New Hampshire Supreme Court
Cases Accepted - November 1998
94-450 Petition of Townsend,
Duon Townsend,* pro se
Paul G. Sanderson for DCYS
Sharon Rondeau for Irene LeFave
Abuse and neglect-vistation; whether court abused its
discretion in post-dispotional order after finding
plantiff abused or neglected children
97-087 Lembo, David v. Bennett,* Edward & Joyce
Thomas Craig Peter Hutchins
Negligence - automobile accident; whether court erred
in instructing jury that loss of enjoyment of life
damages are separate from pain and suffering; whether
said instruction was confusing in a case alleging loss
of consortium by claimant's spouse; denial of motion to
set aside or for remittitur
98-077 YYY Corporation v. Gazda,* Richard and
Clifford P. Gallant Jr. Everette
Charles B. Doleac
Benjamin T. King
Promissory notes - numerous issues including denial of
discovery regarding plaintiff's purchase of notes from
FDIC; failure to require plaintiff to produce original
notes; whether plaintiff may enforce lost negotiable
instrument absent affidavit accounting for loss;
whether plaintiff breached duty of good faith and fair
dealing; unjust enrichment; cross-appeal - whether RSA
382-A:3-309(a) bars plaintiff as assignee of the FDIC
as receiver for the bank from enforcing the April 1987
note
98-230 State of NH v. Surprenant,* Kevin
Attorney General James E. Duggan
Darcie E. Spence
Sentence - pretrial confinement; whether court erred in
denying pretrial confinement credit for period during
which defendant was incarcerated in Massachusetts
solely due to NH detainer
98-350 Holt,* Hillis W. v. Town of Enfield, Enfield
William K. Koppenheffer Planning Board
Barton L. Mayer
Municipal regulation - whether plaintiff's two lots, on
opposite sides of a road, are contiguous; whether court
erred in extending holding of Mudge v. Precinct of
Haverhill Corner, 133 N.H. 881 (1993), to prohibit
merger of lots on opposite sides of a right-of-way
under RSA 674:39-a
98-374 New Hampshire Troopers Association,* Appeal of
(public employee labor relations board)
James W. Donchess
Attorney General
Unfair labor practice - whether division of state
police can change corporals' rank to that of trooper
first class absent any disciplinary violation; whether
unilateral changes in rank in the guise of a
reorganization without negotiation with union is unfair
labor practice; whether changes in rank were
reclassifications permitted by RSA 273-A:1, XI
98-376 West Gate Village Assoc. v. DuBois,* Joseph and
Sabine
Dubois,* Joseph v. West Gate Village
and Sabine Assoc.
Joseph E. Mitchell, for Scott W. Flood, for West
the Dubois' Gate
Timothy J. Arel, for West
Gate
Condominium assessments - whether prior ruling applying
statute of limitations to appellants' claim barred
appellants from raising defense to counterclaim; law of
the case doctrine; res judicata; erroneous award of
attorney's fees
98-377 Burgess,* Harold v. Burgess, Sharron
Alan S. Greene Mark S. Moeller
Divorce - numerous issues including denial of
continuance; alimony; whether court erred in awarding
marital home to defendant; improper valuation of
marital home; failure to credit plaintiff with payments
made; proper valuation date for savings account
98-398 In re Amanda C.
JoAnn Samson, for the father*
Gabriel Nizetic, for the mother
Attorney General
Child abuse and neglect proceeding - right to appeal;
