Maine Small Claims Continuance — How to Postpone or Reschedule Your Hearing

Your hearing date arrives in the mail and you realize you have a scheduling conflict — a medical procedure, a work obligation you can't move, or a witness who's unavailable that day. In Maine, you can ask the court to reschedule a small claims hearing, but calling the clerk's office to ask for a new date isn't enough. You need a formal written motion.

How to Request a Continuance

Under Maine Rules of Small Claims Procedure Rule 7, a party seeking to postpone a hearing must file a written motion for continuance with the District Court clerk. The motion has to establish "good cause" — a legitimate reason the hearing cannot proceed on the scheduled date.

Phone calls to the clerk's office don't postpone anything. Neither do informal emails. The hearing date stands until a judge signs an order granting the continuance. If you skip the hearing assuming a phone request was enough, the judge can enter a default judgment against you (if you're the defendant) or dismiss your case (if you're the plaintiff).

What Counts as Good Cause

Maine courts grant continuances for reasons that genuinely prevent a party from attending or preparing adequately. Common grounds include:

• Medical emergency or serious illness — a hospitalization or scheduled surgery that conflicts with the hearing date, ideally supported by a doctor's note
• Active military deployment — the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act provides additional protections for active-duty personnel
• Conflicting court obligations — you're required to appear in another court on the same day
• Unavailability of a critical witness — a key witness who cannot attend and whose testimony is essential to your case, provided you've made reasonable efforts to secure their attendance
• Recent service leaving insufficient preparation time — you were served late and haven't had a reasonable window to gather evidence

Reasons that typically don't qualify: work schedule preferences, vacation plans, wanting more time to "think about it," or general inconvenience. Judges have wide discretion, but they also have full dockets and don't grant continuances lightly.

Filing the Motion

Write a short, clear motion that states:

1. Your case number and the names of the parties
2. The currently scheduled hearing date
3. The specific reason you need a postponement
4. Your availability for a rescheduled date (if possible)

File it with the District Court clerk handling your case as early as possible — the closer you file to the hearing date, the less likely the judge is to grant it. Send a copy to the other party as well. The clerk will forward the motion to the judge, who either grants or denies it by written order.

If the continuance is granted, the clerk issues a new Notice of Hearing with the rescheduled date. If denied, the original date stands and you must appear.

What Happens If You Simply Don't Show Up

If you're the defendant and miss the hearing without a granted continuance, the court enters a default. The plaintiff still has to prove their case, but they're doing it unopposed. If you're the plaintiff and miss the hearing, the court dismisses your case — either without prejudice (you can refile) or with prejudice if the defendant asks for it.

Neither outcome is recoverable by simply calling the clerk afterwards. A defendant who lost by default may appeal within 30 days; whether a jury trial de novo is available depends on the Rule 80L affidavit requirements.

The simplest path: if you have a genuine conflict, file the motion early and attend whatever date the court sets. The Maine Small Claims Filing Guide includes a deadline tracker that flags your hearing date alongside all your filing and service deadlines.

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