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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 23 N OV E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 2 0 F O C U S L AW ere's talk about finding venues outside the court — auditoriums, for instance. "Our justice system is fantastic, but it hasn't really changed in terms of the fundamentals in a very long time," he says. "And it requires getting people in these rooms, and a lot of social interac- tion, and it just doesn't lend itself well to when you have a pandemic. "Larger space would help, but I don't think that's the only solution," he adds. "It's a resource problem." e state judicial system has a personnel short- age, including judges, who must be appointed by the governor and approved by the Legislature, which hasn't met in full since March. ere's also a shortage of judicial marshals, necessary for court security. On top of that are the logistical issues. For instance, there are separate bathrooms for attorneys, so they don't have awkward meetings with jurors, witnesses and oth- ers. And juries must be separated from everyone else, ushered around by bailiffs. "Just getting people in and out of the build- ing in the morning is harder," says Mitchell. "it's taking more time, the screening process is taking more time." Big hurdles Lewis, of the MTLA, says there's no magic solu- tion. "ere are some big hurdles." e association plans to ask the Legislature to budget for more judicial marshals when it recon- venes in January, but that won't help short-term. at's assuming the request even makes the cut. "Our state budget problems are huge," Bramley says. "ere's not going to be a pot of money." In some cases, both sides opt for mediation when they normally wouldn't have. Otherwise, currently, the options are few. "To credit everyone involved, cases do continue to resolve," says Bramley. "I wouldn't say necessarily with the same payment as in the past. But there are more and more cases where the parties simply can't agree. In the past those would fall into the normal trial calendar, and those cases are just sitting there and waiting." It's the looming trial that often spurs a settle- ment, so lack of settlements are a ripple effect of the trial backlog. "e value of the case often depends on a jury trial, or what might happen at a jury trial," says Bramley. If an insurance company thinks a jury might give $10,000 on a case, the company isn't going to settle for $100,000. Clients, too, often don't want to settle. In many cases the settlement is needed to cover wage loss, medical bills and more. "ey can't accept a lesser settlement," Bramley says. One positive resolution Medical malpractice cases are on a different track than normal litigation. ey go to a panel to deter- mine their merit before going to trial. It's up to the plaintiff whether to go to court, no matter the result, but the system was designed to resolve more cases before they got there. Bramley, who handled mostly medical malprac- tice cases before becoming managing director six years ago, says the panel system is operating effi- ciently, despite the pandemic. Like many businesses, early on some involved were saying "It has to happen in person, so therefore we have to stop everything," he says. "We represent people who've had a terrible thing happen in their life and they're seek- ing justice for it, they're seeking compensation, maybe they need that to live or get the care they need," he says. "So we very much wanted these to keep moving." Attorneys at Berman & Simmons were among those who pushed the court system to adopt video conferencing. Lawyers in his office have done panel hearings, via Zoom, where evidence is presented, and all the parties participate remotely. Witnesses are still sworn in and the court reporter organizes the conference. Something that seemed scarily out of the box in March is now standard operating procedure. Bramley says that heartens him that solutions to the trial backlog can be found. Meanwhile, "We continue to file cases, we con- tinue to move these cases forward." M a u r e e n M i l l i k e n , M a i n e b i z s e n i o r w r i t e r, c a n b e r e a c h e d a t m m i l l i k e n @ m a i n e b i z . b i z Berman & Simmons cases have big implications C ases that have implications larger than just for those who are suing have been filed by Berman & Simmons in recent months. One with national implications involves Bar Harbor restaurant worker Patrick Bellis, who was badly burned when a can of cook- ing spray on a shelf above a stove exploded. Bellis was burned over 30% of his body. "That's a case that could have national implications," says Craig Bramley, managing director of Berman & Simmons, the firm repre- senting Bellis. At least three dozen similar suits have been filed across the country against packaged-foods giant Conagra. Bellis' suit claims that when the Chicago-based com- pany redesigned the can, it became dangerously prone to exploding. Berman & Simmons is also rep- resenting Larry Lord, the LEAP Inc. employee injured in a gas explo- sion in September 2019 that also killed a Farmington firefighter and injured six others. Lord and his wife, Sandra, of Jay, are suing CN Brown, citing the fact a company technician didn't do a required inspection on new gas lines at the building. Techno Metal Post Maine is also named; workers didn't check for underground gas lines before drilling. The family of firefighter Michael Bell, who was killed in the blast, and the others who were injured are also suing the two businesses. Lord got his coworkers out of the building, then was leading firefighters into the basement to investigate the gas odor when the building exploded. He was burned over 85% of his body and didn't return home from the hospital and rehabilitation until April. He still is battling for his health, the suit says. Both cases represent risks that could easily exist in anyone's life, Bramley says. Part of the firm's role is getting justice for people. But there's a bigger picture. "Look at how big the restau- rant industr y is in Maine, and how many people are working hard at their jobs, and the risks they might be exposed to that they really should be protected from," he says. "It's also to make changes in society, so that others don't get exposed to the same dangers." It's also to make changes in society, so that others don't get exposed to the same dangers. — Craig Bramley Berman & Simmons Our justice system is fantastic, but it hasn't really changed in terms of the fundamentals in a very long time. — Dan Mitchell Co-chair of Bernstein Shur's litigation and dispute resolution group F I L E P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY Dan Mitchell, co-chair of Bernstein Shur's litigation and dispute resolution group

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