New Hampshire Supreme Court Decisions 2017

Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) appealed a superior court order upholding a wage claim decision issued by the New Hampshire Department of Labor (DOL) in favor of appellee Gary Khoury. As part…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants Brad Balise (Brad), Jon Carpenter, and his mother, Winifred Carpenter, appealed a trial court order quieting title in favor of the plaintiffs Janet and Stanley Balise, and declaring plaintiffs had a right to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants Alan Johnson, Joseph McDonald, and William Saturley, appealed a probate court order which set aside “decantings” from two 2004 irrevocable trusts of which plaintiffs, David A. Hodges, Jr. (David Jr.), Barry R.…

Justia Opinion Summary: In consolidated appeals, petitioner Emily Sanborn, and respondent Timothy Sanborn, appealed circuit court orders that ruled on Timothy’s post-divorce motions. Emily argued the trial court erred by ordering that…

Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent Patrick Roland appealed a New Hampshire Department of Safety (Department) decision requiring the installation of an ignition interlock device in his vehicle as a condition of restoration of his driver’s…

Justia Opinion Summary: Claimant Edmund Hibbard, Esq., Administrator of the Estate of Beatrice Jakobiec (Estate), appealed a New Hampshire Bar Association Public Protection Fund Committee (PPFC) decision finding that the Estate was entitled to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Theo Bosa appealed an order granting him 123 days of presentence confinement credit. On appeal, defendant argued that the superior court erred in awarding him only 123 days of presentence confinement credit,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Homeowner-plaintiffs Michelle and Robert Russell appealed a superior court order denying their summary judgment motion and granting that of insurer-defendant NGM Insurance Company. On appeal, the homeowners argued the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Carlos Gonzalez, III appealed his convictions on two counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault, arguing the trial court erred when it vacated the pro hac vice admission of two out-of-state attorneys,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent Arthur Sweatt appealed a circuit court order denying, in relevant part, his motions to reconsider certain orders in his divorce from Patricia Sweatt. He argued the court erred: (1) in denying his motion to…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2013, 15-year-old Sophia Christen attended a carnival operated by defendant Fiesta Shows, Inc. in a fenced-in area of the Ocean State Job Lot parking lot. After Sophia and her friends shared cotton candy, they began…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants Anthony Barnaby and David Caplin were charged with two counts each of first degree and second degree murder in the deaths of two women that occurred in 1988. The State appealed a superior court order that…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Nashua School District (District) appealed an order of the New Hampshire Public Employee Labor Relations Board (PELRB) finding that the District committed an unfair labor practice by refusing to bargain with the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs Wayne and Ruth Ross, trustees of the Wayne Ross Revocable Trust and the Ruth Ross Revocable Trust, respectively, appealed a superior court order in favor of defendants Donald Ross and Rossview Farm, LLC (the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Arch Specialty Insurance Company (Arch) appealed multiple superior court orders granting summary judgment to defendants Triage Staffing, Inc. (Triage), Exeter Hospital, Inc. (Exeter), and American Healthcare…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Daniel Barry appealed a jury verdict in favor of defendants the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (department) and William Fenniman, Jr., the director of the Division of Juvenile Justice…

Justia Opinion Summary: Jeremy Fiske was convicted on eight counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault, and one count of possessing child pornography. He appealed, arguing the superior court erred by: (1) denying his motion for in camera…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Andrew Robbins appealed his conviction for being a convicted felon in possession of a deadly weapon. Upon approaching the vehicle, police immediately recognized three of the four occupants from prior traffic…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Latvian Lutheran Exile Church of Boston and Vicinity Patrons, Inc. (Patrons), appealed a superior court order declaring that it did not have an easement to use a private road to access Lake Massasecum.…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose from an accident at a pond owned by the defendant, the Town of Chester, where Christopher Kurowski suffered injuries after being struck by a person using a rope swing attached to a tree on the shore.…

Justia Opinion Summary: The State appealed a superior court order granting news reporter Nicholas Reid’s (Reid) motion to quash the State’s subpoena compelling him to testify against defendant Carl Gibson. Republican candidate Yvonne…

Justia Opinion Summary: During a regularly-scheduled meeting, the SAU’s Board voted to go into a nonpublic session to discuss two topics: the superintendent’s evaluation, and “emergency functions.” While in nonpublic session, the Board voted to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants Aaron and Maryann Little (Littles) appealed a Superior Court quieting title in plaintiffs Barbara O’Malley and her daughter Helen O’Malley a strip of land based upon adverse possession, as well as a previous…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Nathaniel Kibby appealed a superior court order that unsealed pleadings, hearings and letters related to the status of counsel and unsealing motions for services other than counsel that he filed ex parte during…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2015, defendant Travis Paige led police on a high-speed vehicle chase. Defendant disregarded stop signs and nearly struck a cyclist and a minivan before losing control of the vehicle after passing through a covered…

Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent Harry Dow, IV appealed a circuit court order requiring him to pay alimony to petitioner Leslie Dow in the amount of $750 per month for three years. When it calculated the amount of alimony, the trial court…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant James Fogg appealed a superior court order denying his motion to dismiss one of the two counts of aggravated driving while intoxicated (DWI) of which he was convicted. The State charged defendant with two…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Dao Nguyen appealed a New Hampshire Board of Barbering, Cosmetology, and Esthetics (Board) decision, suspending her personal license as a manicurist and revoking the shop license for Nail Care. In 2013, Board…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Keli Eckroate-Breagy appealed a circuit court order denying her motion to reopen the property distribution decreed in her divorce from respondent Paul Breagy. She filed the motion after the respondent received…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Jason Candello was convicted by jury for second-degree assault. He appealed, arguing primarily the State offered insufficient evidence to prove the victim suffered serious bodily injury. He also argued he…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner’s receipt of developmental services was voluntary, and accordingly he retained the right to “seek a change in [developmental] services or withdraw entirely from the [developmental] service delivery system.”…

Justia Opinion Summary: The State of New Hampshire moved to enforce administrative subpoenas served on defendants Actavis Pharma, Inc., Endo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Purdue Pharma L.P., and Teva Pharmaceuticals USA,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The State appealed a superior court order that granted defendant Daniel Jesus Cora’s motion to suppress all evidence obtained from the warrantless entry by the police into his vehicle. On appeal, the State contended that…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Abraham DePaula appealed after he was convicted by jury on one count of burglary, five counts of theft by unauthorized taking, and two counts of conspiracy to commit theft by unauthorized taking. He argued the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, David J. Widi, Jr. appealed a superior court order denying his petition for a writ of coram nobis. In February 2004, the defendant filed a notice of intent to plead guilty to a charge of misdemeanor reckless…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this declaratory judgment proceeding, petitioner Exeter Hospital, Inc. (Exeter) appealed a superior court order denying its motion for partial summary judgment as to the amount at which coverage was triggered under an…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Beverly Desmarais appealed the decision of the New Hampshire Compensation Appeals Board (CAB) denying her request for attorney’s fees and costs that she incurred in litigating a fee dispute with the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Peggy Starr appealed her conviction on one count of second degree assault, as a lesser included offense of first degree assault. In 2010, at six and one-half years of age, D.A. was hospitalized at a weight of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Because the issuance of extraterritorial search warrants is not expressly prohibited by the legislature, and because the amicus did not identify any constitutional limitations applicable to these facts, the Court held…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff segTEL, Inc. was a telecommunications company that owned and/or operated a fiber optic cable network throughout New Hampshire, including within the City of Nashua. It did not own any poles or conduits within…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Condominiums at Lilac Lane Unit Owners’ Association (Lilac) appealed a superior court order granting summary judgment to defendants Monument Garden, LLC (Monument Garden) and Eastern Bank. The trial court…

Justia Opinion Summary: The general rule is that evidence must be excluded if it is discovered as a result of police misconduct. “The inevitable discovery doctrine, with its distinct requirements, is in reality an extrapolation from the…

Justia Opinion Summary: New Hampshire Electric Cooperative, Inc. (NHEC) filed tax abatement appeals to the Board of Tax and Land Appeals (BTLA) for 23 municipal assessments of its property that occurred in 2011 and 2012. The BTLA held a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The New Hampshire Supreme Court affirmed an order of the New Hampshire Board of Tax and Land Appeals (BTLA) denying 77 of Public Service Company of New Hampshire's (d/b/a Eversource Energy (PSNH) 86 individual tax…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Fat Bullies Farm, LLC (Fat Bullies), and the counterclaim defendants, Donald Gould and Peter Simmons, appealed certain superior court findings and rulings made during the course of litigation with defendants…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff DirecTV, Inc. appealed a superior court decision denying a petition for property tax abatement for the tax years 2007, 2008, and 2009. The property at issue was located in New Hampton and used by DirecTV as a…

Justia Opinion Summary: RSA 461-A:11, I(a) permits a court to modify a parenting plan only when the parties agree to specific modification terms. Because the parties here disagreed about specific modification terms, they did not “agree to a…

