Warrander v. Maine Department of Corrections

• Court: Superior Court of Maine
• Decided: May 20, 2020
• Docket: ANDcv-17-063
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

STATE OF MAINE SUPERIOR COURT ANDROSCOGGIN, ss. CIVIL ACTION DOCKET NO: #CV-17-063

HERBERT W ARRAND ER,

Plaintiff, 'COMBINED ORDER ) V. ) ) MAINE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, ) JOSEPH FITZPATRICK, JEFFERY MORIN, ) SCOTT MCCAFFERY, DIANE SLEEK, ) ANDROSCOGGIN COUNTY SHERIFF ) SGT. MARTIN FOURNIER AND ) STEPHEN BROUCHU, ) ) Defendants. )

I. Introduction

There are currently five pending motions before the court. There are certain issues that are

raised by more than one defendant; those issues will be addressed generally, and then, if needed,

the Court will address the issue as it pertains to specific defendants. This combined order will

address all outstanding motions in this case.

This case presents a complicated factual and procedural history. At the complaint's core,

it appears that the Plaintiff, an incarcerated pro se litigant, is asking the Court to rule that Maine

Department of Corrections has erroneously denied the Plaintiff "597 days credit; for time served

day for day and an additional 154 days statutory good time." (Pl.'s Compl. lJ 18.) For the following

reasons the Plaintiff's complaint is hereby dismissed in its entirety.

II. Facts and Procedural History

Herbert Warrender ("Warrender" or "Plaintiff") filed his complaint-entitled "Complaint

for Negligence, Including Allegations that Plaintiff is Unable to Determine Definitely which of

1 Several Persons Involved" -on May 15, 2017. Plaintiff also filed a complaint in the United States

District Court for the District of Maine on March 22, 2017. Plaintiff's federal claim was ultimately

dismissed. The allegations of both claims stem from events that occurred after the Plaintiff was

arrested for forgery in 2010.

The Plaintiff's complaint lists nine defendants: Maine Department of Corrections

("MDOC"), Joseph Fitzpatrick, Jeff Morin, Scott McCaffery, Diane Sleek, Unknown Agents,

Androscoggin County Sheriff's Office, "Fournier-Sergeant", and Stephen Brochu.' The first five

defendants listed above are represented by Alisa Ross, an Assistant Attorney General, and for the

purposes of this order will be referred to as "MDOC Defendants." Stephen Brochu is represented

by Attorney Rebecca Brochu and will be referred to as "Brochu." Sergeant Fournier is represented

by Attorney John Wall. This is important to note because there are certain pending motions that

are only on behalf of either the MDOC Defendants, Brochu, or Sergeant Fournier and the outcome

of these motions may have legal significance for some defendants and not for others.

The Plaintiff was arrested on October 6, 2010 for Forgery Class B. On October 12, 2010

the Plaintiff made his initial appearance and was held on a one-thousand-dollar bond and remained

in custody. At that point, Brochu was appointed counsel for Warrender. After making his initial

appearance, Plaintiff was hospitalized after suffering multiple seizures at the Androscoggin

County Jail. Then, as Plaintiff recounts in his complaint, "[o]n or about December 20, 2010; Jail

Administrator Lebel made a telephonic motion to [the Superior Court] seeking that the Plaintiff be

released on a personal recognizance bail bond before Judge Clifford. All parties with the exception

1 In his complaint, Plaintiff lists Joseph Fitzpatrick as "Commissioner"; Jeffery Morin as "Superintendent"; Scott

McCaffery as "Director of Classification"; Diane Sleek as "AAG"; "Fournier-Sergeant"; and Stephen Brochu as "Attorney at Law."

2 of the Plaintiff agreed. Prior to this date, Defendant Brochu was appointed counsel for the

Plaintiff's criminal proceeding not a guardian ad !item." (Pl.' s Comp!. l/ 5.) Further, Plaintiff states

that on or about December 20, 2010 that Defendant Fournier failed to execute a legal personal recognizance bail bond contract to the Plaintiff at the Central Maine Medical Center in which the Plaintiff was hospitalized for multiple seizures in the Intensive Care Unit both, medically and mentally legally impaired and could not legally enter into an agreement of with informed consent. Defendant Fournier violated the Plaintiff's 14• Amendment protections of due process since the Plaintiff was heavily sedated and unconscious on a ventilator. Due to this, Defendant Fournier and Brochu denied the Plaintiff 168 days of jail credit to his sentence; which further caused additional mental and medical harm.

