Opinion

Dartmouth Company v. Day's, Inc.

  • 419 A.2d 366
  • 1980 Me. LEXIS 657
Court
Supreme Judicial Court of Maine
Filed
Sep 15, 1980
Status
Published
Author
Glassman
On the bench
Glassman, McKusick, Wer-Nick, Godfrey, Nichols, Glass-Man, Roberts
Cited by
6 cases
Authority
More cited than 87.3%

The opinion

GLASSMAN, Justice.

Plaintiff-appellant, The Dartmouth Company, appeals from an order of the Superior Court, Cumberland County, denying a motion for approval of attachment and trustee process. Having jurisdiction under the collateral order exception to the final judgment rule,

see Northeast Investment Co. v. Leisure Living Communities, Inc.,

Me., 351 A.2d 845, 849 (1976);

Foisy v. Bishop,

Me., 232 A.2d 797, 798 (1967), we affirm the order of the Superior Court.

*367

In order to be entitled to prejudgment attachment and/or trustee process, the plaintiff must demonstrate by affidavit or otherwise a reasonable likelihood of success. M.R.Civ.P. 4A(c) (attachment); M.R. Civ.P. 4B(c) (trustee process); see

Northeast Investment Co. v. Leisure Living Communities, Inc., supra,

351 A.2d at 851-52 . Dartmouth predicates its right to relief on an assignment of a lease and incorporated agreement between P.H. & J.M. Brown Company as lessor and Day’s, Inc. as lessee. The answer of Day’s, Inc. denies the fact of the assignment upon information and belief. No evidence by way of affidavit or otherwise was offered in the Superior Court as to the existence of the assignment upon which Dartmouth’s right to relief is predicated. Therefore, Dartmouth failed to establish a reasonable likelihood of success on its complaint.

1

The entry is:

Order denying approval of attachment and trustee process affirmed.

All concurring.

1

. There is a suggestion in the record that the presiding Justice believed he had discretion to deny the motion for attachment and trustee process, despite the likelihood of success, if he concluded the defendant would have more than sufficient assets to satisfy any anticipated judgment. Of course, there is no such discretion when ruling upon a motion for attachment or trustee process after notice.

See

M.R.Civ.P. 4A(c); M.R.Civ.P. 4B(c). There is a requirement of need when seeking an

ex parte

attachment or trustee process.

See

M.R.Civ.P. 4A(f); M.R.Civ.P. 4B(h).

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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