New Hampshire

Woman Left Blind After Reaction to Pain Meds Wins $21M Verdict

A woman who says she was blinded and burned by a prescription pain medication has been awarded $21 million by a federal jury in New Hampshire. The plaintiff, Karen Bartlett, had claimed the anti-inflammatory drug sulindac had caused Stevens-Johnson Syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis, skin diseases that can cause death,…

Sep 9, 2010 4:19 PM CDT

Lawyer Loses $240K in Internet Scam

A New Hampshire lawyer has been swindled out of $240,000 by an Internet scheme. Authorities say it involved a “client” who made contact by e-mail and provided a counterfeit check as a “retainer,” then instructed the attorney to wire money elsewhere, reports the Associated Press. No arrests are anticipated, says…

Jul 23, 2010 6:03 PM CDT

Procrastinating Lawyer’s Lies About Estate Work Require Disbarment, Says Top NH Court

For nearly five years after Bertha McInnes died on Sept. 12, 1998, attorney Lynn Morse worked on her $461,500 estate, filing an appearance in Rockingham County Probate Court within 10 days of her death. Again and again, Morse sought delays and promised to meet deadlines but didn’t. When the executrix,…

Jul 22, 2010 7:15 PM CDT

Lawyer Skips School Discipline Route, Files Restraining Orders Against Alleged Bullies

Rather than wait on schools in New Hampshire to step in on behalf of students who claim they are being bullied, a Portsmouth lawyer is going to court. Twice this month, Jay Nadeau has sought restraining orders against students who his clients claim are bullying them at Winnacunnet High School.…

Apr 23, 2010 6:00 PM CDT

Attorney Suspended for 6 Months Due to Paralegal’s Alleged Embezzlement of $80K

A New Hampshire attorney has had his license suspended for six months because his paralegal allegedly embezzled $80,000 from clients. Joseph Ritzo breached his duty to safeguard client settlement funds and to ensure that his paralegal was performing her job in compliance with the law, the state Professional Conduct Committee…

Mar 25, 2010 10:01 PM CDT

Only NH Law School, Franklin Pierce, to Affiliate with State U; First Step Toward Merger

It appears that Franklin Pierce Law Center will soon be known as the University of New Hampshire School of Law. Trustees of the state university yesterday approved an affiliation, in a first step toward a planned merger, according to the Concord Monitor and a Franklin Pierce press release. The Pierrce…

Mar 16, 2010 8:05 PM CDT

Drew U Sued, Accused of Purloining Poetry Program & Students

A federal judge in New Hampshire has given the green light to a lawsuit accusing New Jersey’s Drew University of stealing a competing college’s graduate-level poetry program and many of its students. Poet Anne Marie Macari created the Drew program while serving for less than a year as interim director…

Oct 26, 2009 6:39 PM CDT

N.H. Ups Ante for Stone Wall Thieves; New Law Provides for Attorney Fees

Updating a more than 200-year-old law against stealing the material in the historic stone walls that line much of New Hampshire’s farmlands and woods, the state’s governor has just signed a bill that ups the ante for doing so. Thieves can now be fined three times the considerable cost of…

Aug 10, 2009 6:26 PM CDT

Extortion Conviction Upheld for Lawyer Who Threatened Hair-Cut Pricing Suit

The New Hampshire Supreme Court has upheld the extortion conviction of a lawyer who threatened to sue a Concord hair salon for charging women more money for haircuts than men or children. Daniel Hynes is identified as a Manchester lawyer and a 2006 graduate of the Western New England College…

Aug 7, 2009 6:17 PM CDT

Same-Sex Couples Now Allowed to Marry in Maine, Maybe N.H. Soon, Too

Abandoning his earlier opposition, the governor of Maine today immediately signed new legislation allowing same-sex couples there the legal right to marry. “It’s not the way I was raised and it’s not the way that I am,” Gov. John Baldacci, a Democrat, tells the New York Times in a phone…

May 7, 2009 12:51 AM CDT

Economy & Politics Threaten State Courts, ABA House Told

Massive state budget shortfalls threaten the ability of courts to continue to operate, Massachusetts Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall, who is president of the Conference of Chief Justices, told the ABA House of Delegates today. At least 46 states face revenue shortfalls totaling $350 billion from this year through 2001,…

Feb 16, 2009 5:13 PM CST

Judicial Diversity is Lacking, But Here’s What to Do to Improve, Report Says

Women and minorities are still underrepresented on the state trial and appellate court bench, regardless whether the judges are elected or appointed to their positions. But there are things that can be done to include their chances of winning seats proportionate to their representation in the general population, according to…

Feb 2, 2009 9:13 PM CST

N.H. Suspends Jury Trials, Leaves Judgeships Vacant

The cash-strapped court system in New Hampshire is suspending jury trials for at least a month and leaving judgeships vacant. The one-month suspension is expected to save about $73,000, the amount of money paid to jurors, the New York Times reports. The state’s chief justice, John Broderick, defended the temporary…

Dec 9, 2008 11:51 AM CST

Franklin Pierce, Only N.H. Law School, Mulls State U Merger

The only law school in New Hampshire has announced that it is considering a merger with a state university. Franklin Pierce Law Center, a private ABA-accredited institution in Concord, N.H., says in a just-issued joint press release that it is in discussions with the University of New Hampshire about combining…

Oct 9, 2008 11:33 PM CDT

Ex-Judge, Now a N.H. Lawyer, is Censured for ‘Double-Dipping’

A former New Hampshire judge who resigned from the bench after she was suspended for three years without pay earlier this year is in ethical hot water again. Patricia Coffey has accepted a censure from the New Hampshire Supreme Court’s Judicial Conduct Committee, which found that she had exceeded a…

Oct 7, 2008 7:51 PM CDT