Id. at lJ 6. According to the Plaintiff, on June 6, 2011, the Court revoked the personal recognizance

bail bond and ordered the Plaintiff be "held in custody so that he would receive credit for his State

case." Id. at lJ 8. Plaintiff further alleges that MDOC "fail[ed] to recognize [the Court's] ruling and

therefore has caused both 5th and 8'h Amendment violations depriving the Plaintiff credit for time

served." Id. Finally, Plaintiff claims that MDOC failed to communicate with the Federal Bureau

of Prisons which he believes they were required to do under 34-A M.R.S.A. 9601; 17-A M.R.S.A.

1253; and "18 U.S.C. App II (Interstate Agreement of Detainers." Id. at lJ 9.

Defendant Brochu filed a Rule 35 motion on October 12, 2012 (according to Plaintiff) or

September 21, 2012 (according to Brochu) which the Plaintiff claims he did not have any

knowledge of until January 27, 2017.

III. Analysis of Pending Issues

a. Plaintiff's Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings

Plaintiff filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings on May 23, 2019. Attached

to the motion was a memorandum of law. The memorandum, however, spends more time restating

factual assertions than discussing the legal veracity of the motion.

3 Rule 12(c) of the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure states that "after the pleadings are closed

... any party may move for judgment on the pleadings." M.R. Civ. P. 12(c). "When the plaintiff

moves for judgment on the pleadings, the motion' challenges the legal sufficiency of the answer."'

Temple v. DiPietro, 2015 ME 166, ! 27, 130 A.3d 368 (quoting 2 Harvey,Maine Civil Practice§

12.14 at 432 (3d ed. 2015)). "Therefore, '[i]t can be effective only when the sole defense is an

affirmative one, because any denials of fact by defendant will be taken as true for purposes of the

motion and this will have to be tried." Id.

Here, it is the Court's view that the pleadings have not closed. While it is true that we have

responsive pleadings by all defendants;2 these pleadings challenge the procedural validity of the

Plaintiff's pleadings and do not constitute an answer. Therefore, because the pleadings have not

closed, the Plaintiff's motion is mistimed and must be denied.

b. Plaintiff's "Motion for Partial Summary Judgment By Default"

Plaintiff asks this Court to enter "Partial Summary Judgment by Default" against the

following Defendants: Joseph Fitzpatrick, Jeffery Morin, Scott McCaffery, Diane Sleek, Unknown

Agents, and Stephen Brochu. Plaintiff claims he "commenced service upon [the foregoing

defendants] under the 'mailbox rule"' and each of the defendants knowingly failed to respond.

(Pl.'s Mot. Partial Summ. J. by Default 1-2.) Despite the fact that the motion does not cite any of

Maine's Rules of Civil Procedure-and that the title of the motion is a bit confusing-the Court

believes the Plaintiff's motion is one for default and not a motion for summary judgment due to

the multiple references to the plaintiff's belief that the defendants knowingly failed to respond.

Although the Court is confident in placing this motion under the purview of M.R. Civ. P. 55, it is

2See generally Defendant, Stephen Brochu's Response in Opposition to Plaintiff's Motion for Default Judgment; Defendant Sergeant Fournier's Motion to Dismiss, with Incorporated Memorandum ofLaw; and Response in Opposition to Plaintiff's Motion for Default Judgment.

