Law Court Upholds Summary Judgment in Favor of Eaton Peabody Clients

April 07, 2009

The Law Court issued a decision today affirming the summary judgment entered in favor of Eaton Peabody’s clients, Paul Woods and Helen Muther, in a dispute centered on the right of a neighborhood association and its members to use our clients’ land for access to the shore.  Judy Metcalf served as lead litigation counsel on the matter.  Eaton Peabody litigation partner, Noreen Patient, assisted.  Attorney John Cunningham, a frequent lecturer on easement and real estate law in Maine, supported the research and formulated the strategy for protecting the clients’ property and privacy.  The well-publicized dispute began when the clients sought clarification of their rights as property owners to maintain control over their own property in Cape Elizabeth and to staunch the stream of trespassers on their land.  A complaint was filed in November, 2005 seeking injunctive and declaratory relief regarding the scope of an easement claimed by the neighborhood association and its members, claimed to number approximately 243 households.  

After a year of litigation, the parties, at a judicial settlement conference with a Superior Court Justice overseeing the process, entered a substantial and inclusive settlement whereby all parties agreed that limited and controlled access to the shore would be permitted by the Woods and Muther family in exchange for the commitment of the neighborhood association and its members to respect the property and privacy rights of the family.  Additionally, the association agreed to pay for the privacy gate, fence, and access control system.  Unfortunately, within months of this settlement, the neighborhood association and its directors disavowed it, claiming that there was no “meeting of the minds” as to the terms of the agreement and that it could not be enforced because it was “unworkable.” Determined to assure the integrity of the agreement and the promises made to the court concerning the limitations on the use of the easement, Judy Metcalf fought back for her clients and obtained a judgment from the Superior Court affirming that, in fact, the Defendants were bound by the settlement agreement and the Plaintiffs were entitled to the benefits of the promises made. 

The Association’s renunciation of the agreement was finally and fully rebuffed when the Maine Law Court today rejected the Association’s appeal of the Superior Court’s judgment, ruling that Woods and Muther were entitled to the protection of the settlement agreement, which had been memorialized in the transcript of the agreement reached at the judicial settlement conference and which set forth the conditions and terms of use of the easement.

About Eaton Peabody  
Founded in 1939, Eaton Peabody is a community-based law firm with more than 40 attorneys serving New England and Atlantic Canada from offices in Augusta, Bangor, Brunswick, and Ellsworth. The firm offers broad legal expertise through a variety of focused practice groups lead by attorneys listed in The Best Lawyers in America and favorably rated by clients in Chambers USA.