Maine Immunity Law

United States of America v. Danielle McBreairty

Bangor, Maine, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with criminal contempt. Danielle McBreairty ("McBreairty") was called by the government to testify in a criminal trial in the United States District Court for the District of Maine. Invoking her privilege against self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution, she refused to do so. The Dist... More...

$ (02-21-2026 - ME)

Samantha Pike v. Charles F. Budd, Jr.

Bangor, Maine civil rights lawyer represented the Plaintiff on sexual harassment claims. Plaintiff-Appellant Samantha Pike ("Pike"), a licensed alcohol and drug treatment counselor employed by Wellspring, Inc. ("Wellspring"), worked at Maine's Adult Treatment and Recovery Court (TRC), a voluntary treatment and recovery program, in Penobscot County. Defendant-Appellee Charles Budd, Jr.... More...

$0 (04-01-2025 - ME)

Vladek Filler v. Hancock County, et al.

Concluding that a defendant committed the tort of malicious prosecution, the Court awards $1,769,354 in compensatory, economic, and punitive damages in favor of a man the defendant falsely accused of committing gross sexual assaults and assaults against his then wife. The Court's verdict and judgment runs against his now ex-wife's friend, who conspired with his wife to concoct the allegations that... More...

$0 (03-12-2019 - ME)

Jocelyne Welch, et al. v. City of Biddeford Police Department, et al.

Portland, Maine civil rights lawyers represented Plaintiff who sued Defendants claiming violated their federal constitutional substantive due process rights under the state-created danger doctrine. On December 29, 2012, Alivia Welch, Susan Johnson, and Derrick Thompson called the Biddeford, Maine Police Department and reported that their landlord James Pak, who lived in a house attached t... More...

$0 (03-31-2023 - ME)

Scott Jordan, Jr. v. Town of Waldoboro, et al.

Scott M. Jordan ("Senior"), his health failing, executed a Power of Attorney (POA) authorizing his son, Scott M. Jordan, Jr. ("Jordan"), to take control and dispose of Senior's property in any way Senior might do were he able. Unhappy with Jordan's subsequent decisions concerning his property, Senior revoked the POA and complained to the Waldoboro Police Department. Waldobo... More...

$0 (12-02-2019 - ME)

Tara J. Roy v. Correct Care Solutions, LLC

<center> <h1> <a href="http://www.morelaw.com/vendors/vendor.asp?f=Kent&l=Morlan&i=28536&z=74103&s=OK" target="_new">MoreLaw Legal Marketing Services</a> A Better Way To Market Your Services On The Internet Call: 888-354-4592 Today! </h1> </center> This case raises important issues about employer liability for a hostile work enviro... More...

$0 (01-30-2019 - ME)

Jason Begin v. Laura Drouin

<center> <img width="300" src="http://www.med.uscourts.gov/sites/all/themes/us_courts_district/welcome-img.jpg"> </center> Officer Laura Drouin of the Augusta, Maine police department shot plaintiff Jason Begin as Begin was cutting himself with a knife in the waiting area of the Riverview Psychiatric Center's local office. Begin later sued Drouin under 42 U.S.C. §... More...

$0 (12-02-2018 - ME)

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. AKEEN OCEAN; JERMAINE MITCHELL

<center> <img width="300" src=" https://www.foxbangor.com/media/k2/items/cache/8f0ca2f04efede01fc53c5980a12cfcd_L.jpg "> <h2> </h2> </center> Following a joint jury trial, Akeen Ocean and Jermaine Mitchell were convicted of a conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine base, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846 and 841(a)(1). The di... More...

$0 (10-08-2018 - ME)

Internal Revenue Service v. William Charles Murphy

In this case, we need to determine whether an employee of the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") "willfully violate[d]" an order from the bankruptcy court discharging the debts of debtor-taxpayer William C. Murphy, as that term is used in 26 U.S.C. § 7433(e). After careful consideration, we hold that an employee of the IRS "willfully violates" a discharge order when the empl... More...

$0 (06-07-2018 - ME)

Patricia Theriault v. Genesis Healthcare, LLC

Plaintiff-appellant Patricia Theriault bills this case as one in which the district court ignored the teachings of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court (known in its appellate capacity as the Law Court) and improperly relied on the McDonnell Douglas framework, see McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792 (1973), when granting her employer's motion for summary judgment. At... More...

$0 (05-21-2018 - ME)

Vicki McKenney v. Nicholas Mangino

This is a tragic case in which a man died at the hands of a police officer who was trying to do his job. The underlying suit alleges, in relevant part, that the officer violated 42 U.S.C. § 1983 through the precipitous use of deadly force. In a pretrial ruling, the district court held that the officer was not entitled to qualified immunity at the summary judgment stage. Se... More...

