Opinion ID: 1517147
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Superior Court's Consideration of the Wrongful Death Complaint

Text: The insurer further objects that the presiding justice improperly considered the complaint in Mrs. Berry's wrongful death action when ruling on the motions for summary judgment. No party had formally introduced that complaint into the record before the Superior Court. Because the only evidence of the contents of Mrs. Berry's underlying wrongful death complaint presented by the parties in the instant case was the insurer's summary of that complaint in its petition for declaratory judgment, the company contends that its summary was the only matter that could be used by the court in determining whether the company had a duty of defense. We disagree. Although none of the parties had introduced Mrs. Berry's complaint into the record, the presiding justice was not precluded from taking judicial notice of that complaint. Under M.R.Evid. 201 a court may take judicial notice, whether requested or not, of a fact that can be accurately and readily determined by resort to sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned. Such matters include, among others, the prior pleadings filed in the same court in an action related to the cause pending before the court. See Warren v. Waterville Urban Renewal Authority, Me., 290 A.2d 362, 367 (1972). The Superior Court committed no error in considering Mrs. Berry's complaint for wrongful death when deciding whether the insurance company had a duty to defend the Town of Topsham. [3]