MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER ON DISCOVERY DISPUTE JOHN H. RICH, III , Magistrate Judge . During a discovery teleconference on December 3, 2015, I directed the parties to file simultaneous letter briefs, with an opportunity for simultaneous responses, regarding a dispute over the defendant's attorney's invocation of legislative privilege during the deposition of Portland City Councilor Kevin Donoghue and instruction that he not answer the questions at issue. See ECF No. 37. With the...
MEMORANDUM OF DECISION 1 ON CROSS-MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT JOHN C. NIVISON , Magistrate Judge . In this action, Plaintiff Alla Shuper alleges that Defendants Dan Austin and the Town of Falmouth Police Department violated her civil rights in connection with an arrest on February 27, 2013. The matter is before the Court on the parties' cross-motions for summary judgment. 2 Following a review of the record, and after consideration of the parties' arguments, the Court grants Defendants'...
ORDER ON PLAINTIFF'S EX PARTE MOTION FOR A TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER JON D. LEVY , District Judge . This matter comes before the court on Wicked Good Charcoal, Inc.'s ("Wicked Good") ex parte motion for a temporary restraining order (ECF No. 3). I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND Wicked Good's motion and supporting documents establish the following facts: Wicked Good is a family-owned and operated business in York County, Maine, that manufactures and sells charcoal under the "WEEKEND WARRIOR BLEND"...
MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER ON MOTION TO SUPPLEMENT THE RECORD JOHN H. RICH, III , District Judge . Mrs. J. and Mr. J. (the "Parents"), who seek judicial review pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ("IDEA"), 20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq., of a hearing officer's decision pertaining to their child I.J., move to supplement the record with a report postdating the hearing and pertaining to a different student ("Student X"), which they argue rebuts and/or impeaches some of...
ORDER ON PLAINTIFF'S MOTION TO STAY JOHN H. RICH, III , Magistrate Judge . The plaintiff seeks a stay of all proceedings in this case until appeals are resolved in what she characterizes as "two companions cases," Pippin v. Boulevard Motel Corp., No. 2:14-cv-167-JAW and Parker v. Boulevard Motel Corp., No. 2:14-cv-169-JAW, currently pending before the First Circuit Court of Appeals following the entry of summary judgment in favor of the defendant in both cases by this court. Plaintiff'...
MEMORANDUM OF DECISION ON DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT 1 JOHN C. NIVISON , Magistrate Judge . In this action, Plaintiff Michael J. Albert, Sr. alleges that Defendants Benjamin Murtiff and Vincente Morris arrested him without probable cause and used excessive force to arrest him. The matter is before the Court on Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment ("Motion," ECF No. 24). 2 Following a review of the record, and after consideration of the parties' arguments, the Court grants...
RECOMMENDED DECISION ON MOTION FOR ATTORNEY FEES JOHN C. NIVISON , District Judge . In this social security action, the Court ordered a remand for further proceedings following Defendant's filing of an unopposed motion to remand. (Order, ECF No. 11.) On remand, Defendant awarded benefits to Plaintiff, including past-due benefits in the amount of $64,720. The matter is before the Court on counsel's request for fees pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 406(b) (Motion for Award of Fees, ECF No. 16)....
MEMORANDUM DECISION 1 JOHN H. RICH, III , Magistrate Judge . This Social Security Disability ("SSD") appeal challenges the administrative law judge's treatment of the opinion of a treating medical professional. I affirm the commissioner's decision. In accordance with the commissioner's sequential evaluation process, 20 C.F.R. 404.1520; Goodermote v. Secretary of Health & Human Servs., 690 F.2d 5 , 6 (1st Cir. 1982), the administrative law judge found, in relevant part, that the...
MEMORANDUM DECISION 1 JOHN H. RICH, III , Magistrate Judge . This Social Security Disability ("SSD") and Supplemental Security Income ("SSI") appeal challenges the administrative law judge's findings concerning the plaintiff's age and credibility, and his refusal to admit evidence tendered after the regulatory deadline for doing so. I affirm the commissioner's decision. In accordance with the commissioner's sequential evaluation process, 20 C.F.R. 404.1520, 416.920; Goodermote v....
MEMORANDUM OF DECISION JOHN C. NIVISON , Magistrate Judge . The matter is before the Court on Defendant's Rule 59(e) Motion for Amendment of Judgment. (ECF No. 25.) Through the motion, Defendant requests that the Court reconsider its decision to remand the matter for further proceedings. (ECF No. 22.) After consideration of the parties' arguments and following further review of the record, the Court denies the motion. BACKGROUND On July 2, 2015, upon consideration of the record, the...
