New Hampshire Supreme Court Decisions 2016

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Thomas Reid appealed a superior court decision that denied his petition under the Right-to-Know Law, to compel defendant, New Hampshire Attorney General Joseph Foster, to produce unredacted records of the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Jeffrey Oligny appealed an order recommended by a Hearing Officer and approved by the Circuit Court, enforcing the college contribution provision contained in the parties’ 2003 divorce decree, based upon a…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1992, brothers Mark, Matthew, and Patrick McDonough established TASC, a corporation that provided technical engineering services. In September 1995, the brothers converted TASC to a Limited Liability Company (LLC).…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Seth Mazzaglia appealed after he was convicted by jury of first degree murder. The central disputed issue at trial concerned the circumstances of the victim’s death. The State contended that defendant, enraged…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Katherine Streeter appealed a New Hampshire Compensation Appeals Board (board) order denying her request for attorney’s fees under New Hampshire Administrative Rules, Lab 207.01(a)(4). In 2013, Streeter…

Justia Opinion Summary: The City of Rochester’s Department of Public Works owned and operated the Rochester Water System, which provided water to residents of the City. The City operated three water storage tanks, one of which is the Rochester…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Jamie Letarte appealed after he was convicted by jury on one count of aggravated felonious sexual assault, and one count of felony indecent exposure. On appeal, he argued that the Superior Court erred when it…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Robert Jesurum was a resident of Rye since 1990. Defendants WBTSCC Limited Partnership and William H. Binnie, trustee of the Harrison Irrevocable Trust, owned property located on Wentworth Road in Rye, the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, The Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Diocese in New Hampshire, A Corporation Sole, d/b/a St. George’s Episcopal Church (Church), appealed a superior court order denying its summary judgment motion and…

Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent, mother of a minor child, appealed a circuit court order terminating her parental rights over the child. On appeal, she argued that the trial court erred by: (1) granting the petition brought by the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Thomas Milton was convicted by jury on one count of second degree murder, one count of assault by a prisoner, and one count of falsifying physical evidence. The charges against defendant stemmed from a 2010…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs William Weaver (individually and as administrator of the estate of his wife, Marceline Weaver) and James Sousa, appealed superior court decisions granting summary judgment in favor of defendants the Town of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent Kenneth Geraghty appealed a final Circuit Court order in his divorce from petitioner Paula Geraghty. He argued that the trial court erred in: (1) applying New Hampshire law to his petition for annulment of the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, the New Hampshire Department of Employment Security (department) determined that, while receiving unemployment benefits in 2010, petitioner Annelie Mullen had “knowingly failed to report [her] work and earnings”…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Amadou Diallo appealed the extended term of imprisonment imposed by the Superior Court after his conviction for felonious sexual assault. He argued that the trial court erred in ruling that the State provided…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants N.C. and Alethea Young, Ph.D., appealed superior court orders denying Dr. Young’s motion to quash a subpoena for N.C.’s psychological records issued by appellee, the New Hampshire Board of Psychologists…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner James Boyle, as trustee of the 150 Greenleaf Avenue Realty Trust, appealed a decision of the New Hampshire Transportation Appeals Board (TAB) affirming the denial of his application for a permit to construct a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority (NHHFA), appealed a superior court decision to grant summary judgment in favor of respondent Pinewood Estates Condominium Association (Pinewood), and to award…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Maher Mahmoud appealed a superior court order granting defendants Winwin Properties, LLC (Winwin), Gary T. Shulman, Anita S. Shulman, Aaron Katz, and Jeremy Gavin's motion for summary judgment, and denying…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant David Aldrich appealed after a jury convicted him on two counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault. Defendant argued the trial court erred by preventing him from cross-examining the victim about three of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff owned a 105-acre tract of land in Wakefield. Approximately 68 acres of the tract was used for recreational vehicle campsites. In 1994, plaintiff obtained approval from the planning board to build 16 seasonal…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Terry Adams, Jr. appealed his convictions of reckless conduct, and simple assault. Defendant argued that the trial court erred by: (1) recalling the jury to correct an error in the verdict on the reckless…

Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent Christopher Ross appealed a circuit court order dismissing his petition for a fault-based divorce and the final divorce order from petitioner Danielle Ross. He argued that the trial court erred: (1) in…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case centered on defendants’ alleged entitlement to travel across several properties in Salem in order to access Route 28. Defendants owned the property located at 16 Garabedian Drive, and claimed to have a deeded…

Justia Opinion Summary: John Doe appealed a superior court ruling in favor of Elizabeth Canner. Canner requested access to records relating to Doe’s arrest and prosecution under the New Hampshire Right-to-Know Law. Prior to the filing of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Seventeen of the 20 plaintiffs to this case were Somali Bantu refugees who were resettled to the United States in 2004. Three of the plaintiffs were born in the United States to Somali Bantu refugees. Plaintiffs lived in…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with aggravated felonious sexual assault. Before trial, he filed a motion asking the trial court to order, among other things, “the State to take whatever steps are necessary to preserve all cell…

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Tammy Cole was the biological grandmother of N.B. and J.B. In May 2012, DCYF filed a petition alleging that N.B. and J.B. had been neglected by their biological parents. The court appointed CASA to serve as the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent Coralee Beal appealed a circuit court order awarding petitioner Deborah Munson what Beal contended to be eighty-eight percent of the value of the marital estate. The court awarded Beal the remaining twelve…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Christopher Long appealed a superior court order imposing a portion of his previously-suspended sentences based on findings that he violated the "no-contact" provision of those sentences by filing a petition to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The issue this case presented for the New Hampshire Supreme Court's review called for the Court to determine the constitutionality of New Hampshire Administrative Rules, He-W 654.04(c). The rule required DHHS to include…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Christopher Gay was convicted by jury of second degree murder and conspiracy to commit robbery. He appealed the convictions, arguing the Superior Court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence obtained…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Dominick Stanin, Sr. appealed a Superior Court decision to impose his two previously suspended sentences. In June 2014, defendant was arrested for loitering (a violation-level offense), and resisting arrest (a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Estate of Thea Braiterman filed a petition for writ of certiorari challenging a final decision of the Administrative Appeals Unit (AAU) of the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), that…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Signal Aviation Services, Inc. (Signal) appealed a superior court grant of summary judgment in favor of defendant City of Lebanon (City) in this action by Signal for, among other things, breach of contract. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Thomas Phillips appealed a Compensation Appeals Board (CAB) decision denying his request for attorney’s fees in the amount of one-third of the value of workers’ compensation benefits awarded to him, as…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Carlos Marti appealed a Compensation Appeals Board (CAB) decision to dismiss his claim for reinstatement to his job with respondent Nashua Foundries, Inc. Petitioner injured his elbow at work. He informed…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants, Markel Corporation, Markel Services, Inc. (Markel Services), and Essex Insurance Company (Essex), appealed a superior court order denying their motions for summary judgment and granting summary judgment to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Eugene Dowgiert appealed a superior court order dismissing his plea of title, which he filed in response to a possessory action brought in the circuit court by plaintiff Bank of New York Mellon, as Trustee. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Alice Finn appealed a Superior Court order denying her motion to affirm, and granting the defendants Ballentine Partners, LLC (BPLLC), Ballentine & Company, Inc., Roy C. Ballentine, Kyle Schaffer, Claudia…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Arthur Kardonsky appealed a circuit court's finding that he was guilty of the violation-level offense of driving after suspension of his driver’s license. On appeal, he argued the trial court erred by ruling…

Justia Opinion Summary: The State appealed a superior court order dismissing the charges against defendant Drew Fuller. The court ruled that the 2014 amendments to RSA chapter 169-B, which vested jurisdiction over juvenile delinquents ages 17…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners Scott Bach and the Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs, Inc. (ANJRPC), appealed a superior court decision entering summary judgment in favor of respondent, the New Hampshire Department of Safety…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs New Hampshire Right to Life and Jackie Pelletier, appealed superior court orders granting in part and denying in part their petition for an order requiring defendants the Director, Charitable Trusts Unit…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Paul Bedell appealed his convictions on two counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault. Defendant argued the superior court erred when, on the second day of trial, it dismissed a juror after it erroneously…

Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent Loreto Publications, Inc. appealed a circuit court order ruling that Loreto failed to establish that it was statutorily exempt from filing annual reports with the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office, and…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, Paul and Sara Lynn, appealed a Superior Court order granting summary judgment to defendant Wentworth By The Sea Master Association (association), and denying summary judgment to plaintiffs. The parties…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Dunbarton School District (appealed a Board of Education decision which determined that Dunbarton was liable to the Goffstown School District for its proportional share of Goffstown’s obligation on a 20-year…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Rodric Reinholz was convicted by jury on two counts of pattern aggravated felonious sexual assault (AFSA), two counts of ASFA by individual acts, and one count of felonious sexual assault (FSA). On appeal,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Jonathan Wolfgram appealed a superior court order affirming a decision by respondent the New Hampshire Department of Safety (DOS), to retain notations on petitioner’s motor vehicle record referring to his…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant City of Concord (City) appealed a Superior Court order requiring it to issue demolition permits to plaintiff Everett Ashton, Inc. so that Everett Ashton could remove three abandoned, valueless manufactured…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Joseph Kuchman appealed decisions related to his conviction by a jury on one count of first degree assault. Defendant and his friend, Joshua Texeira, were at a Rochester bar. While there, defendant and Texeira…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Donna Green appealed a superior court decision to enter judgment in favor of defendants School Administrative Unit #55 (SAU), Timberlane Regional School District, Nancy Steenson, and Earl F. Metzler, II. This…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff-client James Yager appealed a superior court order granting summary judgment to defendant-attorney K. William Clauson on the client’s legal malpractice claim and dismissing that claim as to defendant-law firm…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs Kathleen Nawn-Benoit and Thomas Benoit appealed a superior court order granting the summary judgment motion filed by defendants Ronald and Rita Delude, and denying plaintiffs’ cross-motion for summary…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff CBDA Development, LLC (CBDA) appealed a superior court order affirming a decision of the Planning Board (Board) of defendant, Town of Thornton not to consider CBDA’s second site plan application for a proposed…

Justia Opinion Summary: Farmington School District appealed a Board of Education (state board) decision reversing the decision of the Farmington School Board (local board) not to renew the employment contract of Demetria McKaig, a guidance…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Thomas Todd, a Massachusetts resident, is a member of the New Hampshire Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC). He was a member of the AMC’s paddling committee since 1989 and was the committee’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Timothy Bobola appealed a superior court decision denying his petition to annul a criminal conviction for second degree assault and a second degree assault charge that did not result in a conviction. On appeal,…

Justia Opinion Summary: A jury convicted defendant Eric Cable for negligent homicide - driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor (DUI). He appealed the trial court’s denial of his motion for a new trial based upon ineffective…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Vic Washington was charged with a number of offenses that arose from his “alleged use and attempted use of fraudulent credit cards, as well as his possession of the allegedly fraudulent credit cards and credit…

Justia Opinion Summary: The parties divorced in January 2010. They had two minor children at that time. They entered into a stipulation, which was incorporated into the divorce decree that the trial court approved; in the stipulation, they…

Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent Steven Allen appealed a superior court order granting a petition to partition real property and for other equitable relief filed by petitioner Renee Brooks, and denying respondent’s cross-petition to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Respondents Northridge Environmental, LLC and Arch Insurance Company (carrier), appealed a decision of the New Hampshire Compensation Appeals Board (CAB) granting a request by petitioner John Nicholson for reimbursement…

