Kirkpatrick v. City of Bangor

On August 26, 1985, the Bangor City Council, acting pursuant to 17 M.R.S.A. § 2851 (1983), condemned as a “dangerous building” a structure in that city owned by plaintiffs Leon and Gertrude Kirkpatrick. The Kirkpatricks brought a timely complaint seeking direct judicial review of the City Council’s decision. More than six months later, the Superior Court dismissed the Kirkpatricks’ action for want of prosecution because they had not filed either the administrative record or their own brief as required by the applicable procedural rules. The Kirkpatricks then appealed that dismissal. Because…