New Hampshire Law Blog

Disputes With Homebuilders - A New Law

On January 1, 2006, New Hampshire HB 469,  goes into effect.  This new law will regulate disputes between homeowners and building contractors relative to residential construction defects.  The law essentially provides for a process in which homeowners and builders may attempt to resolve disputes over alleged construction defects before going to court.

Under this law, homeowners will be required to provide notice to builders of the alleged defects before filiing suit, and all evidence in their possession which relates to the defects.  The builder is then given the opportunity to react to this notice, and may do so in a number of ways.   

The bill originally included a clause that required homeowners to allow builders to come into their home to inspect after a notice of defect was provided.  However, such a requirement was not included in the final version. 

It remains to be seen just how this law will affect homeowners' and builders' rights, but the main gist appears to be to provide an outline for the parties to attempt to avoid the adverse aspects of litigation.  The law is fairly detailed, and should be carefully reviewed in any such cases.

Your Cell Phone Records are not Private

The New Hampshire Supreme Court recently held that a defendant in a criminal case did "not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in information concerning  his cellular telephone calls that was recorded for billing purposes and retained by U.S. Cellular in the ordinary course of its business."  You may read the text of this decision by clicking here - State v. Gubitosi (2005).   

The Court distinguished one of its previous decisions which held that there is a reasonable expectation of privacy in the contents of bags of garbage left by the roadside for collection.  In essence, the Court reasoned that with cellular phone records, the defendant never had them in his possession and that he voluntarily conveyed the information to the cell phone service.  With garbage, a person does have it in his/her possession, and because it is bagged when placed for collection, he/she does not voluntarily convey anything about what is inside the bags.

Manufactured Housing Board Posts Orders on the Web

When the owner of a manufactured home located in a manufactured housing park believes that the park owner has violated his/her rights, the owner may be able to address these issues with the NH Board of Manufactured Housing.  The law over which the Board has jurisdiction (RSA 205-A), and the rules that govern its procedures (Chapter Man.) can be viewed on the Board's website. 

At least some of the Board's orders and related documents are also available to view on the website.  This is helpful because it allows for a better understanding of what kinds of issues come before the Board, and just how the process works.  In some cases, the Board's decisions may provide insight into how RSA 205-A is likely to be applied. 

Small Claims Getting Resolved Through Mediation

Now that the New Hampshire District Court Small Claims Mediation Program is underway, cases are getting resolved before they go to trial.  I know this because I am one of the mediators.

If you happen to find yourself in district court for a small claims case, you should seriously consider opting for mediation before you go in front of the judge.  That way, you have an opportunity to control the outcome of your case, and avoid the risk of having the judge rule against you.

If you cannot resolve your case after meeting with the mediator, then you will be given your hearing in front of the judge.  If you do resolve your case, you will be able to leave the courthouse a lot sooner in almost every case.  Plus, your mediated resolution will become incorporated into a court order, and will have the same force and effect.

So, if you find yourself in small claims court here in New Hampshire, you might want to give mediation a chance.

Trial Lawyers Give Thousands to Medicaid

Medicaid is a state program which pays medical bills and related expenses for certain qualified, low-income families.  When a person is injured in an accident in New Hampshire, and is represented by an attorney, that attorney is required by law to reimburse the State of New Hampshire for the amount Medicaid paid on behalf of any client who received the benefit of those payments. 

New Hampshire lawyers who represent people receiving Medicaid benefits have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to the State of New Hampshire, and continue to do so every year.  If these cases did not proceed or successfully get resolved, the State of New Hampshire would never get that money back. 

New Hampshire law specifically prohibits lawyers from receiving any kind of fee from the amount that must be paid to the State of New Hampshire for Medicaid reimbursement.  New Hampshire lawyers, therefore, regularly pay large sums of money to the State of New Hampshire at no charge to taxpayers. 

Driving While Text Messaging?

Driving while talking on the phone is bad enough.  This person was text messaging while driving.  The result...Someone died and he is charged with a misdemeanor. This happened in Colorado.

A teenage driver accused of text messaging behind the wheel and hitting a cyclist was charged with a misdemeanor, authorities said.

The 17-year-old was charged with careless driving causing death, according to the Douglas County Sheriff's Office. The charge carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison.

The victim, Jim R. Price, 63, was riding his bicycle Nov. 23 when he was hit by the teen's car, said Lt. Alan Stanton, a spokesman for the sheriff's office. Price died two days after the accident.

The teen has not been identified because he is a minor. Authorities said he lost control of the car because he was sending text messages on a cell phone. He was issued a summons and ordered to appear in court, authorities said

Source:  AP via Yahoo News