Category: New Hampshire Court Opinions

326 A.2d 263 ROGER E. ALLY v. STATE PERSONNEL COMMISSION No. 6535Supreme Court of New Hampshire Personnel Commission Decided September 30, 1974 1. Record did not support plaintiff’s contention that his duties as temporary, provisional appointee to the temporary position of business supervisor aide were the same as his duties as provisional appointee to the […]

4 A.2d 651 EUGENE E. FERRIS v. JOSEPH SAULNIER. No. 3024.Supreme Court of New Hampshire Hillsborough. Decided February 7, 1939. The argument of counsel that his opponent’s vigorous defence on the issue of damages showed lack of confidence in his defence of non-liability is prejudicial and vitiates a verdict. Where plaintiff’s argument was ambiguous and […]

364 A.2d 637 DAVID L. GINTZLER a. v. A. MICHAEL MELNICK a. No. 7363Supreme Court of New Hampshire Merrimack Decided September 30, 1976 1. Evidence of the parties’ conversations prior to, and contemporaneous with, the execution of the guarantee was properly admitted to establish the meaning of the guarantee. 2. The issue of the scope […]

341 A.2d 271 JOAN L. ERDMAN v. HOWARD L. ERDMAN No. 7163Supreme Court of New Hampshire Grafton Decided June 30, 1975 1. A decree of divorce and a decree of property settlement stand upon the same footing as other judgments and are not subject to retroactive modification for a change in circumstances. They are to […]

350 A.2d 336 STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE v. THOMAS NEIL KAY No. 6820Supreme Court of New Hampshire Merrimack District Court Decided December 31, 1975 1. Complaint fully and clearly stated the essential elements of an offense under RSA 358-A:2 (Supp. 1975) by charging that the defendant, as a representative of a Florida resort hotel association, […]

312 A.2d 693 MARIE E. SAWYER, EXECUTRIX OF THE ESTATE OF CARL R. SAWYER v. FRANCIS L. BOUFFORD MARIE E. SAWYER v. SAME No. 6561Supreme Court of New Hampshire Cheshire Decided November 30, 1973 1. Trial court order that defendant, whose financial resources were not an issue in the tort action, disclose his net worth […]

448 A.2d 422 APPEAL OF JAMES E. CONNOLLY, JR. (New Hampshire Department of Public Works and Highways) No. 81-312Supreme Court of New Hampshire Department of Public Works and Highways Decided July 14, 1982 1. Administrative Law — Judicial Review — Authority To Prosecute Appeal Inasmuch as no statute authorized an appeal, under statute relating to […]

58 A.2d 510 OLIN MATHERS a. v. WILLIAM CONNELLY a. No. 3723.Supreme Court of New Hampshire Cheshire. Decided April 6, 1948. A mechanic’s lien under R.L., c. 264, ss. 14, 20 is not effectively secured unless the plaintiff (1) states in his writ the purpose for which suit is brought, (2) describes the property on […]

207 A.2d 437 L. WINSTON HAMM, Adm’r v. RENA E. PIPER a. No. 5302.Supreme Court of New Hampshire Carroll.Submitted January 8, 1965. Decided February 26, 1965. 1. While evidence necessary to a plaintiff’s case may be supplied after erroneous denial of a nonsuit and thus preclude a directed verdict founded upon deficiencies in the plaintiff’s […]

639 A.2d 1098 CATHEDRAL OF THE BEECHWOODS, INC. v. RICHARD F. PARE a. No. 92-710Supreme Court of New Hampshire Grafton Decided March 31, 1994 1. Judgments — Res Judicata — Merger and Bar Judgment on the merits has preclusive effect as to both what was actually litigated and everything that could have been litigated. 2. […]

315 A.2d 187 VIVIAN CLARK a. v. N.H. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND WELFARE, NEW HAMPSHIRE DIVISION OF WELFARE, AND THOMAS HOOKER, DIRECTOR DAVID HAMMOND BRADLEY, STATE SENATOR v. SAME No. 6843Supreme Court of New Hampshire Merrimack Decided February 20, 1974 1. Regulations proposed by director of welfare under RSA 167:7 establishing a flat grant system […]

