Supreme Court of New Hampshire

The court held that the trial court improperly admitted evidence of the defendant’s unrelated drug-related communications because the defense had not created a misleading impression that could be corrected by that evidence.

The court affirmed the finding that Jennifer Rosa willfully violated the divorce decree by failing to pay the ordered amount within 120 days, concluding that the decree was clear and that the trial court acted within its discretion in finding contempt.

The court affirmed the convictions, concluding that improperly admitted hearsay was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt, the evidence was sufficient to support the child-endangerment conviction, and the discovery rulings did not warrant relief.

The court held that the probate division lacked subject matter jurisdiction over a beneficiary’s separate action seeking to invalidate his mother’s lifetime deed on undue-influence and incapacity grounds.

The court affirmed the award of the driveway area beneath Carport 1 to Thomas because the structure had been openly and adversely possessed for more than twenty years before the recorded plan, and the record supported the finding that its use was not permitted.

The court held that the insurer did not timely notify the Commissioner of its possible claim against the Special Fund for Second Injuries. Memoranda reporting workers’ compensation payments and combined wages did not satisfy the statutory notice requirement because they did not notify the Commissioner that the insurer…

The court held that the evidence did not support the trial court’s finding that the landlord materially breached the lease by denying the tenant possession. The landlord’s unfulfilled threat to change the locks did not deny possession, and the furniture did not materially interfere with use of the premises where the…

The court held that a member of a water’s edge combined group may use its capital losses only to offset its own capital gains, not another member’s gains. It rejected the group’s state and federal constitutional challenges, concluding that the separate member-level income calculation did not establish unconstitutional…

The court affirmed West’s three aggravated felonious sexual assault convictions. It held that his challenge to impeachment of a witness was unpreserved and did not satisfy plain-error review, that the child’s statements to a pediatrician were admissible under the medical-diagnosis-or-treatment exception, and that…

The court affirmed the small-claims judgment for towing and storage costs. It concluded that the record supported the trial court’s findings that the dealership arranged an authorized tow and that the required notices were provided; it also found no reversible evidentiary error.

The court affirmed the determination that Laris’s property benefits from an easement over the disputed parcel, concluding that the deeds and record support the trial court’s location finding and that the deed conveying the neighboring property estopped the Weglarzes from denying the easement.

The New Hampshire Supreme Court affirmed the domestic violence final order of protection. It concluded that the defendant, who bore the burden as the appealing party, had not demonstrated reversible error.

The New Hampshire Supreme Court affirmed the order finding that the plaintiff had not proved stalking by a preponderance of the evidence. Because she did not provide a transcript of the final hearing, the court had to assume the evidence supported the trial court’s decision and found no error of law in the record…

The court affirmed the trial court’s factual findings that the landlord willfully failed to investigate and remediate the infestation because the landlord did not provide a transcript of the evidentiary hearing.

The court reversed liability based on nondisclosure of Fincke’s prior lawsuits and statements about when Advent’s products would reach the market, and held that C.C.’s out-of-state purchase was not subject to New Hampshire registration.

The court affirmed termination of the father’s parental rights, concluding that the trial court could consider his compliance with the full dispositional order at the second permanency hearing after a 90-day extension.

The court held that the insured’s requested $4 million increase in umbrella liability coverage was a purchase that triggered the 1991 version of New Hampshire’s UIM mandate, and she had not waived UIM coverage for that increase.

The court affirmed the divorce decree, concluding that the trial court sufficiently supported its decision to impose no child support because the statutory special-circumstances conditions were met.

The court affirmed the denial of the husband’s motion to modify alimony because he did not challenge the finding that he had failed to prove a substantial and unforeseeable change in circumstances, and his arguments that the wife’s remarriage automatically justified modification or shifted the burden of proof were not…

The court held that the Town violated due process by failing to take additional reasonable steps before executing the tax deed and by sending the 2016 tax-lien notice only to an address where prior mail had failed.

The court held that the applicants did not satisfy their burden to establish the special-exception criteria because they offered no evidence that the proposed addition would avoid diminishing surrounding property values, while the abutter testified that it would diminish her property value.

The court affirmed the partition award giving 34 Kings Highway to Sarah, concluding that the probate court considered the relevant equities and had an objective basis for its discretionary decision.

The court held that trying the July assault charge with the murder charge created an unfair risk that the strong assault evidence would bolster the weaker murder case, and that the error was not harmless as to murder but was harmless as to assault.

The court held that the statute governing removal of an adult’s guardian requires consideration of whether removal is in the ward’s best interests, not a separate showing of cause.

The New Hampshire Supreme Court affirmed the civil stalking final order of protection. It declined to review the defendant’s challenges to the referee’s disclosure, recusal, waiver, and due process because the record did not show that she raised them in the trial court.

The court affirmed the denial, without a hearing, of the defendant’s motion to vacate a final domestic violence protection order based on alleged newly discovered evidence. The defendant offered little or no support for the required elements of a new-trial motion and did not allege testimony sufficiently dishonest to…

The court reversed Cherry’s convictions because the trial court improperly admitted general evidence that he owned and possessed firearms and did not establish that evidence of his prior possession of a similar revolver was admissible.

The court affirmed the domestic violence final order because the evidence, viewed favorably to the plaintiff, supported the findings of enumerated criminal acts and a credible present threat to her safety.

The court affirmed the damages award to RJH, concluding that the trial court acted within its discretion in accepting RJH’s late answer and that the evidence supported the finding that the parties waived the contract’s change order requirements.

The court affirmed dismissal of the plaintiff’s civil stalking petition for failure to state a claim. Because the plaintiff did not include the petition in the appellate record, the court presumed that the missing record supported the trial court’s determination that the petition did not meet the statutory standard…

The court held that the statute governing mandatory reinstatement limits back pay to an employee’s lost fixed compensation and does not authorize overtime back pay. Because overtime is additional, variable compensation rather than fixed salary, the Personnel Appeals Board exceeded its authority by including it in the…

The court held that the Department of Health and Human Services’ Administrative Appeals Unit has jurisdiction to hear a licensed provider’s appeal from an MCO’s effort to recoup Medicaid payments.

The court held that RSA 135:17-a does not authorize a trial court to reinstate indictments after they have been dismissed because the defendant remained incompetent to stand trial after the statutory twelve-month period.

The court affirmed the civil stalking final order of protection. It concluded that the defendant received notice and an opportunity to be heard, that the record supported the trial court’s findings and evidentiary rulings, and that the order did not interfere with custody orders.

The court held that Valley News timely appealed the denial of its motion to reopen and that Hanover was required to pay reasonable attorney’s fees and costs under the Right-to-Know Law.

The court reversed Rosen’s conviction because the trial court improperly admitted evidence of his prior voting history and broadly excluded evidence that another person may have voted in Rosen’s name in the charged election.

The New Hampshire Supreme Court affirmed the Compensation Appeals Board’s denial of workers’ compensation benefits because the record supported the Board’s finding that Kelley’s death resulted from a noncompensable personal risk.

The court affirmed Stewart’s criminal-threatening conviction, holding that the State established an essential need to admit his privileged communications with a mental-health-center employee and that the evidence permitted a finding of recklessness beyond a reasonable doubt.

The court held that New Hampshire law governs whether the husband’s second annuity is divisible marital property and affirmed its equal division. It vacated the denial of alimony because the trial court did not account for the income effect of that division or adequately consider the husband’s testimony about…

The court affirmed the denial of partial summary judgment because the seller’s conduct after the financing deadline created a material factual dispute over whether it elected to treat the financing contingency as waived.