4 not certain which subsection the Plaintiff seeks to invoke: Rule 55(a) or 55(b). The Court will

analyze the Plaintiff's claims under each section.

i. Rule 55(a)

The clerk of the court is empowered by M.R. Civ. P. 55(a) to enter a default so long as the

following requirements are met: (1) The defendant must not have entered an appearance; (2) The

plaintiff's claim must be for a sum certain or a sum which can be made certain by computation;

and (3) The plaintiff must request the entry of judgment and file an affidavit showing the amount

due and an affidavit that the defendant is not a minor or incompetent. 3 Harvey and Merritt, Maine

Civil Practice §55.3 at 202 (3d, 2015-2016 ed.). "Unless all of these requirements have been

complied with, the clerk is powerless to grant the default judgment, and application must be made

to the court under the provisions of Rule 55(b)(2)." Id. at 203.

In this case, the Plaintiff's claim is not for a sum certain. The Plaintiff's complaint asks for

both compensatory damages-which have not been verified or substantiated-and punitive

damages. These are not the types of damages that can be characterized as "a sum certain."

Therefore, the motion cannot succeed under Rule 55(a).

ii. Rule 55(b)

Whether or not the Court should enter a default judgment pursuant to M.R. Civ. P. 55(b)

is a question of discretion. When deciding this issue, the Court considers two questions: "(l) should

the default judgment be entered; and (2) what should the judgment be in amount and kind? ...

[T]he court exercise[s] its discretion, balancing the importance of the parties being diligent in the

trial of cases against the general disfavor with which the law views judgments by default." Id. at

204. The Law Court agrees that it is up to the discretion of the trial court whether or not to enter a

default judgment. See Millet v. Dumais, 365 A.2d 1038, 1040 (Me. 1976).

5 This case presents complicated factual questions, intricate procedural problems, and

important policy issues all of which involve disputed allegations. Meanwhile, the Defendants have

all filed motions with the Court. This is not a case where the Court has proof of successful service

upon apathetic defendants. To the contrary, Defendants both contest and challenge service within

a reasonable time of becoming aware of the motion for default against them. For these reasons, the

Plaintiff's motion must fail under SS(b) as well.

c. Res Judicata

Multiple defendants raise the issue of res judicata with the Court. The issue has the

potential to be dispositive of the entire complaint, so the Court will address the issue on behalf of

all Defendants at once.

"In determining the preclusive effect of a federal court judgment, federal law controls."

Brown v. Osier, 628 A.2d 125, 127 (Me. 1993). "Under federal law, the essential elements of res

judicata ... are (1) a final judgment on the merits in the earlier action; (2) an identity of the cause

of action in the prior action and the present action; and (3) an identity of the parties or privies in

the two suits." Id. Under res judicata, two causes of action are considered identical "as long as the

new complaint grows out of the same transaction or series of connected transactions as the old

complaint." Kale v. Combined Ins. Co., 924 F.2d 1161, 1166 (1st Cir. 1991).

Elements two and three of the federal test for claim preclusion are easily satisfied here. The

parties here are identical; and, the court in Warrender's federal claim considered the same

'transaction or series of transactions' as Warrender asks this Court to consider. Accordingly, these

two elements of claim preclusion are satisfied.

The first element requires more attention. The Defendants believe that the federal judgment

serves as a decision on the merits pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 4l(b) and, therefore, is automatically

6 entitled to claim preclusive effect. Fed. R. Civ. P. 4l(b) states that "[u]nless the dismissal order

states otherwise, a dismissal under this subdivision (b) and any dismissal not under this rule­

except one for lack of jurisdiction, improper venue, or failure to join a party under this Rule 19­

operates as an adjudication on the merits." Fed. R. Civ. P. 4l(b). Defendants argue that the plain

language of Fed. R. Civ. P. 4l(b) is clear and requires the application of resjudicata. The argument

seems logical on its face; however, the Supreme Court disagrees.

