PORTLAND (AP) – Maine’s highest court on Tuesday set aside a $100,000 default judgment in a ruling that calls into question the longstanding practice of using newspapers as a vehicle for publication of legal notices.

In its unanimous opinion in an assault case involving two former Colby College students, the Supreme Judicial Court concluded that placing William Gaeth’s civil complaint and summons in a Lincoln County weekly did not offer reasonable notice to the defendant, Daniel Deacon.

Reversing a lower court ruling, the justices found that Gaeth’s service by publication technically complied with the rules but denied Deacon his constitutional right to due process.

Gaeth sued Deacon for allegedly drinking too much and punching him in the face on Oct. 6, 2002, breaking his nose. After a sheriff tried unsuccessfully numerous times to serve papers on Deacon at an address in Cambridge, Mass., a judge granted Gaeth’s motion to allow service by means of a published notice for three successive weeks in the Lincoln County News.

The practice of service by publication developed at a time when newspapers were the only means of print mass communication, and when newspapers were more widely read, the court said.

“Fewer people now read print newspapers, and those who do are likely to read them less intensely because an increasingly greater portion of the population obtains more of its information through television, the Internet, and other electronic media,” Justice Robert Clifford wrote.

“Further, the population is more mobile, making it less likely that a defendant’s relatives, friends or acquaintances may see a notice by publication in a newspaper, report it to the defendant, and thereby give the defendant actual knowledge of the pendency of a suit,” he wrote.

The impact of the ruling on publication of legal notices in newspapers was not clear, and representatives of the Maine Press Association could not be reached immediately for comment.

Deacon’s initial argument was based on improper venue, claiming that the notice should have been published in Kennebec County, where the alleged assault took place, rather than in a weekly located in the county where Gaeth lived.

The justices rejected that argument, saying the rules allow for a complaint to be filed in either county.

Deacon prevailed, however, in his constitutional challenge. Noting that his only connection to Maine is his previous attendance at Colby, the justices said publication in the Lincoln County News “would be highly unlikely to give him actual notice of the lawsuit.”

After Deacon was found in default, Gaeth testified about his injury-related and sought $100,000, which included $25,000 based on the viciousness of Deacon’s unprovoked attack. The court found that amount reasonable, awarding the full amount, plus interest and costs.

The case now goes back to Lincoln County Superior Court.