SOUTH THOMASTON, Maine — A judge has rejected the appeal of a South Thomaston woman, Elsie Brown, who was billed by the town for legal costs it incurred to accommodate her request to lay a water line under the road in front of her home.
Justice Daniel Billings issued his ruling Monday in Knox County Superior Court, upholding a May ruling by District Court Judge Susan Sparaco that Brown must pay the town $490 for the research by its lawyer in response to Brown’s request. She also was ordered to pay $77 to the town for the cost of bringing the small claims complaint to Rockland District Court.
Brown is the mother of former South Thomaston Fire Chief Wayne Brown, who represented his mother in both requesting for the water line work and the refusal to pay the town’s legal costs for the water line work.
Justice Billings ruled that he would not consider evidence in Brown’s case beyond what had been introduced at the district court level. He said based on the evidence provided to the lower court, Sparaco’s ruling was correct.
Elsie and Wayne Brown asked the select board in August 2013 to hold an emergency meeting to allow her to get a road opening permit on Westbrook Street because a well had run dry. She wanted to connect to another well on the opposite side of the road, which was on land she also owned. The board met the next day and approved the request.
She signed a permit application in which she agreed to pay “all costs incurred by such permit, including all associated expenses to the town of South Thomaston.”
The town billed her on Oct. 17 , 2013, for $1,500. On Oct. 30, the town received a letter from Wayne Brown with a check for $1,010 and a note saying that he did not feel that a resident should have to pay the town’s cost for doing research for a permit required by the town.
The town filed the small claims complaint when the payment was not made.