New Hampshire Case Commentaries

EES Placement Requires Reasonably Foreseeable Admissibility and Tailored Due Process Where No Prior Adjudication: Commentary on Pivero v. Attorney General & a.

Date: Jun 28, 2025

EES Placement Requires Reasonably Foreseeable Admissibility and Tailored Due Process Where No Prior Adjudication: Commentary on Pivero v. Attorney General & a. Introduction In Anthony Pivero v....

Opening the Road as a Ministerial Act: New Hampshire Clarifies Limits of Discretionary Function Immunity in Traffic Control Plan Implementation

Date: Jun 25, 2025

Opening the Road as a Ministerial Act: New Hampshire Clarifies Limits of Discretionary Function Immunity in Traffic Control Plan Implementation Introduction In Tamre McCrea & a. v. New Hampshire...

Fee Owners Retain Standing to Exclude Unauthorized Users of Private Roads Despite Maintenance Agreements; Planning Board Minutes Alone Do Not Create Easements

Date: Jun 25, 2025

Fee Owners Retain Standing to Exclude Unauthorized Users of Private Roads Despite Maintenance Agreements; Planning Board Minutes Alone Do Not Create Easements Introduction This commentary analyzes...

Treating-Physician Opinions Carry “Substantial Weight” But Are Not Controlling; Lack of Medical Consensus Can Defeat Causation; Medical Journal Articles Are “Medical Evidence” Subject to the Five-Business-Day Disclosure Rule

Date: Jun 25, 2025

Treating-Physician Opinions Carry “Substantial Weight” But Are Not Controlling; Lack of Medical Consensus Can Defeat Causation; Medical Journal Articles Are “Medical Evidence” Subject to the...

Laches Bars Collateral Attacks on Foreign Divorces Under RSA 459:1; Rescission of Real Property Deeds Governed by RSA 508:2

Date: Jun 25, 2025

Laches Bars Collateral Attacks on Foreign Divorces Under RSA 459:1; Rescission of Real Property Deeds Governed by RSA 508:2 Introduction In Wagner v. Chislett, 2025 N.H. 28, the Supreme Court of New...

Beattie II: Net‑Public Benefit Review in Highway Takings Is Limited to Evidence Available at the Time of Condemnation; CLOMR Is Not Required Where “No‑Rise” Is Shown Under 44 C.F.R. § 60.3(d)(3)

Date: Jun 19, 2025

Beattie II: Net‑Public Benefit Review in Highway Takings Is Limited to Evidence Available at the Time of Condemnation; CLOMR Is Not Required Where “No‑Rise” Is Shown Under 44 C.F.R. § 60.3(d)(3)...

No Standing Once Eligibility Expires: Cepiel v. NHIAA Clarifies Persistent Redressability and Limits Antitrust Standing in New Hampshire Scholastic Athletics

Date: Jun 18, 2025

No Standing Once Eligibility Expires: Cepiel v. NHIAA Clarifies Persistent Redressability and Limits Antitrust Standing in New Hampshire Scholastic Athletics Introduction In Quinton Cepiel & a. v....

Harmless Error, Cumulative Digital Evidence, and “Open-the-Door” Cures in AFSA Prosecutions: State v. Viveney (N.H. 2025)

Date: Jun 14, 2025

Harmless Error, Cumulative Digital Evidence, and “Open-the-Door” Cures in AFSA Prosecutions: State v. Viveney (N.H. 2025) Introduction In State of New Hampshire v. Christopher Viveney, the Supreme...

Rand v. State (2025 N.H. 27): Uniformity Measured at Assessment—Municipal Retention of Excess SWEPT Upheld; Negative Local Offsets in Unincorporated Places Unconstitutional

Date: Jun 11, 2025

Uniformity Measured at Assessment—Municipal Retention of Excess SWEPT Upheld; Negative Local Offsets in Unincorporated Places Unconstitutional Introduction In Rand v. State, 2025 N.H. 27 (N.H. June...

Indirect Contact via Public Social Media Posts Violates Stalking Protection Orders: RSA 173‑B’s “Contact” Definition Governs RSA 633:3‑a Orders

Date: Jun 7, 2025

Indirect Contact via Public Social Media Posts Violates Stalking Protection Orders: RSA 173‑B’s “Contact” Definition Governs RSA 633:3‑a Orders Introduction In State v. Dunbar, 2025 N.H. 26, the New...

