Opinion ID: 2442122
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: St. Onge's Remaining Claims

Text: [¶ 19] St. Onge's remaining contentions do not merit more than brief discussion. [¶ 20] The court did not commit clear error or abuse its discretion when it excluded evidence related to St. Onge's state of mind as not relevant to disproving the elements supporting the imposition of punitive sanctions. See M.R. Evid. 401, 402; State v. Berke, 2010 ME 34, ¶ 10, 992 A.2d 1290, 1292; see also M.R. Civ. P. 66(c)(3). Furthermore, the constitutional due process guarantee of a meaningful opportunity to present a complete defense is not offended by the exclusion of evidence that is . . . only marginally relevant.. . . State v. Mitchell, 2010 ME 73, ¶¶ 31, 33, 4 A.3d 478, 486 (quotation marks omitted). [¶ 21] By appearing and participating fully in the hearing, St. Onge submitted to the personal jurisdiction of the court and thereby waived any challenge regarding personal jurisdiction. See State v. Leonard, 470 A.2d 1262, 1266 (Me.1984). To the extent that St. Onge challenges the legal sufficiency of the complaint as an issue concerning an irregularity of the proceedings, he waived it as a defense because he did not raise this challenge by motion before trial as required by M.R.Crim. P. 12(b)(2), and we do not consider it on appeal. See State v. Brown, 1998 ME 129, ¶ 5, 712 A.2d 513, 515-16; State v. Dadiego, 617 A.2d 552, 554 (Me.1992). [¶ 22] With respect to St. Onge's equitable estoppel argument, Winterwood's acceptance of composting materials in October 2009, November 2009, and March 2010 could not have been induced by the alleged misrepresentation by the State's attorney that St. Onge alleges was made in April or May 2010. [1] As a result, the doctrine of equitable estoppel does not apply in this case. See Windham Land Trust, 2009 ME 29, ¶ 38, 967 A.2d at 701 ([T]he doctrine of equitable estoppel only applies when an individual makes misrepresentations. . . that induce detrimental reliance. (quotation marks omitted)). [¶ 23] Finally, our review of the record indicates that the court did not commit clear error by implicitly finding that St. Onge's oral and written waiver of his right to a jury trial was knowing, intelligent, and voluntary. See State v. Ouellette, 2006 ME 81, ¶ 21, 901 A.2d 800, 807; State v. Mitchell, 593 A.2d 1047, 1049 (Me.1991). The entry is: The judgment is modified by striking the Class D classification of the adjudication of contempt. As modified, judgment affirmed.