$0 (10-11-2017 - ME)

Vladek Filler v. Mary Kellett, et al.

This appeal arises out of the state prosecution of Vladek Filler in 2009. He was initially indicted on five counts of gross sexual assault and two counts of assault of his then-wife Ligia Arguetta Filler. After two trials -- and two appeals to the Maine Law Court -- he was convicted only of one misdemeanor assault count, which he is still challenging. In the wake of these e... More...

$0 (06-21-2017 - ME)

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. ALVIN HOUSTON, JR., a/k/a/ Chip <table> <td>

When, as here, a sentencing appeal follows a guilty plea, we obtain the facts from the change-of-plea colloquy, the unchallenged portions of the presentence investigation report, and the record of the disposition hearing. United States v. Dávila-González, 595 F.3d 42, 45 (1st Cir. 2010). "We rehearse only those facts that are needed to put the claims of error into ... More...

$0 (05-25-2017 - ME)

Brittany Irish v. State of Maine

Plaintiffs Brittany and Kimberly Irish (together, "the Irishes") brought this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action against Maine State Police officers after Anthony Lord, a former boyfriend of Brittany Irish ("Irish"), broke into her parents' home, fatally shot her boyfriend (Kyle Hewitt), shot and grievously wounded her mother (plaintiff Kimberly Irish), abducted her, and engaged in ... More...

$0 (03-01-2017 - ME)

United States of America v. Stephen Bean

Portland, ME - Norway Man Pleads Guilty to Illegally Possessing Firearms Stephen Bean, 55, of Norway, Maine pled guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court to possessing firearms after being convicted of a felony offense. According to court records, on November 21, 2015, Maine Game Wardens encountered Bean hunting with two other men in the Paris, Maine area. The other men were car... More...

$0 (06-09-2016 - ME)

United States of America v. Peter Dirosa

Peter DiRosa was sentenced to 57 months in prison after a jury found him guilty of one count of wire fraud. The charge resulted from a transaction in which DiRosa and an associate, Thomas Renison, convinced then-75-year-old Frank Jablonski to invest $600,000 in an elaborate scheme surrounding a real estate development project in Polgardi, Hungary. On appeal, DiRosa challeng... More...

$0 (08-04-2014 - ME)

Katherine M. Cady v. Barbara Walsh (Cumberland County Jail)

Katherine Cady, on behalf of the estate of her son, Paul Victor Galambos, III, brought this 42 U.S.C. Â§ 1983 action after Galambos's death from self-inflicted injuries that he suffered while he was a pretrial detainee at the Cumberland County Jail (CCJ). The action alleged that employees of Corizon, Inc., the private company providing healthcare services at CCJ, were deliberately indifferent to... More...

$0 (06-04-2014 - ME)

Jody L. Savage v. Maine Pretrial Services, Inc.

[¶1] Jody Savage appeals from a judgment of the Superior Court (Cumberland County, Wheeler, J.) dismissing Count I of her complaint alleging that the termination of her employment by Maine Pretrial Services was a violation of the Maine Medical Use of Marijuana Act (MMUMA or Act), 22 M.R.S. Â§Â§ 2421-2430-B (2012). She argues that her application for a license to operate a medical marijuana di... More...

$0 (01-17-2013 - ME)

United States of America v. Mark Stephen Palmquist

Mark Palmquist is a Marine Corps veteran who worked as a civilian employee with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs from 2004 to 2010. He was convicted of fraud in connection with his own receipt of veterans benefits. Adverting to Garrity v. New Jersey, 385 U.S. 493 (1967), Palmquist challenges his conviction on grounds that statements he made during an interview with a Veterans Admini... More...

$0 (04-12-2013 - ME)

Jody L. Savage v. Maine Pretrial Services, Inc.

$0 (01-20-2013 - ME)

Larry W. Hilderbrand II v. Washington County Commissioners

[¶1] Larry W. Hilderbrand II appeals from the Superior Court's (Washington County, Cuddy, J.) summary judgment in favor of the Washington County Commissioners and Sheriff Donald Smith on Hilderbrand's complaint for slander per se, invasion of privacy, and negligent infliction of emotional distress. The alleged torts arose from public comments Smith made explaining his decision to discontinue work... More...

$0 (12-20-2011 - ME)

Charles Doughty v. Work Opportunities Unlimited/Leddy Group

[¶1] Charles Doughty appeals from a decision of a Workers' Compensation Board Hearing Officer (Collier, HO), granting his petition for award against Work Opportunities Unlimited/Leddy Group, an employment agency, but denying his petitions to remedy discrimination pursuant to 39-A M.R.S. Â§ 353 (2010) against Work Opportunities and Poland Spring Water Co./Nestle Waters, Inc.1 Doughty contends ma... More...

