 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 
|
|
 |
||||||||||||||||
|
Bar News - January 19, 2001 N.H. SUPREME COURT OPINIONS - DECEMBER 2000 THE FOLLOWING ARE the first paragraphs of opinions issued by the Supreme Court for the month of December. The full text of these opinions for the entire month is available on the court's Web site at http://www.state.nh.us/courts/supreme/opinions.htm. No. 98-255 Henry F. Goode, Jr. v. NH Office of the Legislative Budget Assistant & a. BROCK, C.J. The petitioner, Henry F. Goode, Jr., appeals an order of the Superior Court (McGuire, J.) partially denying his petition for materials under RSA chapter 91-A, the Right-to-Know Law. See RSA ch. 91-A (1990 & Supp. 1999). The defendants are Michael L. Buckley, the State's acting legislative budget assistant and director of audits; the State's office of the legislative budget assistant; and the State of New Hampshire. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand. No. 98-258 Staffing Network, Inc. v. George Pietropaolo NADEAU, J. The plaintiff, Staffing Network, Inc., appeals an order of the Manchester District Court (Lind, J.) dismissing its suit in assumpsit against the defendant, George Pietropaolo, for lack of personal jurisdiction. We reverse and remand. No. 98-446 The State of NH v. Ronald F. Patterson, Jr. BRODERICK, J. The defendant, Ronald F. Patterson, Jr., appeals from an order of the Superior Court (Fitzgerald, J.) denying his petition to annul his criminal record. We affirm. No. 99-094 Alva Mckenzie & a. v. City of Berlin & a. DALIANIS, J. The plaintiffs, twenty-nine employees of defendant City of Berlin (City), challenge part of the injunctive relief granted by the Superior Court (Nadeau, J.). The City cross-appealed the court's grant of declaratory judgment and injunctive relief but at oral argument indicated that it had already implemented the court-ordered relief, making this portion of its cross-appeal moot. We affirm in part and reverse in part. No. 00-179 Opinion of the Justices (Reformed Public School Financing System) It was resolved by the Senate: "That the Justices of the Supreme Court be respectfully requested to give their opinion upon the following important questions of law: (a) Would the enactment of SB 462-FN-A-LOCAL satisfy the requirements of part II, articles 5, 6, and 83 of the New Hampshire constitution? (b) Would the enactment of SB 462-FN-A-LOCAL violate any other provisions of the New Hampshire constitution?" The full text of the senate resolution is reproduced as an appendix to this opinion. No. 98-522 Theodore G. M. Klar v. George Mitoulas & a. DALIANIS, J. The defendant, Fleet Finance and Mortgage, Inc. (Fleet) appeals from the Superior Court's (Abramson, J.) order finding it liable for breach of contract and awarding damages to the plaintiff, Theodore G.M. Klar, in the amount of $184,751.27. We affirm. No. 98-636 The State of NH v. Jay Ouellette DALIANIS, J. The defendant, Jay Ouellette, was convicted of two misdemeanors and sentenced to extended prison terms under RSA 651:6, I(h) (1996) (amended 1996, 1997, 1998) following a jury trial in Superior Court (McHugh, J.). The defendant argues that: (1) his sentence should be vacated because he was not charged by grand jury indictments; and (2) consecutive sentences to the State Prison were grossly disproportionate to the offenses. We vacate the sentence and remand for resentencing. No. 98-672 Appeal of Land Acquisition, LLC (New Hampshire Board of Tax and Land Appeals) DALIANIS, J. The petitioner, Land Acquisition, L.L.C., appeals the declaration by the New Hampshire Board of Tax and Land Appeals (board) that its case had "settled" and the award of attorney's fees to the respondent, the Town of Hooksett. We affirm in part and reverse in part. No. 99-137 Roger L. Martin &a. v. Maine Mutual Fire Insurance Co. NADEAU, J. The intervenors, Robert and Cathleen Mark, appeal a decision of the Superior Court (Murphy, J.) granting summary judgment in favor of the defendant, Maine Mutual Fire Insurance Company (Maine Mutual). We affirm. No. 98-656 John Phillips & a. v. City of Concord DALIANIS, J. The plaintiffs, a group of Concord taxpayers, appeal the denial by the Superior Court (McGuire, J.) of their petition for declaratory judgment. We affirm. No. 98-140 Longchamps Electric, Inc. v. NH State Apprenticeship Council DALIANIS, J. The plaintiff, Longchamps Electric, Inc., appeals the decision of the Superior Court (McGuire, J.) denying its summary judgment motion and granting the defendant's summary judgment motion. We reverse. No. 98-302 The State Of New Hampshire v. William Pandolfi BRODERICK, J. The defendant, William Pandolfi, was convicted by a jury on one count of aggravated felonious sexual assault, see RSA 632-A:2, I (1986) (amended 1992), and two counts of misdemeanor sexual assault, see RSA 632-A:4 (1996). On appeal, he argues that the Trial Court (Fauver, J.) erred when it: (1) ruled that he opened the door to testimony that a witness failed to cooperate with the police because she was afraid of him; (2) denied his motion for mistrial after the witness testified beyond the boundaries established by the court; and (3) declined to conduct an in camera review of the victim's presentence investigation report and counseling records. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand. No. 98-487 In The Matter Of Herbert N. Fowler, Jr. and Cheryl K. Fowler BRODERICK, J. The defendant, Cheryl K. Fowler, appeals from the final order recommended by a Master (Harriet J. Fishman, Esq.) and approved by the Family Division (DeVries, J.) on the ground that the trial court abused its discretion in failing to award her permanent alimony. We reverse and remand. No. 98-668 The State of New Hampshire v. Hassan A. Goodman BROCK, C.J. The defendant, Hassan A. Goodman, was convicted after a jury trial in Superior Court (Fauver, J.) of second degree assault, RSA 631:2 (1996), and criminal threatening, RSA 631:4 (Supp. 1999). On appeal, the defendant challenges the trial court's ruling that he "opened the door" to the admission of previously excluded evidence of his prior aggressive acts towards the victim. We affirm. No. 98-786 David A. Pope v. Little Boar's Head District & a. DALIANIS, J. Defendant Little Boar's Head District appeals a decision of the Superior Court (Gray, J.) finding the application of a residential zoning ordinance to be discriminatory in nature. The plaintiff, David A. Pope, cross-appeals, arguing that: (1) the trial court erred in fashioning its remedy; and (2) section VIII (B) of the zoning ordinance illegally restricts property owners from intensifying a nonconforming use. Defendant Town of North Hampton did not participate in this appeal. We vacate and remand. In Case No. 97-588, State of NH v. Bountham Sonthikoummane, the court upon December 19, 2000, made the following order: Defendant's motion for reconsideration, to the extent that it seeks reconsideration regarding whether portions of a third party's confession inculpating the defendant were erroneously admitted and whether the trial court erred by admitting evidence of "unexplained wealth," is denied, except that the citation following the first sentence in the last paragraph of the slip opinion at page 5 is modified such that the sentence and citation read as follows: Statements in a confession that may tend to exculpate the declarant are admissible under Rule 804(b)(3) if their trustworthiness is supported by corroborating evidence. Id. at 345-46, 605 A.2d at 1036. No. 99-245 Gary Fowler v. Town of Seabrook DALIANIS, J. The defendant, the Town of Seabrook (town), appeals the decision by the Superior Court (Galway, J.) remanding the plaintiff's wage claim to the department of labor (DOL) and awarding the plaintiff attorney's fees. We affirm in part and reverse in part. No. 99-506 The State of New Hampshire v. Angel Almodovar GROFF, J., superior court justice, specially assigned under RSA 490:3. The defendant, Angel Almodovar, appeals the superior court's (Fitzgerald, J.) decision to revoke his probation. The superior court found that he violated a probation condition requiring him to obtain sex offender counseling. We affirm. No. 97-412 The State of New Hampshire v. Delvin White BRODERICK, J. The defendant, Delvin White, appeals his convictions following a jury trial of one count of aggravated felonious sexual assault, see RSA 632-A:2, II (1996) (amended 1997, 1998, 1999), and two counts of felonious sexual assault, see RSA 632-A:3 (1996) (amended 1997). He contends that the Superior Court (Barry, J.) erred by: (1) excluding the victims' prior allegations of sexual assault against other individuals; (2) admitting hearsay statements by the victims to an emergency room physician; (3) excluding evidence that the victims had previously been placed in foster care; and (4) sentencing him to an extended term of incarceration under RSA 651:6 (1996) (amended 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999). We affirm the defendant's convictions, vacate the sentence, and remand for resentencing. No. 98-080 Karl F. Keeler & s. v. Ralph Banks BROCK, C.J. The plaintiffs, Karl F. and Sharon Keeler, appeal the Superior Court's (Barry, J.) denial of their motion to set aside a jury verdict for the defendant. We affirm. No. 98-177 The State of New Hampshire v. Jeanne Donnelly BRODERICK, J. The defendant, Jeanne Donnelly, appeals her conviction on eleven counts of forgery, see RSA 638:1 (1992), arguing that the Superior Court (Mohl, J.) erred by permitting the testimony of two prosecution witnesses who asserted their rights against self-incrimination on matters relating to her theory of defense. We affirm. No. 98-355 Pamela Cotter v. Wayne A. Wright MEMORANDUM OPINION PER CURIAM. The defendant, Wayne A. Wright, appeals from a Marital Master's (Larry Pletcher, Esq.) order granting a petition for a restraining order filed by the plaintiff, Pamela Cotter. The defendant argues that the marital master lacked authority to adjudicate the domestic violence petition. We reverse and remand. No. 97-646 The State of New Hampshire v. Richard Soldi BROCK, C.J. The defendant, Richard Soldi, appeals his conviction of second degree assault, see RSA 631:2 (1996), following a jury trial, arguing that the Superior Court (Barry, J.) abused its discretion in: (1) permitting the State to impeach the victim with a prior inconsistent statement; and (2) permitting the victim's treating physician to testify regarding statements made by the victim. We affirm. |
|
Home | About the Bar | For Members | For the Public | Legal Links | Publications | Online Store New Hampshire Bar Association |
