Bar News - June 20, 2003
Supreme Court at a Glance - May 2003
Civil
1. Transmedia Restaurant Co. v. Devereaux, No. 2001-425
May 2, 2003 (Evidence/Consumer Protection Act)
- Whether an objection raised in a post-trial motion preserves an issue for appeal.
- Whether the lay purchaser and owner of restaurant equipment could testify as to the equipment's value, under New Hampshire Rule of Evidence 701.
- Whether a plaintiff could recover multiple damages under the New Hampshire Consumer Protection Act, and compensatory damages under a different theory of liability, even though the different claims arose from the same loss.
- Whether the trial court erroneously reduced the jury's compensatory damages award.
2. Big League Entertainment, Inc. v. Brox Indus., No. 2002-198
May 5, 2003 (Limitation of Actions)
- Whether construction deficiency actions must comply with both the applicable statute of limitations (RSA 508:4, I) and the applicable statute of repose (RSA 508:4-b).
- Whether the plaintiff's action was timely under the discovery rule exception to the statute of limitations.
3. Progressive Northern Ins. Co. v. Enterprise Rent-A-Car Co. of Boston, Inc., No. 2002-044
May 9, 2003 (Financial Responsibility Act)
- Whether RSA chapter 264 requires a rental car company to provide primary financial responsibility act coverage for accidents caused by the use of its fleet of cars.
4. Comeau v. Vergato, No. 2002-413
May 16, 2003 (Landlord/Tenant)
- Whether the duration of a person's stay on another person's property, in and of itself, can establish a landlord-tenant relationship.
- Whether "residential premises" must qualify as manufactured housing, in order to trigger the requirements of RSA 540-A.
- Whether the trial court properly refused to apply RSA 216-I (the statute governing campgrounds).
Criminal
1. State v. Whittey, No. 2001-427
May 2, 2003 (Recusal/Evidence)
- Whether the trial judge's involvement with the Attorney General's Office created an appearance of impropriety sufficient to require the judge to recuse herself.
- Whether the Legislature's repeal of the rape statute in 1975 eliminated the rape element of the version of the first-degree murder statute in effect in 1981.
- Whether the methods and techniques used in PCR-based STR DNA testing are generally accepted in the scientific community so as to satisfy Frye admissibility requirements.
2. State v. Gamester, No. 2001-522
May 2, 2003 (Superior Court Rule 98)
- Whether Superior Court Rule 98 requires the state to summarize the testimony of experts whose reports the state has provided to the defense.
- Whether Superior Court Rule 98 mandates that an expert's report contain all the opinions regarding which the expert may be called upon to testify at trial.
3. State v. DiNapoli, No. 2002-416
May 16, 2003 (Sufficiency of Evidence/Prosecutorial Misconduct)
- Whether the trial court should have granted the defendant's motion for directed verdict, on the grounds that there was insufficient evidence to convict him of witness tampering.
- Whether the trial court erred in admitting testimony regarding a lay witness' mental state and testimony regarding the practice of compensating lay witnesses.
- Whether a prosecutor made improper remarks and committed prosecutorial misconduct in the closing argument.
- Whether the trial court erred in denying requested jury instructions regarding: (1) the legality of preparing and reimbursing witnesses; (2) the intent element of the witness-tampering statute; and (3) the fact that lawyers, but not clients, are bound by rules of ethics.
Domestic
1. In the Matter of Linda A. Plaisted and Grahame J. Plaisted, No. 2002-496
May 16, 2003 (Support)
- Whether the trial court properly considered the respondent's savings account as a "special circumstance" under RSA 458-C:5 in deviating from the child support guidelines.
Probate
1. In re Estate of Roland A. Bennett, No. 2001-727
May 16, 2003 (Late Claims against Administrator)
- Whether the probate court should have applied RSA 556:28 to permit a late-filed claim against the administrator, where the estate creditor failed to file a claim within the one-year period allowed by RSA 556:5 because the creditor relied on the administrator's representations that the estate was insolvent and that there were no additional assets.
Workers' Compensation
None.
Administrative
1. Appeal of Town of Durham, No. 2002-363
May 16, 2003 (Arbitration/Collective Bargaining Agreements)
- Whether the arbitrability of an employee grievance under a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) should have been decided by an arbitrator rather than by the Public Employee Labor Relations Board (PELRB).
2. Appeal of Police Commission of the City of Rochester, No. 2002-593
May 16, 2003 (Arbitration/Collective Bargaining Agreements/Rulemaking)
- Whether the PELRB acted unjustly or unreasonably by applying a 1999-2000 CBA to a dispute pending on the effective date of a new CBA, where the new CBA superseded the 1999-2000 CBA, but where the new CBA was silent as to its effect upon grievances pending on the effective date.
- Whether the PELRB violated the rule-making procedures set forth in RSA 541-A when it determined that the 1999-2000 CBA governed the Commission's appeal rights.
- Whether the PELRB has exclusive original jurisdiction over the issue of arbitrability, absent a contractual provision in the CBA granting the arbitrator jurisdiction to determine arbitrability.
3. Jacobs v. Director, N.H. Division of Motor Vehicles, No. 2002-317
May 16, 2003 (License Suspension Proceedings)
- Whether the validity of the underlying traffic stop can be considered in a license suspension proceeding.
This index was written by Benjamin T. King of the Concord law firm of Douglas, Leonard & Garvey. King is also a member of the Bar News Editorial Advisory Board.
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