448 A.2d 377 ALLARD GEARY, INC. a. v. JAMES FARO No. 81-216Supreme Court of New Hampshire Rockingham Decided July 2, 1982 1. Contracts — Construction — Time In order to determine whether time is of the essence in an agreement, the trier of fact should not use a mechanical test, but should determine the intent […]

411 A.2d 1110 PAUL CARBONNEAU v. TOWN OF RYE a. No. 79-150Supreme Court of New Hampshire Rockingham Decided February 14, 1980 1. Zoning — Appeals From Board of Adjustment Presumption imposed by statute that findings of the zoning board of adjustment are lawful and reasonable was not overcome by plaintiff in his appeal of zoning […]

677 A.2d 138 UNIT OWNERS ASSOCIATION OF SUMMIT VISTA LOT 8 CONDOMINIUM v. ALVIN H. MILLER, INDIVIDUALLY, AND AS TRUSTEE OF THE SUMMIT VISTA LOT 8 TRUST No. 94-521Supreme Court of New Hampshire Carroll Decided May 16, 1996 1. Condominiums — Condominium Act of New Hampshire — Construction Paragraph III of RSA 356-B:56, the Condominium […]

630 A.2d 783 GLENN D. SCHOFF a. v. CITY OF SOMERSWORTH No. 92-418Supreme Court of New Hampshire Strafford Decided August 31, 1993 1. Municipal Law — Liability — Municipal Tort Liability Former version of municipal liability statute which was in effect when plaintiffs were injured after they drove off the end of a dead-end road […]

367 A.2d 579 DAVIS ASSOCIATES, INC. v. RAYMOND LAURION a. No. 7589Supreme Court of New Hampshire Rockingham Decided December 30, 1976 1. The record supported the master’s finding that the arbitrators gave due consideration to the parties’ claims in making the award even though they did not address the claims with particularity or itemize the […]

20 A.3d 199 IN THE MATTER OF THEODORE J. GOODLANDER AND ELIZABETH M. TAMPOSI. No. 2009-309.Supreme Court of New Hampshire. Hillsborough-southern judicial district.Argued: September 8, 2010. Opinion Issued: February 25, 2011. 1. Trusts — Trust Property — Generally A perfect vested right can be no other than such as is not doubtful, or depending on […]

766 A.2d 1057 THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE v. JASON FARRELL. No. 98-497Supreme Court of New Hampshire Merrimack Decided January 29, 2001 1. Criminal Law — Self-Incrimination — Waiver To overcome presumption that a defendant would not normally forfeit constitutional right against self-incrimination, State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant knowingly, intelligently, and […]

56 A.2d 538 SADIE WEBBER v. CLARE H. PHIPPS a. No. 3689.Supreme Court of New Hampshire Strafford. Decided January 6, 1948. A covenant not to sue, given by the plaintiff in a tort action, may be set aside on the ground of undue influence where the evidence warrants a finding that the plaintiff reposed confidence […]

309 A.2d 217 VIRGINIA ANN TWARDOSKY v. M. EDWARD TWARDOSKY No. 6603Supreme Court of New Hampshire Hillsborough Decided August 27, 1973 1. The part of a divorce decree granting to the wife 60 percent of the proceeds to be derived from the sale of the family home was held to be a property settlement that […]

427 A.2d 1099 FRANCES E. MacKAY v. REAL D. BREAULT a. No. 79-337Supreme Court of New Hampshire Rockingham Decided March 11, 1981 1. Deeds and Conveyances — Construction — Intent of Parties The interpretation of deeds is ultimately for supreme court, based on the intention of the parties as properly found by the trial court. […]

770 A.2d 1120 TOWN OF SALEM v. RICHARD WICKSON. No. 99-283Supreme Court of New Hampshire Rockingham Decided April 24, 2001 1. Zoning and Planning — Generally — Exceptions,Variances, and Nonconforming Uses The right to maintain nonconforming uses is meant to protect property owners from a retrospective application of zoning ordinances, so that property owners may […]

658 A.2d 1191 THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE v. DAVID McGLEW No. 93-072Supreme Court of New Hampshire Hillsborough-northern judicial district Decided May 23, 1995 1. Evidence — Other Bad Acts — Judicial Review The decision to admit “bad acts” evidence lies within the trial court’s sound discretion and will be overturned only if the defendant […]

