HARPSWELL — The defendants in a lawsuit that seeks to open access to Cedar Beach say the complaint against them is “baseless” and “vindictive,” according to a court document.
In a Sept. 20 filing in Cumberland County Superior Court, Jonathan and Rachel Aspatore deny claims by Cedar Beach/Cedar Island Supporters that people have a right to walk over the Aspatores’ property to reach the Bailey Island beach.
CB/CIS claims an easement exists on land owned by the Aspatores to allow residents to cross from Cedar Beach Road to the beach, according to the complaint filed in August.
To support the claim against the Aspatores, CB/CIS attached copies of a purchase-and-sale agreement and quitclaim deed for the Aspatores’ property that reference an easement for residents of Harpswell.
The Asaptores’ response denies an easement was reserved when the land was sold by the Family Trust of Edith Goodwin.
The filing also questions the authenticity of the purchase-and-sale agreement because “it appears to have redactions and omissions and as the principal contract is not signed by anyone other than John Goodwin, Trustee.”
In addition, the filing says neither CB/CIS nor Goodwin, who is a plaintiff in the lawsuit, have no standing because neither are an “inhabitant of the town of Harpswell.”
“The sentences (in the complaint) suggest that the lawsuit is commenced to ‘vindicate’ the rights of the inhabitants of Harpswell and the Defendants deny that,” the court filing says. “Indeed, (the Aspatores) view the Complaint, particularly where it has not been commenced by the representatives of the Inhabitants of Harpswell, namely, the town of Harpswell, as having been initiated to be vindictive towards the Defendants.”
The Aspatores are asking the court to award them costs and attorney fees. Their lawyer, Judy Metcalf of Eaton Peabody, will not respond to requests for comment pertaining to the lawsuit, a receptionist at the law firm said Monday.
The beach group is also suing Charles and Sally Abrahamson, owners of Cedar Beach Road, to affirm a prescriptive easement over the private road that would allow passage from public space to the Aspatores’ land.
In addition, CB/CIS is seeking an alternate path to Cedar Beach via proposed easements over land owned by supporters of beach access.
CB/CIS had previously attempted to negotiate with the Abrahamsons for a prescriptive easement on Cedar Beach Road, but failed because the Harpswell Board of Selectmen was unable to reach an agreement with the Aspatores for terms of use.
Dylan Martin can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 100 or dmartin@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @DylanLJMartin.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.