Opinion ID: 2158879
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: mootness of the 80b appeal

Text: [¶ 5] Look admitted in the Superior Court that the request for injunctive relief was moot because the road reconstruction project had been completed. Look had not pressed its claim for a preliminary injunction that could have preserved the status quo. The court relied on Look's admission of mootness in dismissing the claim for an injunction. [¶ 6] An 80B appeal, like any other case, is moot if the passage of time and the occurrence of events deprive the litigant of an ongoing stake in the controversy although the case raised a justiciable controversy at the time the complaint was filed. Halfway House, Inc. v. City of Portland, 670 A.2d 1377, 1379-80 (Me. 1996). In reviewing for mootness we examine the record to determine if sufficient practical effects can flow from the litigation to justify the use of limited judicial resources. Id. at 1380. We have recognized three exceptions to the mootness doctrine for issues that (1) have sufficient collateral consequences; (2) are of great public concern; or (3) are capable of repetition but evade review. Monroe v. Town of Gray, 1999 ME 190, ¶ 5, 743 A.2d 1257, 1258-59. [¶ 7] The 80B count of the amended complaint demanded a judgment against the Town and requested that the contract between the Town and Carver be declared void and vacated on the ground that the Town's action was arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion. Given Look's admission that the construction contract has been performed, its 80B claim is moot. It is now impossible for a court to vacate, void, or reverse the contract award to Carver and award the contract to Look. In theory, the Superior Court could decide whether the contract award was lawful in the first place, but in the absence of any practical consequences, that would be a meaningless abstract decision that the mootness doctrine is intended to prevent. The three mootness exceptions do not apply: no collateral consequences are evident, the issue is not of great public importance, and there is no indication that it is likely to recur. See Globe Air, Inc. v. Thurston, 438 A.2d 884, 887 (Me.1981) (unsuccessful bidder's action challenging award of State contract moot after contract awarded and work performed, and mootness exceptions did not apply). We therefore dismiss as moot Look's appeal of the Rule 80B dismissal.