whether family division pilot program rule providing
for direct appeal to supreme court complies with
statutes; whether denial of de novo appeal violates
equal protection; whether rule eliminating de novo
appeals is unconstitutional
98-399 Brae Asset Fund, L.P.* v. Laconia Investment
Patrick J. Devine Properties, Inc., Robert
L. Steuk, Walter C.
Pierce Jr.,
L. John Davidson,
John B. Robertson, Long
Bay Corporation
Mark Weaver, for Steuk
Stephen G. Hermans, for
Pierce
L. John Davidson, pro se
John B. Robertson, pro se
Notes, guarantees - whether counsel who appeared at ADR
session for plaintiff but failed to file appearance was
nonappearing counsel; whether court erred in dismissing
action after counsel appeared at mediation with
settlement authority but without plaintiff due to
accident, mistake or misfortune
98-401 Maloof, Ronald and v. Bonser, Robert, Cedar
Robin Waters Village, Inc.,
Stephen Woods Cedar Waters Village
J. Christopher McGuirk Paternship*
William Dewhurst
Terry L. Bonser,* pro se
Mary L. Parks Bonser,*
pro se
Fraud, misrepresentation - failure to dismiss
partnership as defendant where alleged tortuous
statements were made prior to formation of partnership;
allowing jury to consider acts occuring earlier than
dates alleged in complaint; statute of limitations;
surprise; whether court made misleading statement to
jury
98-436 Mullin,* Wayne, William v. Joy, Violet M.
Mullin, June Mullin Dennis Ducharme
Gregory R. Couture
Negligence - automobile/bicycle accident; failure to
set aside verdict for defendant where accident could
not have occurred without defendant's negligence
98-488 Witasick,* Kevin J., v. Town of Wilton
Whitney S. Witasick Silas Little, III
Nolan T. Koon
Property tax abatement - inventory; numerous issues
including admission of testimony on motion to dismiss;
whether town mailed inventory blank to property owner;
application of RSA 74:7-a to nonresident property
owner; whether RSA 74:7-c is constitutional; whether a
successor in title is barred from seeking abatement due
to predecessor's failure to file inventory
98-514 Skillsoft Corporation, v. Harcourt General, Inc.,*
Charles E. Moran, National Education
Mark Townsend Training Group, Inc.
Christopher Cole Kevin E. Sharkey
Declaratory judgment - personal jurisdiction; whether
holding that court has jurisdiction over defendants
violates due process; whether defendants' actions
constitute intentional and purposeful availment of
benefits and protections of NH laws such that
defendants could reasonably anticipate being haled into
NH court
98-543 Crane, Michael v. Peerless Insurance
Joseph F. Daschbach Company*
Andrew D. Dunn
Automobile insurance - rescission; whether court erred
by requiring defendant to prove that plaintiff was not
a NH resident at any time during policy coverage;
whether plaintiff was a NH resident; whether court
erred in awarding attorney's fees to plaintiff under
RSA 491:22-b in action that was in substance for
rescission of insurance contract
98-622 ICS Communications, v. Fitch, Richard
Inc.*
A & B Lumber Company, v. Pitman, Richard
Inc.*
A & B Lumber Company, v. Pitman, Mary Ellen
Inc.* Charles G. Douglas, III
Michael R. Callahan for Richard Fitch and
Michael D. Ramsdell Richard Pitman
Edmund S. Waters for
Mary Ellen Pitman
Wage claim - whether employer is entitled to jury trial
in wage claim action originally filed with department
of labor where amount in controversy exceeds $1500;
interlocutory appeal
98-629 Smith,* Stephen, Petition of
Stephen E. Gaige
William E. Brennan
Brian G. Germaine, GAL
Certiorari - denial of interlocutory appeal; whether NH
court is required to give full faith and credit to
California court's order on child custody; whether NH
court has subject matter jurisdiction
98-695 Fischer, David J., New v. Shaheen,* Jeanne,
Hampshire Civil Governor,
Liberties Union William M. Gardner,
Joshua A. Gordon Secretary of State,
Joseph S. Haas, Muriel Gagnon, Supervisor
pro se, attempted of Checklist of
intervenor Rochester, NH
Martin P. Honigberg
Voting - whether statute prohibiting convicted,
incarcerated felons from voting is unconstitutional;
whether Governor and Secretary of State were proper
parties; standing of Civil Liberties Union; allowing
petitioners to proceed on facially deficient petition