On February 6, 2018 the Maine Supreme Judicial Court unanimously decided that the trial judge in a contested divorce hearing abused it’s discretion when denying a post-judgment motion to amend the court’s findings, make additional findings, and amend the divorce judgment pursuant to Maine Rules of Civil Procedure 52(b) and 59(e) as it relates to the amount of spousal support ordered and the division and set-aside of the marital home.
This decision highlights the importance of filing Rule 52(b) and 59(e) motions at the trial court level before pursuing a civil appeal to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, because otherwise the standard of appellate review changes to allow the Supreme Judicial Court to assume that the trial court found all of the facts necessary to support its judgment.
Link to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court Opinion.