Plain-Error Limits on Unpreserved Challenges in Probation Revocations: Assumed Extra-Record Error Harmless Where Record Evidence Suffices (State v. Collins)

Date: Jun 5, 2025

Plain-Error Limits on Unpreserved Challenges in Probation Revocations: Assumed Extra-Record Error Harmless Where Record Evidence Suffices Introduction In State of New Hampshire v. Douglas Collins...

No Duty to Maximize Dedicated Districts: Legislative Policy Preferences Suffice as a Rational Basis Under Part II, Article 11

Date: Jun 5, 2025

No Duty to Maximize Dedicated Districts: Legislative Policy Preferences Suffice as a Rational Basis Under Part II, Article 11 Introduction In City of Dover & a. v. Secretary of State & a. (N.H. June...

Landscaping Within a Shared Right‑of‑Way Is Not Adverse Possession: New Hampshire Reaffirms Strict Notoriety and Exclusivity and Limits Tacking

Date: Jun 4, 2025

Landscaping Within a Shared Right‑of‑Way Is Not Adverse Possession: New Hampshire Reaffirms Strict Notoriety and Exclusivity and Limits Tacking Case: Yvonne Downes v. Kenneth Sarpi & a. Court:...

When Parallel, Consolidated Class Actions Are One “First Litigation”: Dismissal of Medical Monitoring Claims Without Present Injury Does Not Preclude Separate Property Damage Claims (Hermens v. TCI, N.H. 2025)

Date: May 31, 2025

When Parallel, Consolidated Class Actions Are One “First Litigation”: Dismissal of Medical Monitoring Claims Without Present Injury Does Not Preclude Separate Property Damage Claims Case: John...

Asset-Based Alimony Payments Permissible; Modified Amounts Must Relate Back to Notice and Future Reinstatements Require Evidence — In the Matter of Donald Nixon & Roxanne Nixon (N.H. 2025)

Date: May 31, 2025

Asset-Based Alimony Payments Permissible; Modified Amounts Must Relate Back to Notice and Future Reinstatements Require Evidence In the Matter of Donald Nixon and Roxanne Nixon, Supreme Court of New...

Clarifying Hodgins: Premarital Pension Accruals Are Marital Property; The Hodgins Time-Rule Is the Default Only When No Premarital Service Exists

Date: May 30, 2025

Clarifying Hodgins: Premarital Pension Accruals Are Marital Property; The Hodgins Time-Rule Is the Default Only When No Premarital Service Exists Introduction In In the Matter of LeGault & LeGault,...

Exclusivity of RSA 170-C Guardianships Post-TPR: DCYF Appointment Bars Third-Party Guardianship Petitions Under RSA 463

Date: May 30, 2025

Exclusivity of RSA 170-C Guardianships Post-TPR: DCYF Appointment Bars Third-Party Guardianship Petitions Under RSA 463 Case: In re Guardianship of K.C., 2025 N.H. 22 (N.H. May 29, 2025) (per curiam)...

Opportunity Is Not Inducement: New Hampshire Clarifies Entrapment and Attempt Mens Rea in Online Decoy Stings (State v. Schandorf)

Date: May 30, 2025

Opportunity Is Not Inducement: New Hampshire Clarifies Entrapment and Attempt Mens Rea in Online Decoy Stings State of New Hampshire v. Casely Schandorf (N.H. May 29, 2025) Introduction In this Rule...

Government Function Test Reaffirmed: RSA 91-A Applies Beyond Government-Owned Nonprofits to Hybrid Entities

Date: May 30, 2025

Government Function Test Reaffirmed: RSA 91-A Applies Beyond Government-Owned Nonprofits to Hybrid Entities Introduction In Ortolano v. City of Nashua, 2025 N.H. 23 (N.H. May 29, 2025), the Supreme...

Criminal Negligence as Mens Rea for Unlawful Operation under RSA 263:64, V-a

Date: May 17, 2025

Criminal Negligence as Mens Rea for Unlawful Operation under RSA 263:64, V-a Introduction This commentary examines the Supreme Court of New Hampshire’s decision in State v. Warren, 2025 N.H. 21,...