HICKS, J. The defendant, Harold Oakes, appeals his conviction on two counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault and one count of felonious sexual assault. See RSA 632-A:2 (2007) (amended 2008); RSA 632-A:3 (2007) (amended 2008). He argues that the Superior Court ( Bornstein, J.) erred by: (1) denying his motion to dismiss for insufficient evidence; (2) denying his motion to compel depositions; (3) permitting the State to amend the indictments; (4) granting the State's motion to exclude...
DALIANIS, J. Following a bench trial in Superior Court ( McNamara, J.), the defendants, Capitol Broadcasting Corporation, Inc. (Capitol Broadcasting), Concord Broadcasting, LLC (Concord Broadcasting) and Vox Radio Group, LP (Vox Radio), appeal the trial court's order requiring them to specifically perform their contract with the plaintiffs, Birch Broadcasting, Inc. (Birch Broadcasting) and Nassau Broadcasting I, LLC (Nassau I) for the sale of a radio station in Concord. We affirm. I....
HICKS, J. The respondent, Cara L., appeals an order of the Superior Court ( Brown, J.) denying her motion to dismiss the abuse and neglect findings against her. We affirm. The record supports the following facts. On November 10, 2008, the Franklin Family Division ( Gordon, J.) entered a finding of abuse and neglect against the respondent with respect to her child and two step-children. It issued a final dispositional order after a hearing on November 21, 2008. The respondent requested an...
DALIANIS, J. The petitioners, First Berkshire Business Trust (First Trust), First Berkshire Properties, LLC (First LLC) and Second Berkshire Properties, LLC (Second LLC), appeal an order of the Superior Court ( O'Neill, J.) that partially affirmed and partially reversed a decision of the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration (DRA). We affirm. The record reveals the following facts. The petitioners are three separate business organizations. First LLC and Second LLC are both...
HICKS, J. These consolidated cases challenging the legality of a proposed amendment to the City of Manchester's charter are before us on interlocutory transfer without ruling from the Superior Court ( O'Neill, J.). See Sup.Ct. R. 9. We conclude that the amendment is invalid. The following facts are recited in the interlocutory transfer statement or are supported by the record. On July 30, 2008, the city clerk for the City of Manchester (City) received a charter amendment petition that...
CONBOY, J. The plaintiffs, Allianz Global Risks U.S. Insurance Company (Allianz) and Henkel Corporation (Henkel), appeal a ruling of the Superior Court ( McHugh, J.) denying their motion for summary judgment and granting summary judgment to the defendants, the State of New Hampshire and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. We affirm. The following facts were either found by the trial court or are undisputed by the parties. Henkel, a manufacturer of adhesives and related products, owns a...
BRODERICK, C.J. The defendant, Matthew Sconsa, appeals his conviction on one count of possession of a controlled drug, RSA 318-B:2; RSA 318-B:26, II(a), arguing that the Trial Court ( Smukler, J.) erred when it denied his motion to suppress evidence seized as a result of the police executing an arrest warrant in violation of the knock and announce rule. We affirm. We recite the facts as found by the trial court, which are not disputed on appeal. On July 20, 2008, Officer Brian Karoul was on...
HICKS, J. The defendant, Aaron Gleich, individually and as general partner of Fire House Block Associates, L.P. (FHBA), appeals an order of the Superior Court ( Nicolosi, J.) requiring him to indemnify the plaintiff, Dr. Seymour Kessler, for the attorney's fees and costs he incurred in this declaratory judgment action and to pay him the attorney's fees incurred by the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority (NHHFA) in a related action. We reverse in part, vacate in part and remand. The...
DALIANIS, J. The defendants, The Fifth Estate Tower, LLC and Jay Williams, individually and in his official capacity as manager of The Fifth Estate Tower, LLC (collectively, Fifth Estate), appeal a $6.7 million jury verdict in favor of the plaintiff, Green Mountain Realty Corporation (Green Mountain), on its claim that Fifth Estate violated the New Hampshire Consumer Protection Act (CPA), see RSA ch. 358-A (2009). Fifth Estate argues that the Superior Court ( Fitzgerald, J.) erred by...
CONBOY, J. Respondent Jane Doe appeals an order of the Superior Court ( Mangones, J.) granting the petitioner, Concord General Mutual Insurance Company (Concord General), summary judgment on its petition for a declaratory ruling that it is not obligated to provide coverage for injuries Doe suffered as a result of sexual assaults occurring inside an uninsured/underinsured vehicle. We affirm. The facts are undisputed. Doe became acquainted with Matthew McGonagle while she was a student in the...