302 A.2d 824 ROBERT PERKINS THAYER v. STATE TAX COMMISSION No. 6400Supreme Court of New Hampshire Hillsborough Decided March 29, 1973 1. Question presented by an appeal from an order of the superior court without a transcript of the evidence is whether any error of law appears on the record. Page 114 2. Abatement of […]

376 A.2d 519 WILLIAM D. HAMBY, JR. v. BENJAMIN C. ADAMS, COMMISSIONER, a. No. 7622Supreme Court of New Hampshire Hillsborough Decided July 25, 1977 1. Unemployment Compensation — Hearing — Failure To Appear Failure to appear at an appeal tribunal hearing will not in all cases bar an unemployment compensation claimant from superior court review. […]

743 A.2d 829 In re JUSTIN D. No. 97-458Supreme Court of New Hampshire Concord District Court Decided December 13, 1999 1. Statutes — Maxims and Rules of Construction — Criminal Statutes Even though statute governing possession of dangerous weapons was not part of Criminal Code, it would be construed as would a criminal code provision, […]

94 A.2d 552 MANCHESTER a. v. BOSTON MAINE RAILROAD. No. 4162.Supreme Court of New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission. Decided February 3, 1953. While the accuracy of the findings of the Public Utilities Commission may be reviewed by the Supreme Court, they are to be deemed prima facie lawful and reasonable. A decision and order of […]

379 A.2d 1040 FREDERICK J. MARTINEAU v. RAYMOND HELGEMOE, WARDEN No. 7484Supreme Court of New Hampshire Original Decided October 31, 1977 Constitutional Law — Public Trial — Waiver Where defense counsel made a deliberate tactical decision not to inform court or to object to doors of courtroom being locked because he felt it was to […]

95 A.2d 118 ARTHUR E. PORTER, Adm’r v. DAVID BARTON. No. 4177.Supreme Court of New Hampshire Merrimack. Decided March 3, 1953. Where the plaintiff was engaged by the defendant in wood cutting operations on a daily pay basis and worked under the general supervision of the defendant, the plaintiff was properly found to be an […]

136 A.2d 221 LOUIS C. WYMAN, Attorney General v. WILLARD UPHAUS. No. 4533.Supreme Court of New Hampshire Merrimack. Decided November 15, 1957. 1. Where the United States Supreme Court vacated the judgment of this court in Wyman v. Uphaus, 100 N.H. 436, and “remanded the case for consideration in the light of Sweezy v. New […]

652 A.2d 671 THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE v. DANIEL VANDEBOGART Nos. 91-380, 93-326Supreme Court of New Hampshire Rockingham Decided December 9, 1994 1. Evidence — Scientific Tests — Admissibility “Ceiling principle,” requiring testing of DNA samples from about 100 persons from each of 15-20 randomly selected ethnic populations, for creation of conservative estimate of […]

249 A.2d 859 FRANCIS RATTI v. HINSDALE RACEWAY a. No. 5765.Supreme Court of New Hampshire Cheshire.Argued November 6, 1968. Decided January 31, 1969. 1. The party seeking to have a statute declared invalid has the burden of proving the absence of any conceivable ground upon which the statute may be supported. 2. The statute (RSA […]

561 A.2d 1075 THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE v. KENNETH TUCKER No. 88-202Supreme Court of New Hampshire Hillsborough Decided July 14, 1989 1. Constitutional Law — Speedy Trial — Tests The four principal factors relevant to a determination whether defendant was unconstitutionally denied a speedy trial are: length of delay, reason for it, defendant’s efforts […]

378 A.2d 1130 PETER L. WERNER v. ROBERT MONTANA No. 7702Supreme Court of New Hampshire Belknap Decided September 30, 1977 1. Sales — Warranties — Express Warranty Where there was evidence that negotiations concerning sale of sloop included discussion of ship’s watertightness, during which seller told buyer sloop would become watertight once placed in water […]

