Short Term Leases
Some of you may have properties you rent for the summer, by the week. Our family has such a property and for ten years I have been tweaking the lease. Our lease provides for half the lease payment to be made when the renter returns the signed lease, and I provide a...
The B Word
The B Word A bankruptcy filing gives a person or business a stay (stop) on debt collection, discharge of many debts, and a chance to reorganize. It can be a lifeline for a debtor at the end of his rope, for as soon as the bankruptcy petition is filed, all debt...
An Interview with Joe Fessenden
In January, Colonel Joe Fessenden retired after 21 years in command of the Maine Marine Patrol. He was gracious enough to allow this interview. Colonel Fessenden was born and raised in Bangor, graduating from the high school. I asked how he became interested in...
When the Insurance Company Owns Your Case
Buried in nearly every insurance policy is language similar to this: “The insurer, on making any payment or assuming liability therefor is subrogated to all rights of recovery of the insured against any person, and may bring action in the name of the insured to...
Back to the Beach
In the majority of states a landowner’s property line ends at the mean high water mark. In these states the intertidal zone is owned by the state, which holds the land in trust for its citizens. But in Massachusetts and Maine, by virtue of an ancient colonial...
The New Normal in DMR Suspensions
Everyone knows that the Maine Department of Marine Resources can suspend a fisherman’s license for a violating a fisheries law. But until recently, nearly all DMR license suspensions were for a court-adjudicated criminal or civil violation. You got a trial before a...
Private Lending
From time to time I’m asked to prepare the documentation for a loan from an individual to a fisherman. Sometimes the proposed loan is from a friend or family member, and sometimes it’s a straight business transaction, uncomplicated by friendship. Either way, it can...
The End of the Consent Decree
On July 21, 2014, Judge Hornby, of the United States District Court for Maine, issued an order terminating the 56 year old consent judgment entered into between the Maine Lobstermen’s Association and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). It was a historic day. In...
Charters and Chartering
A charter, of course, is an agreement whereby in exchange for payment a ship’s owner agrees to allow another person to use his or her ship. But first some terminology. The two parties to a charter are the owner and the charterer. The charter agreement is often called...
The Right to Wharf Out
If your land abuts navigable waters, whether fresh or tidal, your property ends at the water’s edge. The state owns the submerged lands. At common law – that’s the law judges make when ruling in court cases, as opposed to the statutes made by Congress or state...