RECOMMENDED DECISION ON MOTION TO DISMISS JOHN H. RICH, III , Magistrate Judge . Yankee Publishing, Inc., moves pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) to dismiss the instant copyright infringement complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. See Yankee Publishing, Inc.'s Motion To Dismiss ("Motion") (ECF No. 11) at 1-2; Complaint and Demand for Jury Trial ("Complaint") (ECF No. 1). For the reasons that follow, I conclude that the Complaint fails...
ORDER FOLLOWING PRE-FILING CONFERENCE GEORGE Z. SINGAL , District Judge . The Court has reviewed Defendant's Notice Of Intent To File Motion For Summary Judgment And Request For Pre-Filing Conference (ECF No. 44) and the Pre-Conference Memorandum received from Defendant (ECF No. 46). Based on this review and the pre-filing conference held on December 21, 2015 with Attorneys Gregg R. Frame and Elizabeth Knox Peck, the Court hereby ORDERS that the following procedure be followed in...
ORDER ON PENDING MOTIONS JOHN A. WOODCOCK, Jr. , District Judge . Faced with a motion to suppress evidence that was filed after the deadline for the filing of pretrial motions and with a motion that failed to comply with a local rule requirement of accompanying affidavits for motions, the Court concludes that the Defendant has demonstrated good cause for his late filing and that the affidavit requirement must bend to the defendant's Fifth Amendment rights. The Court grants the Defendant's...
RECOMMENDED DECISION JOHN C. NIVISON , Magistrate Judge . In this action, Plaintiff Michael Esposito, an inmate at the Maine Correctional Center, alleges that Defendants, inter alia, deprived him of his constitutional right to receive necessary medical care. The matter is before the Court on the motion to dismiss (Motion, ECF No. 27) of Defendants Paul Cumming, David Curtis, Joseph Fitzpatrick, Scott Landry, and Dennis Shipman (the "State Defendants"). As explained below, following a...
ORDER ON THE PENDING MOTIONS OF STATE INTERVENORS GEORGE Z. SINGAL , District Judge . Before the Court are two motions by a jointly represented group of intervenors and counterclaimants, commonly referred to in this case as the "State Intervenors" 1 : (1) the Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings (ECF No. 116) and (2) the Motion to Exclude the Testimony of Plaintiffs' Experts (ECF No. 138). As briefly explained herein, both Motions are GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART. While the Court is...
ORDER ON CROSS-MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT George Z. Singal , United States District Judge . Before the Court are three motions for summary judgment: (1) the State Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment, or in the Alternative, for Dismissal for Failure to Join Indispensable Parties (ECF No. 117), (2) the United States' Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 120) and (3) the Motion for Summary Judgment by Plaintiff Penobscot Nation (ECF No. 121/128-1). As explained herein, 1 the Court...
ORDER DENYING PRO SE MOTION FOR RELIEF FROM JUDGMENT UNDER RULE 60(b)(5) and (6) JOHN A. WOODCOCK, Jr. , District Judge . A defendant who received a sentence reduction pursuant to Johnson v. United States, 135 S.Ct. 2551 (2015) and overserved his period of incarceration seeks to apply the overserved time to his three-year period of supervised release. The Court concludes that under United States v. Johnson, 529 U.S. 53 (2000), the defendant is not entitled to credit his overserved...
MEMORANDUM OF DECISION ON MOTION TO AMEND SCHEDULING ORDER, MOTION FOR JURY TRIAL AND MOTION TO BIFURCATE TRIAL JOHN C. NIVISON , Magistrate Judge . In this action, Plaintiff seeks coverage under an uninsured motorist policy issued to her parents by Defendant. The matter is before the Court on Defendant's Motion to Amend Scheduling Order (ECF No. 9), Defendant's Motion for Jury Trial (ECF No. 12), and Plaintiff's Motion to Bifurcate (ECF No. 8.) Defendant's Motion to Amend Scheduling...
ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO RECONSIDER AND DIRECTING FILING OF STATEMENT OF ERRORS AND FACT SHEET JOHN H. RICH, III , Magistrate Judge . On December 2, 2015, the pro se plaintiff in this Social Security appeal filed a letter to me that the court has construed as a motion to reconsider my November 28, 2015, recommended dismissal of his case for failure to prosecute. See [Motion To Reconsider] ("Motion") (ECF No. 18); Recommended Dismissal (ECF No. 16). For the reasons that follow, and...
RECOMMENDED DISMISSAL JOHN H. RICH, III , Magistrate Judge . On April 30, 2015, the plaintiff filed a pro se appeal from a decision of the commissioner denying his application for Social Security benefits, as well as an application to proceed in forma pauperis. See ECF Nos. 1-2. His in forma pauperis application was granted on May 1, 2015. See ECF No. 3. On July 2, 2015, following service of the summons and complaint, the commissioner filed her answer as well as the administrative...
