Me. Rev. Stat. » Title 33
Maine Revised Statutes

Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 33, § 52 (2026)

Written ratification of minor's contracts required; contracts to further higher education

✓ current as of May 2026
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No action shall be maintained on any contract made by a minor, unless he, or some person lawfully authorized, ratified it in writing after he arrived at the age of 18 years, except for necessaries or real estate of which he has received the title and retains the benefit.   [PL 1971, c. 598, §83 (AMD).]
Provided that any minor 16 years of age or over, who receives aid and assistance from the New England Higher Education Assistance Foundation for the purpose of furthering his higher education in professional, technical, scientific or literary fields in the form of a loan or loans made or guaranteed in full or in part by said foundation, shall have full legal capacity for such purpose to act in his own behalf in the matter of notes, contracts and other transactions, and with respect to such acts done by him, he shall have rights, powers and privileges and be subject to the obligations of persons of full age.  
Provided that any minor 16 years of age or over, who for the purpose of furthering his higher education in the professional, educational, scientific or literary fields, shall have full legal capacity to act in his own behalf in the matter of making notes, contracts and other transactions, and with respect to such acts done, shall have rights, powers and privileges and be subject to the obligations of persons of full age.  
SECTION HISTORY
PL 1969, c. 433, §93 (AMD). PL 1971, c. 598, §83 (AMD).
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Notes of Decisions
Cited in 5 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1967–2021 · leading case: Est. of Michael Lewis v. Concord Gen. Mut. Ins. Co., 2014 ME 34 (Me. 2014).
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Est. of Michael Lewis v. Concord Gen. Mut. Ins. Co., 2014 ME 34 (Me. 2014). · cites it 2× “33 M.R.S. § 52 (2013). This means that a minor can sue, but cannot be sued, on his contract.”
Foss v. Circuit City Stores, Inc., 477 F. Supp. 2d 230 (D. Me. 2007). · cites it 3× “” 33 M.R.S.A § 52. Since at least 1832, Maine has recognized the “infancy doctrine” and the need to protect minors.”
Mellott Ex Rel. Mellott v. Sullivan Ford Sales, 236 A.2d 68 (Me. 1967). · cites it 5× “§§ 161 and 164 must be interpreted in the light of the legislative enactments concerning contracts of persons under the age of twenty-one as spelled out in 33 M.R.S.A. § 52, which in pertinent part reads as follows: "No action shall be maintained on any contract made by a minor,…”
Hernandez v. Brinker Int'l Payroll Co., L.P. (D.N.J. 2021). “at 235 (quoting 33 M.R.S.A. § 52). The Court ultimately ruled that this statute was controlling and that “without written ratification, the Agreement never came into existence between Foss and Circuit City.”
Woodbury v. Hammond Lumber Co. (Me. Super. Ct 2003). “Whether the minor can show that he will be individually responsible to pay for medical expenses under the Doctrine is a question of fact.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.