Edward John Lampron

This case involves an appeal by Sharon Steel Corporation and Summit Systems, Inc. from a New Hampshire insurance commissioner's cease-and-desist order under the state's Security Takeover Disclosure Act (RSA ch. 421-A). The companies had acquired over 10% of Nashua Corporation's stock through nine open-market block transactions on national exchanges without complying with the act's registration and disclosure requirements for takeover bids; they argued the purchases fell under a statutory exemption for broker-dealer transactions in the ordinary course without solicitation and that the act was unconstitutional under the Supremacy and Commerce Clauses. The commissioner found that brokerage activity on the plaintiffs' behalf involved solicitation, triggering the act, and the superior court proceedings led to an interlocutory transfer presenting issues of statutory interpretation and constitutionality. The court held that the transactions constituted a takeover bid subject to the act and that the statute applies constitutionally because it regulates evenhandedly, advances New Hampshire's interest in protecting local shareholders of companies headquartered in the state, and does not impose burdens on interstate commerce that are clearly excessive relative to local benefits.

business & regulatoryfederal power

In Corso v. Merrill, parents sued a driver for negligent infliction of emotional distress after one parent heard a car strike their child outside their home and both immediately observed the seriously injured child at the scene. The New Hampshire Supreme Court addressed whether such bystander recovery was possible, reversing the trial court's dismissal of the claims. The court overruled its prior precedent in Jelley v. LaFlame, which had required plaintiffs to be in the zone of physical danger, and instead permitted recovery when the emotional distress was foreseeable under traditional negligence principles. It relied on evolving case law from other states, scholarly commentary, and the facts that the parents sensorially perceived the accident and its immediate aftermath. The case was remanded for trial on the emotional distress counts.

torts & liability

This case involved two petitions for tax abatement filed by Wise Shoe Co. and its successor Sports-Tek, Inc., challenging the Town of Exeter's assessments on a commercial property for the tax years 1975 and 1976 under RSA 76:17. The trial court dismissed both petitions, finding insufficient evidence of disproportionate taxation for 1976 and ruling that Sports-Tek lacked standing as a person aggrieved for the 1975 taxes because it did not own the property on the assessment date. The New Hampshire Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of both actions, holding that expert testimony and the purchase price supported the trial court's conclusion that the assessments were consistent with fair market value at a 100% equalization ratio, and that while an assignment of the 1975 claim conferred standing, the same evidentiary record precluded abatement for that year as well.

taxespropertyprocedure

In State v. Boone, the defendant was indicted and convicted by a jury of aggravated felonious sexual assault for allegedly raping the victim in a deserted parking lot after meeting her at a party, with evidence showing the victim suffered severe injuries requiring surgery. The court addressed two procedural issues: whether the trial court erred in denying the defendant's motion to dismiss the indictment at the close of the state's case for insufficient proof that the victim was not his spouse, and whether it erred in refusing a jury instruction on the lesser-included offense of simple assault. The New Hampshire Supreme Court held that the trial court correctly denied both requests, finding sufficient circumstantial evidence from witness testimony that the victim had just met the defendant that night to prove she was not his spouse, and that a simple assault instruction was not warranted because the evidence, including the defendant's admission of sexual penetration, was incompatible with guilt of only the lesser offense. The court overruled the defendant's exceptions.

criminal lawprocedure

This case involved commercial lessees who attempted to exercise a five-year lease renewal option but sent notice by regular mail a few days after the required 30-day deadline. The trial court ruled that the lessees had not properly exercised the option and that the landlord had no duty to extend the lease. On appeal, the New Hampshire Supreme Court held that equity can relieve a slight delay in exercising an option when the landlord suffers no prejudice from a change in position, that notice by regular mail was sufficient because it achieved the same purpose as registered mail, and that a renewal clause calling for mutually agreed rent is enforceable by implying a reasonable rental amount. The court sustained the lessees' exceptions and remanded the case for the trial court to decide whether specific performance of the renewal should be granted.

propertybusiness & regulatory

This case involved a post-divorce dispute in which the plaintiff, Mr. Walker, sought a declaratory judgment and injunction to invalidate the superior court's appointment of a commissioner to sell the parties' jointly owned house and to remove that commissioner. The divorce decree had directed that the property be sold and proceeds divided equally once certain conditions were met, but the plaintiff refused to cooperate with the sale after his ex-wife remarried. The trial court ruled that it had authority to appoint the commissioner and found no cause for removal, and the New Hampshire Supreme Court affirmed. The court reasoned that RSA 458:19 grants broad ancillary powers to effectuate property divisions in divorce cases, a practice widely recognized in other jurisdictions, and that evidence of the plaintiff's lack of cooperation justified the appointment while the commissioner's actions were reasonable and did not demonstrate bias. The court also imposed double costs on the plaintiff for pursuing repeated frivolous challenges.

family lawpropertyprocedure