In Semtek Int'/ Inc. v. Lockheed Martin Corp., 531 U.S. 497 (2001), the Supreme Court

rejected the argument that "all judgments denominated 'on the merits' are entitled to claim­

preclusive effect." 531 U.S. at 501. According to the Supreme Court the "original connotation of

an 'on the merits' adjudication is one that actually 'passes directly on the substance of a particular

claim' before the court." Id. at 501-02. The Court noted that this definition remains very common

throughout jurisdictions and, it believes, is "the meaning intended in those many statements to the

effect that a judgment 'on the merits' triggers the doctrine of res judicata or claim preclusion." Id.

at 502 (citing Parklane Hosiery Co. v. Shore,439 U.S. 322,326, n. 5 (1979)). The Supreme Court

admits, however, that over the years the term "judgment on the merits" has evolved. "[The term]

has come to be applied to some judgments ... that do not pass upon the substantive merits of a

claim and hence do not (in many jurisdictions) entail claim-preclusive effect." Id. The Court's

view can be succinctly stated as follows:

In short, it is no longer true that a judgment "on the merits" is necessarily a judgment entitled to claim-preclusive effect; and there are a number of reasons for believing that the phrase "adjudication on the merits" does not bear that meaning in Rule 4l(b). To begin with, Rule 4l(b) sets forth nothing more than a default rule for determining the import of a dismissal (a dismissal "on the merits," with the three stated exceptions, unless the court "otherwise specifies"). This would be a highly peculiar context in which to announce a federally prescribed rule on the complex question of claim preclusion, saying in effect, "All federal dismissals (with three specified exceptions) preclude suit elsewhere, unless the court otherwise specifies.

7 Id. at 503. The Court goes on to explain that

the key to a more reasonable interpretation of the meaning of "operates as an adjudication upon the merits" in Rule 4l(b) is to be found in Rule 4l(a), which, in discussing the effect of voluntary dismissal by the plaintiff, makes clear that an "adjudication upon the merits" is the opposite of a "dismissal without prejudice." . . . The primary meaning of "dismissal without prejudice," we think, is dismissal without barring the defendant from returning later, to the same court, with the same underlying claim. That will also ordinarily (though not always) have the consequence of not barring the claim from other courts, but its primary meaning relates to the dismissing court itself.

Id. at 505. Finally, the Court explains

... the effect of the "adjudication upon the merits" default provision of Rule 41(b) ... is simply that, unlike a dismissal "without prejudice," the dismissal in the present case barred refiling of the same claim in the [same court as it was originally filed]. That is undoubtedly a necessary condition, but it is not a sufficient one, for claim-preclusive effect in other courts.

Id. at 506.

In this case, because Warrender filed an application to proceed in forma pauperis, the

District Court was obligated to do a preliminary review of the complaint. Warrender v. Maine

Dep't of Corr., et al., 2:17-cv-00101-JAW, 1 (D. Me. April 12, 2017). The district court opined

that "[a] review of [Warrender's] complaint fails to reveal a basis upon which this Court could

exercise either federal question jurisdiction or diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §§1331 and

1332." Id. at 5. From this alone, it would appear the district court simply believed it lacked subject

matter jurisdiction, which would not trigger res judicata. However, the district court then broke

Warrender's complaint down into four claims and discussed each in turn. The question, therefore,

is whether dismissals under the mandatory review provision of the in forma pauperis statute

("IFP"), 28 U.S.C. §1915, are given claim preclusive effect.

8 In 1992, the Supreme Court seemed to announce that a dismissal pursuant to the IFP statute

should not be afforded res judicata effect because "a §1915(d) dismissal is not a dismissal on the

merits, but rather an exercise of the court's discretion under the in forma pauperis statute, the

dismissal does not prejudice the filing of a paid complaint making the same allegations." Denton

v. Hernandez, 504 U.S. 25, 34 (1992). The Court relied on the fact that under section 1915(d) the

district court had discretion as to whether or not to dismiss the complaint. However, there has since

been an amendment to the IFP statute which takes away the district court's discretion in this aspect.

Since the amendment, the 11th Circuit has viewed Denton to not stand for the blanket

proposition that a dismissal under the IFP statute is not granted res judicata effect. Specifically,

the 11th Circuit has said that "[i]n Denton, the United States Supreme Court construed a prior

version of the IFP statute, 28 U.S.C. §1915(d), which granted district courts broad discretion in

dismissing complaints as frivolous and allowed them to dismiss an IFP complaint 'if satisfied that

the action was frivolous or malicious." Harmon v. Webster, 263 Fed. Appx. 844, 845 (11th Cir.

