ICS COMMUNICATIONS, INC. v. RICHARD FITCH

THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

SUPREME COURT

In Case No. 98-622, ICS Communications, Inc. v. Richard Fitch, the court upon December 18, 2000, made the following order:

The plaintiff's motion to reconsider is denied. The slip opinion dated November 28, 2000, is modified by deleting the last full paragraph on page 2 of the slip opinion, and replacing it with the following paragraph:

Even if we assume, without deciding, that ICS is entitled under Part I, Article 20 to a jury trial on a wage claim which exceeds $1,500, nothing in the New Hampshire Constitution would prohibit the legislature from providing or requiring that such claims first be adjudicated by an administrative agency. Opinion of the Justices, 113 N.H. 205, 214, 304 A.2d 881, 887 (1973) ("[J]ury trial need not be had in the first instance if a reasonably unfettered right of appeal is allowed to a court where the constitutional right of trial by jury can be enjoyed."). Thus, the statutory mechanism providing that RSA chapter 275 wage claims may be brought first to the DOL would not violate Part I, Article 20.

NADEAU, J., concurred; GROFF, MANGONES, and MOHL, JJ., superior court justices, specially assigned under RSA 490:3, concurred.

Howard J. Zibel,

Clerk

Date of clerk's notice of decision: January 10, 2001