Law Firm, Individual File Antitrust Suit Against Every Sheriff in Maine

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A law firm and a Maine resident have filed a proposed class action lawsuit against every county in Maine and their sheriffs, claiming the sheriffs have created a monopoly in not providing an alternative for civil service. According to the complaint, the state of Maine allowed civilians to serve process for plaintiffs and their attorneys in the past, but currently only the sheriffs are permitted to deliver civil process papers to defendants in proposed lawsuits. The suit argues that the sheriffs conspired to overcharge civilians for their services when the taxpayers “ironically were already paying their salaries and costs.” The suit further claims that sheriffs set the starting points of their mileage at the addresses of their county sheriff departments rather than their residences, allowing them to claim more miles and charge a higher price for delivering legal documents. From the complaint:

“There is no legitimate, lawful reason for these price-gouging fraudulent practices; the victims are in the thousands, and very few users of the civil justice process seem to have been spared the Defendants’ unlawful and predatory scheme to defraud these innocent victims.”