2008). The 11th Circuit opined that since the statutory revision of the IFP statute, when a district

court dismisses a claim pursuant to §1915 it no longer does so on a discretionary basis; instead it

does so under the mandatory language of §1915(e)(2). /d. at 846. In the 11th Circuit's view this

means, in conclusion, that when a district court dismisses a complaint pursuant to the mandatory

language of §1915(e)(2), the dismissal is afforded res judicata effect. See id.

The Court is persuaded by the 11th Circuit's reasoning in Harmon and will follow its lead.

Looking at the federal dismissal in this case, the district court dismissed Warrender's complaint

on grounds other than jurisdictional ones. Warrender v. Maine Dep't of Corr., et al., 2:17-cv­

00101-JAW, 5-9 (D. Me. 2017). The district court broke down each of Warrender's claims and

found none of them to be meritorious. Id. The Court is satisfied that the federal judgment in this

9 case should be given claim preclusive effect. Therefore, the Plaintiff's complaint should be

dismissed in its entirety. The Court will nonetheless discuss the other claims.

d. State Law Tort Claim

MDOC Defendants raise multiple arguments for why the Plaintiff's state law tort claims

should be dismissed. All have merit and the Plaintiff has done an inadequate job-even allowing

for his pro se status-in refuting them.

First, MDOC Defendants argue that the Plaintiff "never filed a written notice of his claim

'with the state department, board, agency, commission or authority whose act or omission is said

to have caused the injury and the Attorney General,' as required to do so by §8107 of the MTCA."

(Def.'s Mot. Dismiss 11.) (quoting 14 M.R.S.A. §8107(3)(A)). They further point out that §8107

states that"[nJo claim or action shall be commenced against a governmental entity or employee in

the Superior Court unless the foregoing notice provisions are substantially complied with." 14

M.R.S.A. §8107(4). Plaintiff, in his opposition, provided the Court with records that show he sent

a piece of "legal mail" -which he claims to be the required notice-to Alisa Ross on April 25,

2019. The documentation provided to the Court tends to show that the Plaintiff sent AAG Ross

copies of the complaint, summons, notice, and all pending motions in this case by certified mail.

Even if the Court were to assume that the Plaintiff's April 25, 2019 correspondence met

the notice requirements of§ 8107(1), a timing issue remains. Under§ 8107, the notice must be

filed "[w]ithin 365 days after any claim or cause of action permitted by this chapter accrues ..."

unless the claimant can show good cause for why they could not have reasonably filed within the

365 days. 14 M.R.S.A. §8107(1). Warrender claims that the MDOC Defendants were negligent in

2011 and filed his complaint in May of 2017. Unfortunately for the Plaintiff, even if the Court

10 assumed that the April 25, 2019 mailing met the substantive standards for notices under §8107, it

certainly did not meet the '365 days' requirement.

The next argument presented by the MDOC Defendants is even more compelling. As the

MDOC Defendants put it,

Plaintiff asserts that he was originally arrested in 2010, . . . sentenced in February 2012, ... subsequently released and rearrested in 2012, and his sentence was amended in October of 2012. Despite those actions, Plaintiff did not file this suit until May of 2017, clearly well-beyond the two-year statutory limit established in §8110 of the MTCA ....

(Def.' s Mot. Dismiss 11.)

Section 8110 of the MTCA states that"[e]very claim against a governmental entity or its

employees permitted under this chapter is forever barred from the courts of this State, unless an

action therein is begun within 2 years after the cause of action accrues ...." 14 M.R.S. §8110.

There are limited circumstances where the two-year limitation will be tolled or extended, however,

this is not one of those cases. See Johnston v. Dow & Coulombe, 686 A.2d 1064, 1066 (Me. 1996).

Nor is there a general exception for incarceration. See Adams v. Landry, 2: 17-CV-00357-JAW,

2018 WL 4265160 (D. Me. Sept. 6, 2018). Therefore, the Court agrees with MDOC Defendants

that the state law tort claims against them must be dismissed.

e. Federal § 1983 Claim

MDOC Defendants argue, as a threshold matter, that the Plaintiffs § 1983 claims should

be dismissed because the MDOC is not a "person" subject to section 1983. (Def.'s Mot. Dismiss

4 n. 2.) The Court agrees.

