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In what will certainly be controversial, supporters of same-sex marriage are hoping to make it legal in Maine.

The Kennec Journal reports on the law firm Linnell, Choate and Webber is being sued by Downeast Energy Corp.  for breaching an oil purchase contract.  The firm allegedly locked in the price of oil over the summer when it was at $4.36, but is now refusing to take any more oil at that price, which is nearly double the current rate.

The firm is claiming that there was not in fact a contract because Downeast did not provide a signed confirmation of the agreement.  However the firm has accepted the delivery of some oil since the agreement was made.

With contract disputes, what was actually agreed to will decide.  However here the firm is claiming the contract was never ratified.  The Court will first need to look at the ‘who did what and when’ to determine if the contract was actually formed.  The fact that the firm did accept oil deliveries, and presumably paid the higher price will go against them.  The court will  also look to see what is the normal practice in this type of situation, e.g., is a signed confirmation from the oil supplier the norm.

Perhaps in the end they will just settle, and the firm will pay a reduced amount for their oil.

A Searsport lawyer exposed himself to former clients.

Mason was accused of exposing himself to a woman while he was parked at the On the Run store in Winterport on Oct. 17. The second charge stems from an alleged incident on July 4, 2007, that took place in Stockton Springs.

Baghdoyan said that in both cases it was alleged that Mason exposed his genitals to the women in a public place.

Baghdoyan said indecent conduct is a Class E misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a maximum fine of $1,000. Baghdoyan said he recommended that Mason be given a 60-day suspended sentence with probation. Defense attorney Steven C. Peterson of Rockport argued for a lighter sentence.

“The judge decided 20 days would be sufficient,” Baghdoyan said….

Baghdoyan said both victims, who were current or former clients of Mason’s, had submitted complaints to the Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar against Mason. The board could impose a number of possible sanctions, including informal reprimand, formal reprimand, suspension or disbarment.

CASE NOTE: Brown v. Crown Equipment Corporation

By Elliott Teel

One question before the Maine Supreme Judicial Court in this case was whether or not Maine imposes a duty on manufacturers to warn of problems with their product after it has been sold.

The facts of the case show that the manufacturer of forklifts, Crown Equipment, became aware of a design defect that had caused serious injury and even death in several cases. In response to this problem, the company produced a kit in 1995 that prevented injuries from occurring. Essentially the company simply had a piece of metal designed that needed to be added to it’s forklifts in order to prevent injuries. However, despite producing the item that would have prevented further injuries and death, they failed to make sure that they were actually used, or even properly inform the forklift owners of the problem.

Robert Brown was operating one of these forklifts while working for a tanning company. The forklift had been purchased second-hand, however Crown still was aware of the use of the particular forklift, and had even “performed an evaluation” on it. So despite knowing that use of the forklift could result in deadly accidents, and knowing that this particular forklift had not had the corrective work done to it, Crown made no effort to have the modification done to the forklift.  In August of 2006, Mr. Brown was killed while operating the forklift after suffering the exact injury Crown was aware had occurred over fifty times already.

The Court in Maine found that Crown had a duty to warn of the defect in their forklifts.  Their failure to adequately address the problem through a recall or  proper notification to the forklift owners violated that duty, and they were found liable for Mr. Brown’s death.  The Court noted however that they were not adopting a broader, absolute rule about the duty to warn, but only on the facts of this case.

The Press Herald reports here on the case Brown v. Crown Equipment Corporation, where the State Supreme Court confirmed that there is a post-sale duty to warn, even to secondary, (i.e., used product purchasers) of defects in a product.  The facts of the case as reported show that the tragic death of Thomas Brown should have been prevented by Crown, and they inexcusably let a known problem go unresolved.

See my summary of the case here.

Mainebiz has an article on the aftermath of John Duncan’s embezzlement.  Two things still stick out: of course Duncan’s outrageous actions, but also the firm’s failure to take action for four months.

John Duncan is now in federal prison in Brooklyn, hundreds of miles from the state where his theft still raises hackles in part because it was so unusual and the retribution so public. Of the more than 4,869 lawyers licensed to practice in Maine, 13 were publicly sanctioned in 2007, according to the American Bar Association. As a percentage of lawyers licensed, Maine’s rate of public disciplinary action has historically been among the country’s lowest.

Kennebec Journal reports on a fine imposed on Fed Up With Taxes. Their lawyer is taking the blame.

The ethics commission on Monday fined Fed Up With Taxes $10,000 for failing to file two campaign finance reports on time.

The Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices voted 4-0 to impose the maximum fine on the political action committee.

Portland attorney William Dale, who was hired by Fed Up With Taxes to handle the campaign finance reports, told the commission he did all the filings himself.

He asked for a waiver of the fine.

“I have no excuse other than I forgot,” he said.

After his criminal trial, Robert LaPointe faces civil cases from the families of the two people he killed.  The PressHerald reports.