CONBOY, J. After a jury trial in Superior Court ( McHugh, J.), the defendant, Kristin Ruggiero, was convicted of twelve counts of falsifying physical evidence, RSA 641:6, II (2007), and one count of false report, RSA 641:4, I (2007). On appeal, she argues that the trial court erred: (1) in refusing to exclude certain audio/video recordings as violative of New Hampshire's wiretap statute; (2) in allowing into evidence, without proper authentication, certain e-mail messages she purportedly sent;...
LYNN, J. The plaintiff, Hansa Consult of North America, LLC (HCNA), appeals an order of the Superior Court ( McHugh, J.) granting the motion to dismiss of the defendant, hansaconsult Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH (hansaconsult). We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand. I HCNA, an American company based in Portsmouth, and hansaconsult, a German company, are both involved in the business of detecting fuel leaks at airports. The two companies began their relationship on cooperative terms,...
LYNN, J. Christopher Ruel, a licensed real estate appraiser, appeals an order of the Superior Court ( McNamara, J.) remanding his case to the New Hampshire Real Estate Appraiser Board (Board) for a new disciplinary hearing. We affirm. The pertinent facts, as established by the record, are as follows. In the spring of 2007, Kenneth Frederick hired Ruel to appraise his property in Kingston. The New Hampshire Department of Transportation (DOT) sought to take Frederick's property by eminent...
DALIANIS, C.J. The defendants, Sedo, Inc. (the corporation) and its founder, president and sole shareholder, Goran Lucic, appeal an order of the Manchester District Court ( DeVries, J.) ruling that both the corporation and Lucic are liable to the plaintiff, Holloway Automotive Group d/b/a Holloway Motor Cars of Manchester (Holloway), for breach of contract. We affirm the trial court's enforcement of a liquidated damages provision in the parties' contract, but conclude that the district...
HICKS, J. The defendant, Jon M. French, appeals an order of the Superior Court ( Vaughan, J.) suspending his deferred sentence. We reverse and remand. The record supports the following facts. On April 22, 1996, the defendant pled guilty to two counts of felonious sexual assault. See RSA 632-A:3 (1986) (amended 1997, 2003, 2006, 2008 and 2010). On indictment 95-S-384, the defendant was sentenced to the House of Corrections for one year, stand committed. On indictment 95-S-385, he was...
HICKS, J. The petitioner, Ellen St. Louis, appeals the decision of the New Hampshire Department of Employment Security (DES) Appellate Board (board) denying her claim for unemployment benefits. We affirm. The record supports the following facts. The petitioner began working for Insight Technology in 2004. Throughout her employment she held various assembly positions, which, at times, required soldering work. She regularly received good performance reviews. Insight Technology has a policy to...
DALIANIS, C.J. The respondents, New Hampshire Department of Corrections (DOC) and Liberty Mutual Insurance Company (collectively, the insurer), appeal the decision of the New Hampshire Compensation Appeals Board (CAB) that the petitioner, Michael Whitaker (claimant), was entitled to ongoing temporary total disability indemnity benefits beginning September 17, 2009. We affirm. The following facts are derived from the record. The claimant first filed a workers' compensation claim in January...
LYNN, J. The petitioner, the Town of Newington (Town), appeals an order of the Superior Court ( McNamara, J.) granting the summary judgment motion of the respondents, the State of New Hampshire through the Pease Development Authority (PDA) and the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (DES). We affirm. The following facts appear in the parties' joint stipulation of facts or are taken from the trial court's order. In the 1950s, the federal government established the Pease Air...
DALIANIS, C.J. The petitioner, Premium Research Services, appeals the dismissal by the Superior Court ( McNamara, J.) of its petition under the Right-to-Know Law, RSA ch. 91-A (2001 & Supp.2010), for disclosure of documents relating to disbursements from the second injury fund. See RSA 281-A:21-b (2010). We affirm. The following facts either appear in the petitioner's petition or are taken from the appellate record. "The second injury fund was created to encourage employers to hire or...
LYNN, J. The plaintiff, Salvatore Rabbia, appeals an order of the Superior Court ( Sullivan, J.) directing that $37,000 plus interest currently being held in escrow be dispersed to the intervenor, Automotive Finance Corporation, instead of to the plaintiff, and denying the plaintiff's motion for attorney's fees. We affirm in part, reverse in part and remand. I. Background Before going out of business in 2008, the corporate defendant, Harvard Auto Sales, Inc., d/b/a Hitcars.com (Harvard...