The Supreme Court has held that "neither a state, state agency, nor a state official sued in

an official capacity is a 'person' subject to suit pursuant to §1983." Winston v. Maine Technical

College Sys., 631 A.2d 70, 75 (Me. 1993) (citing Will v. Michigan Dept. ofState Police,491 U.S.

11 58, 105 (1989)). "Therefore, if the state is the real party in interest, the action is not being

maintained against a 'person' snbject to suit within the meaning of§ 1983." Id. The Law Court has

announced a two-part test to determine whether the state is the real party in interest in a § 1983

suit. The court mnst look at "(1) the relationship between the state and the defendant to determine

if the defendant is an alter ego of the state or if it is relatively autonomous; and (2) whether funds

to pay a judgment would come from the state treasury." Id.

As to the first element, the Department of Corrections is established by 34-A M.R.S. §1202.

Under §1202, the Department of Corrections is "responsible for the direction and general

administrative supervision, guidance and planning of adult and juvenile correctional facilities and

programs within the State." 34-A M.R.S. §1202. Further, the department is a cabinet-level

department and is under the control and supervision of the Commissioner of Corrections. Id. The

Commissioner is appointed by the Governor of Maine and is confirmed by the Legislature. 34-A

M.R.S. §1401(1). The Law Court used similar factors in Winston to establish that the entity in

question had "an intimate relationship with the state and can be regarded as an alter ego for the

state." Winston v. Maine Technical College Sys., 631 A.2d 70, 75 (Me. 1993). Even without

directly discussing the second element, the Law Court still concluded that the entity was an alter

ego for the state. The Court believes the same is true here.

Finally, as far as Plaintiff's §1983 claims against individuals working within the MDOC,

they are "shielded by qualified immunity from personal liability for [their] discretionary acts ...."

Id. at 76 (citing Anderson v. Creighton, 483 U.S. 635,638 (1987) (stating that, as a general matter,

government officials performing discretionary functions have qualified immunity which shields

them from civil liability as long as "their actions could reasonably have been thought consistent

with rights they are alleged to have violated."). "Qualified immunity protects all but the plainly

12 incompetent or those who knowingly violate the law." Id. (quoting Malley v. Briggs, 475 U.S. 335,

341 (1986)).

In conclusion, it is the Court's belief that all of the Plaintiff's §1983 claims should be

dismissed for the above stated reasons.

f. Defendant Stephen Brochu's Motion to Dismiss

i. Failure to State a Claim

A motion to dismiss under M.R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim upon which

relief can be granted tests the sufficiency of the complaint. State v. Weinschenck, 2005 ME 28,,

10, 868 A.2d 200. All well-pleaded material allegations are taken as admitted for the purposes of

a 12(b)(6) motion. Oppenheim v.Hutchinson, 2007 ME 73,,2 n.1, 926A.2d 177.1. "[A complaint

is] properly dismissed when it is beyond doubt that the plaintiff is entitled to no relief under any

set of facts that might be proven in support of the claim." Richadon v. Winthrop Sch. Dep't., 2000

ME 109,' 5,983 A. 2d 400.

When deciding a 12(b)(6) motion, the Court "examine[s] the complaint in the light most

favorable to the plaintiff to determine whether it sets forth elements of a cause of action or alleges

facts that would entitle the plaintiff to relief pursuant to some legal theory." Staples v. Michaud,

2003 ME 133,, 8,836 A.2d 1288 (quoting Napieralski v. Unity Church ofGreater Portland, 2002

ME 108,, 4,802 A.2d 391). A sufficient claim for relief is defined as "[a] pleading which sets

forth a claim for relief ... [containing] (1) a short and plain statement of the claim showing that

the pleader is entitled to relief, and (2) a demand for judgment for the relief which the pleader

seeks." M.R. Civ. P. 8(a).

