Whittet v. Whittet, 167 A.3d 1258

Rowland S. Whittet appealed the Superior Court's December 15 and 22, 2016 orders granting a permanent injunction and authorizing a special master to sell real estate in Rockport.
The Court of Special Appeals limited review to those 2016 orders and an associated motion for sanctions by Daniel C. Whittet.
Rowland failed to provide trial transcripts or an adequate substitute for appellate review and advanced untimely challenges to earlier trial-court rulings.
Rowland reiterated claims that he had complied with a 2013 judgment and was entitled to unencumbered ownership, claims previously rejected by multiple court decisions, including a 2016 contempt finding.
The appellate court affirmed the judgment and granted Daniel’s motion for sanctions, awarding attorney fees and treble costs ($4,733.24) under M.R. App. P. 13(f).

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Adequacy of appellate record	Rowland did not provide transcripts but maintained trial rulings were wrong	Daniel argued record deficiencies precluded review and prior rulings stand	Court held record inadequate; accepts trial court findings and affirms
Timeliness/preservation of challenges	Rowland raised issues tied to earlier rulings	Daniel argued those earlier rulings were not timely appealed and thus not before the court	Court treated those challenges as untimely and not properly before the court
Merits of December 2016 orders (injunction & sale)	Rowland asserted compliance with 2013 judgment and entitlement to property	Daniel defended enforcement steps and prior contempt/findings against Rowland	Court found no basis shown to reverse the December 2016 orders and affirmed
Sanctions under M.R. App. P. 13(f)	Rowland opposed sanctions with late, irrelevant filings	Daniel sought fees and treble costs for frivolous, delaying appeal	Court granted sanctions: attorney fees $4,517 and treble costs $216.24 (total $4,733.24)

Springer v. Springer, 984 A.2d 828 (Me. 2009) (where appellate record is inadequate, appellate court accepts trial court’s factual findings)
Holland v. Sebunya, 759 A.2d 205 (Me. 2000) (failure to raise or brief an issue is treated as abandonment or failure to preserve)
Estate of Dimen, 904 A.2d 417 (Me. 2006) (sanctions available for frivolous appeals that waste resources)
Lincoln v. Burbank, 147 A.3d 1165 (Me. 2016) (frivolousness requires culpable carelessness; sanctions appropriate when no reasonable likelihood of prevailing)
Hardman v. Border Tr. Co., 842 A.2d 1266 (Me. 2004) (sanctioning duplicative or vexatious litigation used to harass or delay)