On October 30, 2007, a jury in United States District Court found for the Plaintiff, and awarded compensatory damages of $300,000 and punitive damages of $150,000, in a disability discrimination case against an employer. Charlie Gilbert and Julie Farr represented the Plaintiff in that case.



Two issues which have growing significance for both employers and employees are document retention policies, and confidentiality and non-compete agreements. The firm has been involved in drafting, counseling and litigation regarding those issues, both recently and over a number of years. If you have questions, please give us a call.



Our affiliate counsel in Quebec, Gloriane Blais, recently stood as a candidate for the Provincial Assembly.



Disputes with insurance companies over coverage are a common reason clients come to us. The traditional “American Rule” that each side bear their own attorneys fees has been modified in that area. For a number of years, Maine jurisprudence has been that the insurer must pay the insured’s legal fees if the insured shows that the insurer wrongfully failed to defend a claim. In a decision issued earlier this year, the Maine Law Court has now extended that rule to a failure to indemnify as well.



Charlie Gilbert was named a Super Lawyer in New England for 2007 in the field of general litigation.

Last year we reported that the Law Court held a rare session in Bangor in October 2006 which was attended by students from local high schools. That session was also unusual in that Gilbert & Greif was involved in all three cases that were heard that day. Charlie Gilbert, A.J. Greif and Julie Farr each argued one of those cases. We are pleased to report that each of those cases has now been decided and that Gilbert & Greif prevailed on all three cases.

In 2007 the Maine Legislature and the Maine Human Rights Commission made significant changes to the Maine Human Rights Act. Those changes include:

1. Amending the definition of “disability” to clarify the prior ambiguous definition. The new definition of “disability,” although arguably more restrictive than the prior definition, is still less restrictive than the definition under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The Maine Legislature specifically noted that the new definition of “physical or mental disability” is intended to be interpreted broadly to create greater coverage than under the ADA.

2. Adopting new rules to implement the 2005 amendment to the Maine Human Rights Act which added “sexual orientation” as a protected class. The Commission’s new rules prohibit discrimination, harassment and retaliation on the basis of sexual orientation and affirmatively require employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with respect to issues of gender identity and gender expression.

3. Increasing the caps on damages which may be awarded to a victim of unlawful employment discrimination. The damages caps increase incrementally based on the size of the employer. For employers with 14 or fewer employees, the cap has been increased from $10,000 to $20,000. For employers with 15-100 employees, the cap remains at $50,000. For employers with 101-200 employees, the cap remains at $100,000. The most significant increases in the damages caps were for large employers. For employers with 201-500 employees, the cap has been increased from $200,000 to $300,000, and for employers with more than 501 employees, the cap has been increased from $300,000 to $500,000.

The increases in the damages caps became effective September 20, 2007 and presumably will apply only to causes of action that accrue on or after that date.

In October 2007, Andrea Wan attended a day-long seminar in Portland on handling social security disability cases. The seminar covered strategies for effectively representing clients at all stages of the social security disability process. So far, Andrea has taken three social security appeals through the Administrative Law Judge appeal level and has won all three. Andrea looks forward to expanding this area of her practice.

In June 2007, Andrea Wan joined the Board of Directors of Literacy Volunteers of Bangor, a ProLiteracy affiliate, for a three year term. Literacy Volunteers of Bangor, along with affiliates nationwide, help more than a thousand adults learn to read every year.

In May 2007, Andrea Wan attended a three day intensive seminar in Portland sponsored by the Maine Trial Lawyers Association which provides young attorneys the opportunity to try a mock case in front of judges, trial lawyers, and peers. This is particularly valuable experience since fewer and fewer cases go to trial each year, and attorneys can wait years before having the opportunity to participate in actually trying a case.