DALIANIS, J. The petitioner, Robert P. Grimard, appeals a decision of the Superior Court ( McHugh, J.) affirming an order of the New Hampshire Department of Labor (DOL) denying his wage claim and request for attorney's fees. We affirm. The record reveals the following facts. The petitioner is employed by the respondent, Rockingham County Department of Corrections, as a salaried exempt employee. His annual salary is $48,000, which he receives on a bi-weekly basis. The petitioner received his...
BRODERICK, C.J. The plaintiffs, Stephen and Ellen Brunelle, appeal an order of the Trial Court ( McHugh, J.) authorizing the defendants, Bank of New York Mellon; Novastar Mortgage, Inc.; Harmon Law Offices, P.C.; and Saxon Mortgage Services, Inc., to foreclose on the plaintiffs' property if they fail to repay funds required to allow rescission of the mortgage contract. They argue that the trial court erred in modifying their rescission rights under the Truth in Lending Act ("the Act"), see...
DUGGAN, J. The defendant, the Secretary of State (State), appeals an order of the Superior Court ( Nicolosi, J.) enjoining the enforcement of the Sudan Divestment Act. We reverse and remand. The record reflects the following facts. The plaintiff, New Hampshire Judicial Retirement Plan (Judicial Plan), and the intervenor, New Hampshire Retirement System (NHRS) (retirement systems, collectively), are "defined pension benefit plans," which invest and manage funds held by the State pursuant...
HICKS, J. The defendant, Ward Bird, appeals his conviction for criminal threatening. See RSA 631:4 (2007). On appeal, he argues that the Superior Court ( Houran, J.) erred by excluding evidence of a witness's prior bad acts of animal cruelty. He also asserts that the trial court should have set aside the jury's verdict because: (1) the indictment was insufficient to allege the crime of felony criminal threatening; (2) there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate that he committed felony...
HICKS, J. The plaintiff, Alex Builders & Sons, Inc., appeals an order of the Superior Court ( Lewis, J.) discharging its mechanic's lien against property of the defendants, Michael and Ann Marie Danley. We reverse and remand. The record supports the following facts. On March 26, 2009, the plaintiff sued the defendants under theories of breach of contract, quantum meruit and unjust enrichment, alleging that it had supplied materials and performed services in constructing a home at 26...
BRODERICK, C.J. The plaintiffs, Rebecca L. Coan and Micah Ciampi, co-administrators of the estate of Nicholas M. Lorette and parents of Jeffrey Lorette, and Sharon Ciampi, administratrix of the estate of Michael T. Squeglia, appeal orders of the Superior Court ( McGuire, J.) dismissing their lawsuit for wrongful death, negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress, brought against the defendants, the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (DES) and Algonquin Power...
BRODERICK, C.J. This is the second opinion in which we address the process we will follow in applying the provisions of RSA 630:5 (2007) to our mandatory review of the defendant's sentence of death. See State v. Addison, 159 N.H. 87, 977 A.2d 520 (2009). I The defendant, Michael Addison, was convicted of capital murder for the killing of a law enforcement officer acting in the line of duty. See RSA 630:1, 1(a) (2007). On December 18, 2008, a jury recommended that he be sentenced to...
DALIANIS, J. The petitioners, James Baer and Charles Russell, appeal an order of the Superior Court ( Sullivan, J.) dismissing their petition for declaratory judgment. We affirm. The record reveals the following facts. Respondent Concord School District (the District) approved plans for the construction and renovation of the District's elementary schools. The lot sizes of two schools did not meet the minimum lot size requirements set forth in New Hampshire Administrative Rule, Ed 321.03(f)(...
DUGGAN, J. The petitioner, Lillie-Putz Trust (Trust), appeals two orders of the Superior Court ( McHugh, J.) dismissing its writ with prejudice as a sanction for the Trust's refusal to appear for a scheduled mediation and denying its motion for reconsideration. We affirm. The trial court found or the record supports the following facts. In 1994, the then-owners of a gasoline station in North Hampton leased it to respondent DownEast Energy Corporation (DownEast). In 1999, the Trust acquired...
CONBOY, J. The plaintiff, Alan F. Beane, appeals the decision of the Superior Court ( McGuire, J.) dismissing his lawsuit alleging accounting malpractice as barred by the statute of limitations. We affirm. Accepting the facts as alleged in the plaintiff's writ, the trial court found as follows. The defendants, D. Scott Beane (Scott Beane), the plaintiff's brother, and Dana S. Beane & Co., P.C. (Beane Co.), the company created by Alan and Scott Beane's father and currently run by Scott Beane,...
