Kurtz v. Portland Stage Company

• Court: Superior Court of Maine
• Decided: January 20, 2017
• Docket: CUMcv-16-465
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

STATE OF MAINE SUPERIOR COURT CUMBERLAND, ss CIVIL ACTION

GALE KURTZ, DOCKET NO. CV-16-465 J Plaintiff

V. ORDER ON DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR A MORE PORTLAND STAGE COMPA NY - ~- ; --.: .._, ·= ,,( DEFINITE STATEMENT

Defendant

Before the court is defendant's motion for a more definite statement of the allegations in

plaintiff's complaint. M.R. Civ. P. 12(e). Plaintiff alleges: count I, violation of agreement of

settlement and release; count II, slander, libel, and/or defamation; and count III, malice.

Defendant argues that the complaint is vague and ambiguous because it does not contain the

defamatory statement defendant is alleged to have made and the individuals involved in the

conversation.

Motions for a more definite statement are granted sparingly and are "designed to strike at

unintelligibility, rather than at lack of detail in the complaint." Haghkerdar v. Husson Coll., 226

F.R.D. 12, 14 (D. Me. 2005). Plaintiff's complaint puts defendant on notice of plaintiff's

allegation that, on August 14, 2016, defendant's principal stated to "KL" that plaintiff had

committed tax fraud during her employment with defendant. (Pl.'s Compl., 5); cf. Johnson v.

Ouellette, 2012 Me. Super. LEXIS 194, at *4-5 (Mar. 15, 2012) (complaint failed to assert basis

on which party could be liable).

The entry is

Defendant' s Motion for a More Defini

Date: January 20, 2017