Court finds Edgecomb property owner wrongfully used civil proceeding
A decision has come in a civil action involving two Edgecomb property owners. File photo
A decision has come in a civil action involving two Edgecomb property owners. File photoAfter nearly two years, Maine District Court found an Edgecomb resident liable on a single count of wrongful use of a civil proceeding. Jan. 5, Honorable Sarah Gilbert ruled Timothy Harrington violated the provision following Alan Whitman's receipt of a protection from harassment Order in 2024.
Harrington and Whitman owned adjacent properties on Edgecomb's abandoned Old County Road. The dispute began in 2022 when Harrington and Whitman disagreed over whether Whitman could build a home on his lot without Harrington's approval.
Harrington initiated the matter in Timothy Harrington, OBO GFG versus Alan Whitman following the plaintiff's receipt of a protection from harassment order.
In his capacity as trustee of the GFG 401K Trust, Harrington alleged Whitman violated state law by placing a rock on a road or trail which abuts the two properties. Whitman countered by claiming Harrington's lawsuit was a wrongful use of process. Whitman's lawyer accused Harrington of using a rarely used statute intended for forest fire management and dragging out the process. When Harrington's request for a delay was denied, Whitman's lawyer, Peter Drum, requested a dismissal. Instead, Harrington dropped the lawsuit.
"The court finds that defendant's civil action lacked a good-faith basis. The court finds the defendant initiated the action not as a means to enforce the statute in question, but rather as a means to unnerve, agitate, harass, and discourage the plaintiff from engaging in his building efforts," wrote Gilbert.
A protection from harassment order was later ordered against Harrington. It remains in place until Nov. 2, 2026.
For Wrongful Use of a Civil Procedure, Harrington was ordered to pay $3,745 in attorney's fees. At the hearing, Drum argued his client should be awarded $300,000 as a "broad recognition of the annoyance, hassle, and harassment he suffered as a result of (Harrington's) actions."
In the judge's decision, Harrington is barred from refiling any suit against Whitman for the underlying issues. If Harrington wants to bring a new action, he must hire an attorney and have the court approve such action before it goes forward, according to the court document.
