Use of experts in divorce litigation
Divorces, like general civil litigation, involve the use of experts in a variety of areas. The two principle issues in any divorce involve parental rights and responsibilities with respect to minor children and the identification and valuation of marital property. Expert testimony can be utilized to establish a variety of facts with respect to the… Read more »
Tax things you should know
The best way to save income tax is to contribute the maximum allowable amount to your employer’s retirement program. Check with your plan administrator before year end to see if you are eligible to make contributions prior to the end of the year. If you do not have an employer program, you may be eligible… Read more »
Maine Supreme Judicial Court decision eases the burden on employees at summary judgment in discrimination cases
Last week the Maine Supreme Judicial Court issued a decision in Brady v. Cumberland County, 2015 ME 143, in which it declared that it was moving away from a long-held test for summary judgment motions, and thereby easing the burden on employees to proceed to a full trial in discrimination cases. The case involved a… Read more »
Maine Supreme Judicial Court rules that defamation case brought by Firm’s clients may move forward
Gene Libby and Tyler Smith successfully defended an appeal filed by a defendant in a defamation case. The defendant moved to have the case dismissed under the Maine anti-SLAPP statute, 14 M.R.S. § 556. The statute requires that the motion be filed within 60 days of the service of the complaint, and the defendant here… Read more »
Appeal of Maine criminal cases to be considered by U.S. Supreme Court
On October 30, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States granted certiorari (Voisine, et al., v. United States, U.S. Supreme Court, No. 14-10154 )to two petitioners who have been convicted in the State of Maine for charges of misdemeanor domestic violence. More plainly stated this means that the U.S. Supreme Court has decided to review… Read more »
New laws affecting Maine employers become effective on October 15, 2015
Several new laws of interest to Maine employers went into effect on October 15, 2015. These laws increase penalties for employers who do not provide leave to employees who have been the victim of violence, limit an employer’s ability to access private social media information, provide increased access to wage information to creditors of certain… Read more »
Tyler Smith and Tara Rich honored as “Rising Stars” by Super Lawyers
Tyler J. Smith and Tara A. Rich – both associate attorneys at Libby O’Brien Kingsley & Champion, LLC – have been honored as Rising Stars by Super Lawyers, a respected peer review attorney rating service. Recognition by Super Lawyers is the culmination of a multi-phase selection process that includes peer nominations, independent research, and peer evaluations. The… Read more »
Maine Supreme Judicial Court rules that variance granted in 1973 remains effective
Gene Libby and Tyler Smith of Libby O’Brien Kingsley & Champion successfully defended an appeal in a land use case before the Maine Supreme Judicial Court in Campbell v. City of South Portland, 2015 ME 125. Our client owns a parcel of land in South Portland. In 1973, a prior owner obtained a dimensional variance allowing… Read more »
Gene Libby recognized by Best Lawyers for family law and criminal defense work
Gene R. Libby was recently selected by his peers for inclusion in the 2016 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Gene was specifically recognized for his work in the areas of family law and criminal defense, both white collar and non-white collar. In addition, Gene was named the Best Lawyers’ 2016 Portland, Maine “Lawyer of the Year” in… Read more »
Court rejects legal challenge to NLRB “Ambush Election” rule
In April 2015, the National Labor Relations Board’s “ambush election” rule became effective, shortening the time between a union’s request for an election and the election itself to just two weeks. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia rejected a legal challenge to the rule. The lawsuit argued that that the new rule… Read more »