293 A.2d 324 THOMAS F. CARROLL a. v. GERALD J. SCHECHTER a. No. 6100.Supreme Court of New Hampshire Rockingham. Decided June 30, 1972. 1. Restrictive covenants appearing on a recorded land development plan and inserted or referred to in the grantor-developer’s deed of lots therefrom with the grantor-developer’s and its purchasers’ intentions that the covenants […]

383 A.2d 87 THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE v. W. WAYNE AYRES No. 7809Supreme Court of New Hampshire Hillsborough Decided February 17, 1978 1. Telecommunications — Electronic Surveillance — Body Bugs Recording of conversation, in which defendant allegedly solicited undercover police officer to commit murder, by transmitting conversation through body bug carried by police officer […]

612 A.2d 920 ALAN G. LAMPERT AND ALAN V. LIGOURI, TRUSTEES, UNICORN PARK REALTY TRUST v. TOWN OF HUDSON No. 91-290Supreme Court of New Hampshire Hillsborough Decided September 1, 1992 Zoning — Planning Authorities — Powers and Duties Town planning board properly approved plaintiffs’ site plan subject to condition that plaintiffs pay a “corridor allocation […]

374 A.2d 954 JAMES M. METZGER a. v. TOWN OF BRENTWOOD No. 7590Supreme Court of New Hampshire Rockingham Decided June 7, 1977 1. Zoning — Validity — Waiver and Estoppel Finding that property owners had actual notice that they “might” be prohibited from building when they purchased their land did not bar Page 498 them […]

125 A.2d 658 ARTHUR G. RANDALL d/b/a RANDALL SALES AND SERVICE v. LAWRENCE PINGREE. No. 4501.Supreme Court of New Hampshire Rockingham.Argued September 4, 1956. Decided October 2, 1956. Under the conditional sales law (RSA ch. 361) as enacted in this state, the seller is entitled, upon default of the buyer and following repossession of the […]

78 A.2d 527 HENRY M. FITZGERALD v. ALBERT P. LAWSON a. No. 3994Supreme Court of New Hampshire Rockingham Decided February 6, 1951 Where a Referee found for the defendants but no record of the testimony was preserved, the plaintiff may not advance the claim in the Supreme Court that the testimony in his favor was […]

20 A.3d 947 J M LUMBER AND CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, INC. v. J. ROBERT SMYJUNAS, JR. a. Nos. 2010-259 2010-356.Supreme Court of New Hampshire. Coos.Argued: February 16, 2011. Opinion Issued: April 14, 2011. 1. Parties — Generally — Standing For a party to have standing, the party must have suffered a legal injury. 2. Limitation of […]

569 A.2d 749 UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION v. DIANE WILKINSON, ADMINISTRATRIX OF THE ESTATE OF JOHN WILKINSON, JR., THE HARTFORD INSURANCE COMPANY, AND THE UNITED STATES FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY No. 88-263Supreme Court of New Hampshire Hillsborough Decided December 8, 1989 1. Insurance — Construction of Contracts — Ambiguity Ambiguities in insurance policies are construed against […]

771 A.2d 587 RICHARD KELSEA v. TOWN OF PEMBROKE. No. 99-139Supreme Court of New Hampshire Merrimack Decided April 24, 2001 1. Zoning and Planning — Generally — Exceptions,Variances, and Nonconforming Uses In a proceeding on expansion of the height of a communications tower that existed prior to adoption of town zoning ordinance, the section of […]

77 A.2d 34 OZINA M. LAMBERT v. ROBERT F. LAMBERT a. No. 3977.Supreme Court of New Hampshire Cheshire. Decided December 5, 1950. An agreement to provide life support and maintenance will not ordinarily be enforced by a decree of specific performance. Where the plaintiff was held not entitled to the relief sought by her pleadings […]

769 A.2d 339 Ronald Maloof and Robin Maloof v. Robert Bonser, Cedar Waters Village, Inc. and Cedar Waters Village Partnership. No. 98-401.Supreme Court of New Hampshire Rockingham. Decided December 29, 2000. 1. Appeal an Error — Preservation of Questions — Particular Cases By failing to object at trial, defendant failed to preserve their argument regarding […]

