Patricia Griffin, who says she was fired for asking valid questions about mask and vaccination policies on campus during the COVID-19 pandemic, was granted the narrow win after the university filed a motion to dismiss the case in part. US District Judge Jon Levy ruled that while Griffin's First Amendment claim can proceed, other charges were dismissed.

On Aug. 18, 2021, the University of Main announced a mandatory mask policy. Six days later, Griffin took part in a luncheon meeting via Zoom, where the speaker was Glenn Cummings, president of the university. Griffin says Cummings wasn't wearing a mask at the time.

Later that day she sent an email to the Dean of the College of Management and Human Service, claiming that she had been following "science, data, and evidence" related to the pandemic. Griffin said in the email that she was "searching for anything that will support wearing a mask while indoors as well as vaccinating an entire school population as the optimal method for stopping the transmission of the virus. The reality is that my research has found no evidence to support these measures."