Plaintiff argues that Brochu committed malpractice during the Plaintiff's criminal case.

"To prove attorney malpractice, a plaintiff must show (1) a breach by the defendant of the duty

13 owed to the plaintiff to conform to a certain standard of conduct; and (2) that the breach of that

duty proximately caused an injury or loss to the plaintiff." Pawlendzio v. Haddow, 2016 ME 144,

, 10, 148 A.3d 713. "Professional negligence in the context of a legal malpractice action, is the

failure to use such skill, prudence and diligence as is reasonable according to the standards of

ordinary competent lawyers performing similar services under like conditions." Id.

Ignoring the legal conclusions, we must accept as true that Brochu did not consult the

Plaintiff about the PR bail bond or the Rule 35 motion. (Pl.'s Coml., 7 .) Further, we must accept

Brochu visited the Plaintiff on January 27, 2017 to deliver a copy of the Rule 35 motion-which

Plaintiff claims to not have had any knowledge of until that day. (Pl.'s Coml., 19.) Under the

circumstances it is hard to imagine that Plaintiff can make out a claim for attorney malpractice.

The Plaintiff acknowledges that he was "heavily sedated and unconscious on a ventilator" after he

was transported to the hospital. (Pl.'s Com!., 6.) It would, therefore, have been impossible for

Defendant Brochu to consult with the Plaintiff. As Defendant Brochu points out in his motion to

dismiss, "Maine Rule of Professional Conduct Rule l .2(a) states in part, 'A lawyer may take such

action on behalf of the client as is impliedly authorized to carry out the representation." (Def.' s

Stephen Brochu's Mot. Dismiss 3) (citing M.R. Prof. Conduct l.2(a)). Since attorneys may take

actions on behalf of their client, an attorney filing a motion on behalf of their client to ensure their

client receives life-saving medical treatment cannot be considered to be a "failure to use such skill,

prudence and diligence as is reasonable according to the standards of ordinary competent lawyers

performing similar services under like conditions." Pawlendzio, 2016 ME 144,, 10, 148 A.3d

713. In fact, quite the opposite could be said. Therefore, the Plaintiff's claims against Defendant

Brochu for attorney malpractice should be dismissed.

14 ii. Failure to Exhaust Post Couviction Review Process

Brochu claims that the Plaintiff's claims are precluded because the Plaintiff has not

exhausted the required Post Conviction Review (PCR) process. More specifically, Brochu argues

that any claim relating to the calculation of his pre-sentence detention credit are exclusively

reserved for a PCR proceeding.

The PCR Statute"... provides a comprehensive and, except for direct appeals from a

criminal judgment, exclusive method of review of those criminal judgment and of post-sentencing

proceedings occurring during the course of sentences." 15 M.R.SA. §2122. Included in the

definition of "post-sentencing proceeding" are "court proceeding[s] or administrative action[s]

occurring during the course of and pursuant to the operation of a sentence that affects whether

there is incarceration or its length ...." 15 M.R.S.A. §2121(2).

The Law Court has agreed that issues regarding pre-sentence detention credits are "only

properly made through post-conviction proceedings." State v. Bilynsky, 2008 ME 33, ll 3,942 A.2d

1234 (citing State v. Crawford, 2002 ME 113, lJ 6,801 A.2d 1002). Pursuant to the clear language

of the PCR Statute and the confirmation of the Law Court, all of the Plaintiff's claims regarding

the calculation of his sentence are dismissed for failure to exhaust the PCR process.

IV. Conclusion

In conclusion, the Plaintiff's claims must be dismissed for multiple reasons. In addition to

res judicata, the Plaintiff has failed to exhaust the PCR process, he has failed to state a claim for

which relief can be granted, he has missed filing deadlines, and has filed claims against protected

entities. The Court has no choice but to dismiss the Plaintiff's complaint in its entirety.

15 The entry is:

Plaintiff's Complaint is hereby DISMISSED.

Pursuant to M.R. Civ. P. 79(a) the Clerk is hereby directed to inco,rporate this Order by reference in the docket. / .. l/ 0

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