$0 (12-13-2011 - ME)

Dwayne Bonney v. Stephen Memorial Hospital

[¶1] This appeal stems from an incident in which a hospital security guard overheard a conversation between Dwayne and Debbie Bonney and emergency room nurses attending to them and then reported information from that conversation to local law enforcement officials. The report led police to interview the Bonneys and then obtain a warrant authorizing the search of the Bonneys' residence, resulting ... More...

$0 (04-12-2011 - ME)

Ellen H. Decotiis v. Lori Whittemore

In this case we must consider the First Amendment rights of a speech and language therapist working as a state contractor. Footnote Navigating the shoals of the standard articulated by the Supreme Court in Garcetti v. Ceballos, 547 U.S. 410 (2006), has proven to be tricky business, and particularly so in the context of a motion to dismiss, because the inquiry is so highly fact intensive and contex... More...

$0 (03-24-2011 - ME)

John W. Searle v. Town of Burcksport

[¶1] John W. Searle appeals from a summary judgment entered in the Superior Court (Knox County, Hjelm, J.) in favor of the Town of Bucksport and the Bucksport School Department on his complaint asserting negligent maintenance of the visitors' bleachers at the Bucksport High School football field. Searle contends that the Superior Court erred in holding that the bleachers are not a public building... More...

$0 (08-31-2010 - ME)

Estate of Shannon J. Fortier v. City of Lewiston, et al.

[¶1] The City of Lewiston appeals from an order of the Superior Court (Androscoggin County, Delahanty, J.) denying its motion for summary judgment in a wrongful death suit brought by the estates of three Lewiston High School students who died in a 2006 plane crash while attending an Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFJROTC) summer program sponsored by the school. The City's interl... More...

$0 (06-03-2010 - ME)

William Picher v. The Roman Catholic Bishop of Portland, et al.

[¶1] William Picher appeals from a judgment of the Superior Court (Kennebec County, Marden, J.) granting a summary judgment to the Roman Catholic Bishop of Portland on its affirmative defense of charitable immunity. Picher argues that we should abrogate the doctrine of charitable immunity for acts of negligence associated with the sexual abuse of a minor, and that we should not extend the doctrin... More...

$0 (07-07-2009 - ME)

Estate of Daniel Bennett, II, et al. v. Christopher Wainwright, et al.

This appeal involves the tragic death of Daniel Bennett II ("Bennett"), a mentally ill young man, when he opened fire against Maine law enforcement officers who had been called to his home. The officers responded with gunfire and Bennett was killed. Bennett's estate ("the Estate") -- his mother, Arlene Bedard ("Arlene"); his grandmother, Isabel Bedard ("Isabel"); and his sister, Laurie Hart ("Laur... More...

$0 (11-26-2008 - ME)

Stephen Parker v. Kevin Gerrish and City of South Portland; South Portland Police Department, Edward Googins; Jeffrey Caldwell and Todd Bernard

A jury found in favor of plaintiff, Stephen Parker, on his claim that defendant, Officer Kevin Gerrish of the South Portland Police Department, violated his constitutional rights by using his Taser during the course of arresting Parker for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. The jury awarded $111,000 to Parker, who complained that the use of the Taser and subsequent cuf... More...

$0 (11-05-2008 - ME)

Matthew L. Morgan v. John Kooistra, et al.

[1] John Kooistra and Terry Walsh appeal the denial of their motions for summary judgment by the Superior Court (Cumberland County, Cole, J.) on Matthew L. Morgan's complaint for defamation. Kooistra and Walsh argue that: (1) they each are entitled to discretionary function immunity pursuant to the Maine Tort Claims Act (the MTCA), 14 M.R.S. § 8111(1)(C) (2007); (2) they each qualify for int... More...

$0 (02-05-2008 - ME)

Alice Geary v. The Stanley Medical Research Institute, et al.

[1] In these separate but similar cases, the Stanley Medical Research Institute and Dr. E. Fuller Torrey, its executive director at the time these cases arose (collectively referred to as SMRI), appeal from decisions of the Superior Court (Waldo County and Cumberland County, Mills, J.) granting SMRI's motions for summary judgment in part and denying them in part. Matthew Cyr and Lorie St... More...

