Opinion ID: 1970897
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Bean's Civil Perjury Claim

Text: [¶ 7] Dismissal of a civil action is proper when the complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. M.R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). When reviewing a trial court's dismissal of an action, we `examine the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff to determine whether it sets forth elements of a cause of action or alleges facts that would entitle the plaintiff to relief pursuant to some legal theory.' Shaw v. S. Aroostook Cmty. Sch. Dist., 683 A.2d 502, 503 (Me. 1996) (quoting Hamilton v. Greenleaf, 677 A.2d 525, 527 (Me.1996)). We will uphold a dismissal only when it appears beyond doubt that a plaintiff is entitled to no relief under any set of facts that he might prove in support of his claim. Id. (quotation marks omitted). `The legal sufficiency of a complaint challenged pursuant to M.R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) is a question of law.' Id. (quoting Hamilton, 677 A.2d at 527). We review issues of law de novo. Blanchard v. Sawyer, 2001 ME 18, ¶ 5, 769 A.2d 841, 843; State v. Thibodeau, 2000 ME 52, ¶ 5, 747 A.2d 596, 598. [¶ 8] Most civil actions must meet the notice pleading requirements of M.R. Civ. P. 8. M.R. Civ. P. 9(b), however, identifies certain claims that require pleading with specificity: In all averments of fraud or mistake, the circumstances constituting fraud or mistake shall be stated with particularity.  (Emphasis added.) [¶ 9] Title 14 M.R.S. § 870 provides: When a judgment has been obtained against a party by the perjury of a witness introduced at the trial by the adverse party, the injured party may, within 3 years after such judgment or after final disposition of any motion for relief from the judgment, bring an action against such adverse party, or any perjured witness or confederate in the perjury, to recover the damages sustained by him by reason of such perjury; and the judgment in the former action is no bar thereto. We construe section 870 strictly. Spickler v. Greenberg, 644 A.2d 469, 471-72 (Me. 1994). The elements of a civil perjury claim are (1) a judgment obtained against a party, (2) by the perjury of the witness, and (3) introduced at the trial by the adverse party. Kraul v. Me. Bonding & Cas. Co., 672 A.2d 1107, 1109 (Me.1996) (quoting Milner v. Hare, 126 Me. 14, 16, 135 A. 522, 523 (1926)). We have imposed a clear and convincing evidence standard of proof in civil perjury actions. Spickler, 644 A.2d at 471. Claims of perjury should not be submitted to a new factfinder solely on the same record as in the original trial. Id. We have long required newly discovered evidence in perjury cases. See, e.g., Parker-Danner Co. v. Nickerson, 554 A.2d 1193, 1196 (Me.1989) (holding that contradictions in witness testimony are not sufficient to constitute perjury); State v. Cormier, 535 A.2d 913, 916 (Me.1987) (finding that substantially inconsistent testimony does not meet standard for perjury); Boisvert v. Charest, 135 Me. 220, 222-23, 193 A. 841, 842-43 (1937) (concluding that evidence discoverable by due diligence before the trial cannot later be introduced as new evidence to establish perjury). [¶ 10] Courts are at liberty to define the standard of proof to be applied in particular cases where a statute is silent as to the standard of proof. Taylor v. Comm'r of Mental Health & Mental Retardation, 481 A.2d 139, 144 (Me.1984) (citing State v. Shackford, 262 A.2d 359, 365 (Me.1970)). In Spickler, we analogized the elements of civil perjury claims to those of fraud and imposed a clear and convincing evidence standard of proof 644 A.2d at 471. We, however, have never ruled directly on the appropriate pleading standards for civil perjury claims, but we now agree with the trial court's application of a heightened pleading requirement in civil perjury cases. [¶ 11] Where a Maine Rule of Civil Procedure is identical to the comparable federal rule, we value constructions and comments on the federal rule as aids in construing our parallel provision. Me. Cent. R.R. Co. v. Bangor & Aroostook R.R. Co., 395 A.2d 1107, 1114 (Me.1978) (emphasis added). Maine's Rules 8(a) and 9(b) are practically identical to the comparable federal rules. See FED.R.CIV.P. 8(a), 9(b). The U.S. Supreme Court has held that federal courts may not require heightened pleading standards in the absence of any rule or statutory authority. See Swierkiewicz v. Sorema N.A., 534 U.S. 506, 515, 122 S.Ct. 992, 152 L.Ed.2d 1 (2002). More recently, however, in Bell Atlantic Corporation v. Twombly, ___ U.S. ___, ___, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 1973 n. 14, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007), the Supreme Court stated: [W]e do not apply any `heightened' pleading standard, nor do we seek to broaden the scope of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9. . . . On certain subjects understood to raise a high risk of abusive litigation, a plaintiff must state factual allegations with greater particularity than Rule 8 requires. In Bell Atlantic, the Supreme Court required the dismissal of a `largely groundless claim', id. at 1966 (quoting Dura Pharms, Inc. v. Broudo, 544 U.S. 336, 347, 125 S.Ct. 1627, 161 L.Ed.2d 577 (2005)), in favor of judicial efficiency because the plaintiffs had failed to plausibly plead all elements of their claim with factual support. Id. at 1966-67, 1974. Clearly, civil perjury claims may lead to abuse if more specificity in pleading is not required. [¶ 12] In Spickler, we noted the potential for abuse in such claims: `The law abhors fraud and perjury. It also abhors interminable litigation.' Cole v. Chellis, 122 Me. 262, 264, 119 A. 623 (1923). A higher standard of proof and corroborating evidence will aid discovery of the former while preventing the latter. 644 A.2d at 471. In reaffirming the characterization of perjury as a type of fraud, the trial court's application of the higher pleading standard in light of Spickler was reasonable and should be upheld. See id. [¶ 13] Heightened pleading requirements are necessary to ensure that disgruntled litigants are not able to use civil perjury claims as a means to relitigate cases when they are displeased with the outcomes. Bean lost at trial and waited two years and four months after the judgment to proceed with his civil perjury claim; he was then given two opportunities to plead his case. As the motion court recognized, however, that instead of asserting newly discovered evidence, Bean's claim rested primarily on legal conclusions regarding whether [Cummings's] charges to [Bean] were reasonable, the same issues that were thoroughly litigated at trial. We take allegations of civil perjury and fraud very seriously but must balance those concerns with the need to maintain fairness and efficiency. We therefore affirm the trial court's application of the heightened pleading standard in civil perjury claims and now address Bean's claim specifically. [¶ 14] Viewing the complaint in the light most favorable to Bean, as we are required to do, Shaw, 683 A.2d at 503, fails to ameliorate the insufficiency of his claim under the stringent requirements of M.R. Civ. P. 9(b). The record shows that Bean did not offer evidence to contradict Cummings's testimony at trial beyond the testimony at the same trial provided by the foreman, whom the court perceived to be biased. Bean cannot now sustain a perjury claim by merely alleging that certain portions of Cummings's testimony were false without showing that information demonstrating its falsity was unavailable to him before the judgment. See Spickler, 644 A.2d at 471. The crux of Bean's allegations is that Cummings offered false statements about what was fair and reasonable for charges on the cost of materials and labor for the construction project. Such testimony constitutes Cummings's opinion. During the trial, Bean introduced evidence of the foreman's opinion concerning the reasonableness of the charges. Bean could have offered further testimony from witnesses with additional testimony on that issue at the trial but chose not to do so. Therefore, even if each of Bean's allegations was found to be true, given the strict construction of section 870 requiring a party to show newly discovered evidence, Bean could not have prevailed under M.R. Civ. P. 9(b). Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of dismissal. Next, we address the issue of sanctions.