Justia Opinion Summary: Based on the facts of this case, the New Hampshire Supreme Court found that the superior court erred in granting summary judgment, because the superior court gave no explanation for denying plaintiff’s contractual lien…

Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent Town of New London (Town) appealed a superior court order granting summary judgment to petitioners Robert Carr and Raoul & Karen, LLC (Raoul & Karen), in their appeal of the Town’s denial of their request for…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Kyree Rice appealed his convictions for one count of attempted murder, and two counts of first degree assault. He argued the superior court erred by not instructing the jury on the principle that the “act of…

Justia Opinion Summary: A maternal great-grandmother and a maternal step great grandfather appealed after a circuit court dismissed their petition for visitation with their minor great-grandchild. The circuit court found, and the New Hampshire…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Max Wilson was convicted by jury on four counts of violating RSA 632-A:10 (2016), which prohibited persons convicted of certain offenses from providing child care services. At issue was whether “help[ing the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Jason Czekalski appealed his convictions on two counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault (AFSA), and one count of pattern AFSA. On appeal, he argued the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Dartmouth Corporation of Alpha Delta (Alpha Delta) appealed a Superior Court order affirming a Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) decision in favor of defendant Town of Hanover (Town). The ZBA determined that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Kevin Lynch appealed his conviction, following a jury trial, of misdemeanor simple assault. He argued that the Superior Court erred by denying his motion to suppress his statements to police allegedly obtained…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Jessica Morrill appealed her conviction by jury on three counts of possession of a controlled drug (oxycodone, alprazolam, and lisdexamfetamine), and one count of possession of a controlled drug with intent to…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Paul Santamaria appealed a superior court order dismissing his petition for a writ of coram nobis. In 1998, defendant was convicted of first degree assault. His trial counsel filed a motion to set aside the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Kadle Properties Revocable Realty Trust (Trust), challenged the dismissal of the Trust’s appeal to the New Hampshire Board of Tax and Land Appeals (BTLA), filed after respondent, the City of Keene (City),…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Beverly Cluff-Landry appealed a Superior Court order dismissing her case against defendant Roman Catholic Bishop of Manchester d/b/a St. Christopher School (the school). Two new students enrolled in the Pre-K…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants, the City of Dover (City) and its city council, school board, school board superintendent search committee, ethics commission, and city council ethics sub-committee, appealed a Superior Court order requiring…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1973, defendant Robert Breest was convicted for Susan Randall’s murder. Although the New Hampshire Supreme Court affirmed his conviction on direct appeal, defendant has maintained his innocence since his conviction…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Alberto Ramos appealed a Superior Court order dismissing his ineffective assistance of counsel (IAC) claim, asserting that his trial counsel failed to inform him, prior to pleading guilty to felony charges,…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner-claimant Jason Malo appealed a Compensation Appeals Board (CAB) decision reducing the rate at which his indemnity benefits were paid from the temporary total disability rate to the diminished earning capacity…

Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Holloway Automotive Group (Holloway) appealed a circuit court order ruling that the liquidated damages clause contained in the parties’ contract was unenforceable. Holloway was an authorized franchisee of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The decedent, Kathleen Mullin, a resident of Hancock, New Hampshire, died intestate in 2014. Her heirs at law were her three siblings: Michael Mullin, J. Stanley Mullin, Jr., and appellant Patricia Jackle. All of the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant William Edic appealed his conviction by jury on one count of second degree murder and one count of falsifying physical evidence. On appeal, defendant challenged various evidentiary rulings made at trial.…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Remi Gross-Santos appealed his convictions on two counts of second degree assault and one charge of transportation of alcoholic beverages by a minor. He argued on appeal that the Trial Court erred in: (1)…

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Robert Smith was convicted by jury for possession of heroin. He appealed, arguing the trial court erred by: (1) denying his motion to suppress; and (2) excluding the testimony of a defense investigator. Finding…

Justia Opinion Summary: On January 30, 2016, the Town of Deerfield held a deliberative session. During the session, two petitioned warrant articles, titled Article 16 and Article 17, were considered and amended. Following the amendment of the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Kelly Hagenbuch challenged the termination of her food stamp benefits by the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (department). The department terminated the benefits because it found that her…

Justia Opinion Summary: Following a bench trial based upon stipulated facts, defendant Sean McInnis was convicted of two counts of possession of a controlled drug. On appeal, he challenged his convictions, arguing that the Superior Court…