$0 (01-15-2008 - ME)

Vince Berube v. Carly Conly; Eric W. Syphers and Matthew Vierling

Before the court is an appeal from the denial of a motion for summary judgment by three police officers in an action alleging excessive force in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and Maine law. Following the recommendation of the magistrate judge, the district court denied summary judgment based on qualified immunity to three officers who fired at the plaintiff while he was on the ground, already ... More...

$0 (11-02-2007 - ME)

<a href="http://www.courts.state.me.us/opinions/2007%20documents/07me125re.pdf" target="_new">Priscilla Reid v. Town of Mount Vernon, et al.</a>

[1] Priscilla Reid appeals from summary judgments entered in the Superior Court (Kennebec County, Marden, J.) on her complaints, filed individually and as personal representative of the estate of her late husband, James Reid, against defendants Town of Mount Vernon (the Town), Waste Management of Maine, Inc. (Waste Management), and Clayton Reid. By those complaints, she asserts negligenc... More...

$0 (09-04-2007 - ME)

<a href="http://www.courts.state.me.us/opinions/2007%20documents/07me48ha.pdf" target="_new">Christopher L. Halco v. Daniel G. Davey, et al.</a>

[1] Christopher L. Halco appeals from the dismissal of his complaint against Daniel G. Davey, Anne Beebe-Center, and Knox County entered in the Superior Court (Knox County, Wheeler, J.). Halco argues that the court erred in concluding that he had failed to state a claim for breach of contract, false light invasion of privacy, defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, or pun... More...

$0 (04-03-2007 - ME)

<a href="http://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/getopn.pl?OPINION=06-1774.01A" target="_new">Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians v. Patricia E. Ryan, etc., et al.</a>

The Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians ("Houlton Band") is an Indian tribe based in northern Maine and the plaintiff in this lawsuit. According to the tribe's complaint, in August 2005 the Houlton Band ended its employment relationship with Connie Zetts, an employee who had worked in the tribe's health clinic since November 2004. Zetts proceeded to file charges of employment discrimination with t... More...

$0 (04-18-2007 - ME)

<a href="http://www.courts.state.me.us/opinions/2006%20documents%20/06me87pe.htm" target="_new">Spencer Penn III v. FMC Corporation</a>

[1] Spencer Penn III appeals the grant of a summary judgment by the Superior Court (Knox County, Wheeler, J.) in favor of FMC Corporation on Penn's action for negligence. On appeal, Penn contends that a summary judgment was inappropriate because genuine issues of material fact exist as to whether FMC is entitled to statutory immunity under the Workers' Compensation Act, 39-A M.R.S. § 104 (2... More...

$0 (07-19-2006 - ME)

<a href="http://www.courts.state.me.us/opinions/2006%20documents%20/06me93le.htm" target="_new">Frederic Lewis v. Mark Keegan, et al.</a>

[1] School administrators Mark Keegan and John Tourtilotte[1] appeal from the denial of their motion for summary judgment by the Superior Court (Lincoln County, Marden, J.). They argue that the court should have entered a summary judgment in their favor because they are immune from tort liability pursuant to the Maine Tort Claims Act (MTCA), 14 M.R.S. §§ 8101-8118 (2005). We conclude that ... More...

$0 (07-28-2006 - ME)

<a href="http://www.courts.state.me.us/opinions/2005%20documents/05me57afo.htm" target="_new">Michael Fortin v. The Roman Catholic Bishop of Portland</a>

[1] In this case we consider to what extent the constitutional guarantees of religious freedom contained in the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, section 3 of the Maine Constitution limit the imposition of negligent supervision liability against a religious organization based on tortious acts committed against a child by a member of it... More...

$0 (05-03-2005 - ME)

<a href="http://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/getopn.pl?OPINION=04-2733.01A"> Cecil McBee v. Delica Co., Ltd.</a>

It has long been settled that the Lanham Act can, in appropriate cases, be applied extraterritorially. See Steele v. Bulova Watch Co., 344 U.S. 280 (1952). This case, dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, requires us, as a matter of first impression for this circuit, to lay out a framework for determining when such extraterritorial use of the Lanham Act is proper. In... More...

$0 (08-05-2005 - ME)

<a href="http://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/getopn.pl?OPINION=03-1917.01A" target="_new">Diva's Inc. d/b/a DIVAS v. City of Bangor, et al.</a>

This case is part of a lengthy dispute between Plaintiff-Appellant Diva's, Inc. ("Diva's"), an adult entertainment bar located in Bangor, Maine, Plaintiff-Appellant Dianne Cormier-Youngs, the owner of Diva's, and Appellee City of Bangor, Maine. Also involved in the instant action are various Bangor government officials in their official and individual capacities (collectively, "Individual Appel... More...

$0 (06-10-2005 - ME)