Border Dispute Between New Hampshire and Maine Inches Closer to War

The long-standing border dispute between New Hampshire and Maine ended Tuesday when the U.S. Supreme Court granted Maine's motion to dismiss New Hampshire's claim that the shipyard belongs to the Granite State. The opinion, delivered Tuesday afternoon, was written by Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg.

Justice Ginsburg wrote that "judicial estoppel bars New Hampshire from asserting that the Piscataqua River boundary runs along the Maine shore". Under the judicial estoppel doctrine, "Where a party assumes a certain position in a legal proceeding, and succeeds in maintaining that position, he may not thereafter, simply because his interests have changed, assume a contrary position, especially if it be to the prejudice of the party who has acquiesced in the position formerly taken by him". Put simply: Since New Hampshire had agreed in 1977 that the border runs along the middle of the river, New Hampshire may not now claim that the border runs along the Maine riverbank. Wrote Justice Ginsburg: "New Hampshire's claim that the Piscataqua River boundary runs along the Maine shore is clearly inconsistent with its interpretation of the words 'Middle of the River' during the 1970s litigation." New Hampshire appealed the dismissal and requested the Court to reconsider its dismissal, but the Court denied the motion to reconsider.