Civil Process Working Group

Established: October 13, 2022
Chair: Frank Bishop, Jr, Esq. and Susan Faunce, Esq. (Co-Chairs)
Report Date: As needed, at least annually
Reports to: Supreme Judicial Court

Purpose

Since March of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected all civil cases in Maine in significant ways. Many case types are experiencing delays and backlogs, and the time to final disposition has increased. At the same time, the pandemic has brought about changes in the ways in which cases are handled, particularly through the efficient use of technology, and has created an opportunity for innovation and creativity in the handling of civil cases.

The Civil Process Stakeholders Working Group shall work with the Maine Judicial Branch to assess and recommend to the Supreme Judicial Court policies, processes, rules, technology, legislation, and any other actions, taking into account the individual features of particular kinds of cases, for the purpose of the just, efficient, and relatively inexpensive resolution of civil cases or otherwise for the benefit of civil cases in the trial courts.

Dated: October 13, 2022

Chief Justice Valerie Stanfill
Maine Supreme Judicial Court

Charter

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Membership Roster

Until September 1, 2024
Frank Bishop Jr., Esq., Maine State Bar Association President (Co-Chair until Sept. 1, 2023)
 
Susan Faunce, Esq., Maine Trial Lawyer’s Association President (Co-Chair until Sept. 1, 2023)

Elizabeth Stout, Esq., designated by the Executive Committee of the Justice Action Group

Eric J. Wycoff, Esq., attorney with a mixed private civil practice

Laura Pearlman, Esq., Manager, Civil Process and Foreclosure Division Program, Maine Judicial Branch

Supreme Judicial Court Liaison: Associate Justice Andrew M. Horton