R.S.A. 201(1)(A) (1983), 1 Cookson challenges a decision of the court ( Cole, J. ) denying, for the second time, his motion for post-conviction DNA analysis of certain evidence. Cookson contends that the court held him to a higher standard of proof than is required pursuant to the post-conviction DNA statute, 15 M.R.S. 2136-2138 (2010), 2 and...
GORMAN , J. [ 1] Robert F. Almeder and twenty-eight other owners of property fronting Goose Rocks Beach in Kennebunkport (the Beachfront Owners) appeal from a decision of the Superior Court (York County, Brennan, J. ) awarding the public a recreational easement over both the intertidal and dry sand portions of the Beach. The Beachfront Owners argue that the court erred in (1) permitting the State and neighboring landowners to intervene, (2) awarding a prescriptive easement and an...
ALEXANDER, J. [ 1] Preti Flaherty Beliveau & Pachios LLP (Preti) appeals from the judgment of the Superior Court (Cumberland County, Warren, J. ) affirming the Maine Revenue Services' denial of Preti's Freedom of Access Act request, pursuant to 1 M.R.S. 402(3) and 408-A (2013), for documents containing methodologies, formulas, or calculations relating to apportionment of Maine income tax liability for nonresident partners of a professional services partnership entity based in or with a...
