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DRAFT FOR ATTORNEY REVIEW — NOT FINAL

Richard Horton & a. v. David Clemens & a. (2020)

Citation
Richard Horton & a. v. David Clemens & a. (2020)
Parent Document
Richard Horton & a. v. David Clemens & a. (2020)
Jurisdiction
New Hampshire (state)
Effective Date
2020-08-11

Other Sections in This Document (35)

Full Text

1,218 chars
HANTZ MARCONI, J., concurring specially. Although I join the court’s
opinion in full, I write separately to underscore what I take to be the limited
nature of the opinion’s holding. The court does not hold today that the
judiciary has free rein to legislate requirements for summary process actions in
addition to those specified in RSA chapter 540. The court does not, for
example, address whether the judiciary, under the auspices of RSA 490:26-d,
could craft a standard eviction notice form that advised tenants as to the
circumstances in which they may have a defense to eviction. See, e.g., RSA
540:13-a (2007) (establishing retaliation as a defense in possessory actions
under certain circumstances). Rather, as the court notes, the language at
issue does no more than inform tenants of the legal effect of the notice on
which that language appears. Although the provision of such information, in
this context, may be “necessary for the effective administration of justice,” RSA
490:26-d (2010), we ought not uncritically assume that everything that
furthers the administration of justice is necessary therefor. Understanding the
court’s opinion as not having done so in this case, I join that opinion in full. 7