DUGGAN, J. The defendant, the New Hampshire Division for Children, Youth and Families (DCYF), appeals the order of the Superior Court ( Sullivan, J.) to pay $3,553,479.55 to the plaintiffs, Chase Home for Children, Child & Family Services, Hannah House, NFI North, Odyssey House, Orion House and Pine Haven Boys Center. We affirm. I. Facts This dispute concerns rates that DCYF paid the plaintiffs in fiscal years 2004, 2005 and 2006. It has been ongoing for over five years, and has already...
LYNN, J. Following a jury trial in Superior Court ( Smukler, J.), the defendant, Michael Soto, appeals his conviction for being an accomplice to first-degree murder. See RSA 626:8, 630:1-a, I(a) (2007). We affirm. I The defendant's conviction arises out of the fatal shooting of Aaron Kar in Manchester on the evening of January 2, 2007. On the previous day, a man named Bill threatened Roney White's young cousins with a knife at a 7-Eleven store close to Roney's home. When Roney learned of...
HICKS, J. The defendants, Robin Tennant Colburn and Ronald and Richard Tennant, appeal an order of the Superior Court ( Sullivan, J.) denying their motion to dismiss this action by the plaintiffs, Richard and Cheryl Fellows and Benjamin Bellerose, for negligence and violation of federal law for lack of personal jurisdiction. We reverse. The trial court's order recites, or the record supports, the following facts. On December 14, 1981, the defendants' parents, Marvin and Thelma Tennant, and...
HICKS, J. The defendant, New Hampshire Retirement System (NHRS), appeals a decision of the Superior Court ( Garfunkel, J.) ordering it to disclose certain records related to retiree benefits requested by the plaintiff, Union Leader Corporation (Union Leader), under New Hampshire's Right-to-Know Law, RSA chapter 91-A (2001 & Supp.2010). We affirm. The following facts were found by the trial court, are supported in the record, or are established as a matter of law. "NHRS is a defined...
HICKS, J. The petitioners, Curtis and Deborah Avery, appeal an order of the Superior Court ( McNamara, J.) dismissing their petition for declaratory judgment relating to a lot size waiver granted to respondent Concord School District (District) by respondent New Hampshire Department of Education (DOE). We affirm. The following facts are taken from the record. In December 2009, the School Board for the District voted to demolish and rebuild Kimball School. The lot size for the proposed new...
HICKS, J. The defendant, Jesse Brooks, appeals his conviction of conspiracy to commit murder, see RSA 629:3, I, IV (2007); RSA 630:1, I(b), (c) (2007). He argues that the Trial Court ( Nadeau, J.) erred by allowing the State to introduce prior recorded statements of a witness and by finding that witness competent to testify. He also challenges the trial court's denial of his pre-trial motion to dismiss for lack of a speedy trial. We affirm. The jury could have found the following facts....
LYNN, J. The plaintiff, Carleton, LLC, appeals from an order of the Superior Court ( Vaughan, J.) construing RSA 293-A: 14.34(g) and finding that the defendants' notice of intention to adopt articles of dissolution was timely filed. We affirm. The record supports the following. In 1995, Bukk Carleton and defendant Richard Balagur formed defendant MTS Corporation (MTS) for the purpose of purchasing land and operating as a real estate holding company. Of the 1,000 MTS shares, Richard Balagur...
DUGGAN, J. The defendants, Scott and Christina Lees, appeal a decision of the Trial Court ( Houran, J.) finding in favor of and granting damages to the plaintiff, Stephen C. Wyle, following a bench trial on his claim for negligent misrepresentation. We affirm. The trial court found the following facts. In 2002, the defendants purchased a two-unit apartment building located at 38 Oak Street in North Conway. The defendants lived in one unit and rented the other for income. In 2002 or 2003, the...
DALIANIS, C.J. The respondent, Ruth Chevion, appeals, and the petitioners, Aaron M. and Katie E. Boissy, cross-appeal, an order of the Superior Court ( Smukler, J.) granting in part and denying in part the petitioners' petition to quiet title. The trial court ruled that the respondent lacked an easement to use a certain well on the petitioners' property, but that she had a deeded right-of-way over the property to access a former ice pond. We affirm. The trial court found the following facts....
LYNN, J. The plaintiff, Dana Chatman, appeals a decision of the Superior Court ( Wageling, J.) dismissing his lawsuit against the defendants, James Brady and Lee Country Fair, pursuant to RSA 651:70 (2007), an immunity statute. We reverse and remand. For purposes of resolving this appeal, the allegations in the plaintiff's writ are taken as true and all reasonable inferences drawn therefrom are construed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. See Khater v. Sullivan, 160 N.H. 372,...