459 A.2d 244 WILLIAM RYAN a. v. CITY OF MANCHESTER ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT a. No. 82-260Supreme Court of New Hampshire Hillsborough Decided March 24, 1983 1. Zoning — Variances — Generally The purpose of a variance is to prevent a zoning ordinance from becoming overly oppressive or confiscatory. Page 171 2. Zoning — Variances […]

369 A.2d 221 STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE v. JACKIE PARTLOW No. 7567Supreme Court of New Hampshire Sullivan Decided January 31, 1977 1. False Pretenses or Tokens — Checks The words “such as” in RSA 637:1, which provides that theft encompasses crimes “such as” those enumerated, render the list of crimes merely illustrative rather than exhaustive. […]

448 A.2d 370 BARBARA L. GURI (CUSHING) v. CHARLES GURI No. 80-458Supreme Court of New Hampshire Hillsborough Decided July 2, 1982 1. Contracts — Modification — Mutual Modification Contractual obligations can be modified by either an express or an implied mutual agreement between the parties; whether there was such an agreement is a question of […]

484 A.2d 1220 RONALD COULOMBE v. NOYES TIRE COMPANY a. No. 84-163Supreme Court of New Hampshire Hillsborough Decided November 30, 1984 1. Workers’ Compensation — Insurers — Settlement An agreement between an insurance carrier and an injured party that benefits are payable has the same legal effect as an award for purposes of interpreting statute […]

424 A.2d 178 In re DIANA P. No. 79-410Supreme Court of New Hampshire Belknap County Probate Court Decided December 10, 1980 1. Statutes — Construction and Application — Generally Unless defined by the statute in which they appear, words and phrases are defined according to their common-law meanings. 2. Parent and Child — Parental Rights […]

328 A.2d 123 ROYAL GARDENS COMPANY v. CITY OF CONCORD No. 6837Supreme Court of New Hampshire Merrimack Decided October 31, 1974 1. The supreme court did not disturb the master’s finding that the parties’ off-the-record agreement in the master’s presence, that real estate generally was assessed at specified percentages of true value Page 669 during […]

519 A.2d 243 PIERRE ROUSSEAU v. MARIS ESHLEMAN No. 84-545Supreme Court of New Hampshire Hillsborough Decided October 3, 1986 1. Trade Regulation — Consumer Protection Laws — Purpose Consumer protection act is a comprehensive statute designed to regulate business practices for consumer protection by making it unlawful for persons engaged in trade or commerce to […]

777 A.2d 840 THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE v. DAVID MICHAUD. Nos. 97-488, 97-489, 98-207.Supreme Court of New Hampshire Strafford. Decided February 12, 2001. 1. Criminal Law — Confrontation of Witnesses — Cross-Examination Defendant’s right to cross-examine prosecution witnesses is not unfettered, and supreme court will uphold trial court’s decision limiting scope of cross-examination absent […]

211 A.2d 405 HINSDALE a. v. CHESHIRE COUNTY a. No. 5306.Supreme Court of New Hampshire Cheshire.Argued March 3, 1965. Decided June 30, 1965. 1. The question whether an organization is a de jure or a de facto public municipal corporation can be determined only in a direct proceeding by the State attacking its corporate existence. […]

517 A.2d 1162 THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE v. KATHLEEN KAPLAN No. 85-559Supreme Court of New Hampshire Sullivan Decided October 2, 1986 Criminal Law — Sentence — Particular Cases Trial court properly denied a motion to correct sentence, where defendant was sentenced to thirty years to life as an accomplice to second degree murder but […]

130 A.2d 540 CHARLES A. PIKE v. JUSTIN D. HARTFORD a. No. 4531.Supreme Court of New Hampshire Rockingham.Argued January 2, 1957. Decided March 26, 1957. In the transfer of exceptions to the Supreme Court it is incumbent on counsel to make certain that a record of his exceptions is made in writing and that they […]

27 A.3d 644 PETER L. GORDON, TRUSTEE OF THE PETER L. GORDON REVOCABLE TRUST OF 1999 a. v. TOWN OF RYE. No. 2009-836.Supreme Court of New Hampshire. Rockingham.Argued: September 23, 2010. Opinion Issued: June 15, 2011. 1. Courts — Jurisdiction — Subject Matter Jurisdiction Subject matter jurisdiction is jurisdiction over the nature of the case […]