Justia Opinion Summary: Pro-se plaintiff Deborah Sumner appealed a superior court order denying her Right-to-Know Law request put to the New Hampshire Secretary of State. The order also granted defendant’s motion for summary judgment. Sumner…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Officer John Gantert appealed a superior court order that granted summary judgment to defendants the City of Rochester, the Rochester Police Department, and the Rochester Police Commission, on plaintiff’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs Gregory and Sonia Riso appealed a superior court order dismissing their negligence claim against defendants Attorney Maureen C. Dwyer and Barradale, O’Connell, Newkirk & Dwyer, P.A., on grounds that defendants…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Albert Boutin, III appealed after a jury convicted him on one count of misdemeanor possession of marijuana. At trial, the State did not produce the marijuana seized from defendant’s apartment, but rather relied…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners Pamela and Robert Lundquist appealed a circuit court order that approved a Judicial Referee's recommendation that their petition for visitation with their grandchildren be dismissed for lack of standing.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Lynette Maryea was an inmate at the Strafford County House of Corrections. In January 2011, the County was transporting Maryea from the House of Corrections to the Federal District Court in Concord in an inmate…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Raymond Cover appealed a New Hampshire Compensation Appeals Board order denying his request for reinstatement to his former part-time position with the respondent, the New Hampshire Liquor Commission…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Christina Thomas was convicted by jury of first degree assault for knowingly causing serious bodily injury to a person under 13 years of age. In 2002, E.A. moved in with defendant and her family. In August…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs Nichole Wilkins and Beverly Mulcahey sued their former employer, Fred Fuller Oil Company, Inc. (Fuller Oil), for sexual harassment and retaliation. Plaintiffs also sued Frederick J. Fuller, an employee of…

Justia Opinion Summary: In consolidated appeals, the Towns of Salem, Temple, Auburn, Bennington, Meredith, Northfield, Peterborough, and Plainfield (the Towns) appealed an order of the presiding officer of the New Hampshire Bureau of Securities…

Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal arose from two consolidated actions brought by plaintiffs Kelly Sanborn, Trustee of the 428 Lafayette, LLC Realty Trust, Donald and Rosemarie Folk, Heather Hancock, and Andrew Cotrupi, against defendants, 428…

Justia Opinion Summary: The State appealed a Circuit Court order granting defendant Tyler Boyer's motion to suppress evidence obtained when, without a warrant, the police entered the apartment that he shared with his girlfriend and arrested…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2015, the Town of Grafton's three-member selectboard reviewed and discussed the 36 warrant articles to be placed on the ballot for the annual Town meeting scheduled for March 10, including 20 articles that plaintiffs…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Jeffrey Roy appealed a circuit court order approving a recommendation of the Judicial Referee that judgment be entered in favor of defendant Quality Pro Auto, LLC on plaintiff’s small claim action. Plaintiff…

Justia Opinion Summary: The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit certified two questions of New Hampshire law to the New Hampshire Supreme Court. In April 2007, plaintiff Joseph Castagnaro executed a promissory note in favor of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent Alexander Nizhnikov appealed a final order in his divorce from petitioner Marianna Nizhnikov. He argued that the trial court erred by: (1) refusing to enforce the parties’ prenuptial agreement; (2) awarding…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner City of Concord appealed a New Hampshire Public Employee Labor Relations Board (PELRB) decision that a grievance filed by respondent, the Concord Police Supervisor[s’] Association (Union), and a retired…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Jeffrey Smith appealed a circuit court granting judgment to defendant Milko Pesa d/b/a Auto Milko, on plaintiff’s small claim action seeking damages and other relief on the grounds that he validly revoked…

Justia Opinion Summary: The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit certified a question of New Hampshire law to the New Hampshire Supreme Court. The question arose from a dispute between Old Republic Insurance Company and…

Justia Opinion Summary: A jury convicted defendant Oscar Grande of armed robbery. On appeal, he argued that his trial counsel was ineffective by failing to contest the admission of evidence concerning an uncharged robbery. Finding no reversible…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Roland Dow appealed after a jury convicted him on two counts of first degree assault, one count of second degree assault, five counts of endangering the welfare of a child, two counts of witness tampering, and…

Justia Opinion Summary: THI is a subsidiary of THI of New Hampshire, LLC, itself a subsidiary of a parent company that owns nursing home operators throughout the country. In approximately 2003, THI purchased and began operating a nursing home,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Michelle Willette appealed a circuit court decision issuing a writ of possession in favor of plaintiff, Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac). In February 2013, Freddie Mac purchased Willette's…