Robert M.A. Nadeau v. Lynnann Frydrych

Summary

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court vacated the dismissal of Robert M.A. Nadeau’s complaint seeking protection from harassment against Lynnann Frydrych. The court held that, accepting the complaint’s allegations as true and viewing them favorably to Nadeau, he alleged sufficient facts to survive a motion to dismiss, and it therefore also vacated the related award of attorney fees and costs.

Holdings

1. A complaint seeking protection from harassment survives a Rule 12(b)(6) motion when, viewed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, it alleges facts creating a reasonable inference of three or more acts of intentional intimidation, including nonphysical acts that the plaintiff interpreted as directly threatening. Nadeau's allegations met that threshold.
2. The award of attorney fees and costs must also be vacated because it rested at least in part on the erroneous conclusion that Nadeau's complaint lacked a legal basis.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Nadeau's complaint alleged sufficient facts to survive a motion to dismiss under M.R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) and 5 M.R.S. § 4651(2)(A).
2. Whether the award of attorney fees and costs could stand when it was based at least in part on the conclusion that the complaint lacked a legal basis.
3. Whether the unpreserved stalking theory could be considered on appeal.

Disposition

vacated