Appellate
McLane Middleton’s trial lawyers are recognized throughout New England as also accomplished appellate advocates who routinely represent clients in appeals to the New Hampshire Supreme Court and in the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and have successfully argued in the Supreme Judicial Court in Massachusetts, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the Appellate Division for the State of New York.
Two of our lawyers have argued cases in the Supreme Court of the United States.
Our appellate work encompasses many substantive areas including appeals in commercial cases, product liability, administrative and constitutional matters, energy, employment, environmental law and medical malpractice.
Representative cases include:
- Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Town of Hanover, et al. __N.H.__ (2018) (awaiting argument). Appeal from Superior Court decision upholding planning board denial of building permit for major college sports facility in a properly zoned athletic complex.
- Appeal of Mary Allen et. al._ N.H._ (May 2018). Successful representation of Antrim Wind Energy, LLC in an appeal challenging the grant of a Certificate of Site and Facility by the New Hampshire Site Evaluation Committee permitting the construction of a wind project.
- Petition for Approval of Gas Infrastructure Project With Algonquin Gas Transmission, LLC_N.H._(May 2018). Successful representation of Eversource Energy d/b/a Public Service Company of New Hampshire in an appeal from an order of the Public Utilities Commission denying the application of PSNH to enter into a contract to purchase gas pipeline capacity from Algonquin. Also argued on behalf of Algonquin.
- Petition of Reddam 170 N. H. 590 ( 2018). Appeal concerning whether the New Hampshire Banking Department had jurisdiction over a corporate officer based on his “control person” status.
- State of New Hampshire v. Actavis Pharma et al. 170 N.H. 211 (2017), cert. denied, __U.S.__(2018). Represented Endo Pharmaceuticals in an appeal challenging the ability of the State to retain contingency fee counsel in an investigation into marketing practices by pharmaceutical companies.
- Liberty Utilities v. City of Concord and City of Manchester, New Hampshire, Supreme Court 2017. Memoranda decision (unpublished) affirming claims of the Cities, which had imposed a cost system on utility companies for street excavations/repairs.
- Sullivan v. KeySpan, 155 A.D.3d 804, 64 N.Y.S.3d 82 (N.Y. App. Div. 2017). Represented KeySpan in affirming dimissal on statute of limitations grounds of approximately 80 property owners alleging subsurface contamination for former manufactured gas plant.
- City of Rochester v. Marcel Payeur, Inc., 169 N.H. 502 (2016). Successfully affirmed trial court’s grant of motion to dismiss from litigation based on statute of limitations. On issue of first impression, Supreme Court held that doctrine of Nullum Tempus Occurrit Regi (“time does not run against the king”) does not apply to municipalities in contract actions.
- Finn v. Ballentine Partners, LLC., 169 N.H. 128 (2016). Represented Ballentine Partners in sustaining a Superior Court order overturning an arbitration award and against an argument of preemption under the Federal Arbitration Act.
- Deere and Company v. State 168 N.H. 460 (2015). Served as appellate counsel for Husqvarna Group, an equipment manufacturer challenging statutory modifications to New Hampshire’s Dealer Bill of Rights Statute governing the relationship between national equipment manufacturers and local equipment distributors.
- Elizabeth Jewell v. National Grid, New Hampshire Supreme Court (2015). Memoranda decision (unpublished). Represented National Grid affirming Trial Court dismissal of claimant alleging personal injury in power line pole training class.
- Cardigan Mountain School v. N.H. Insurance Co., 787 F. 3d. 82 (1st Cir. 2015) Representation of the Cardigan Mountain School in an appeal establishing that the School could seek to prove and enforce the terms of an insurance policy issued fifty years earlier in the absence of the policy itself.
- American Federation of Teachers v. State, 167 N.H. 294, (2014) Served as appellate counsel for the New Hampshire Retirement System regarding a Contracts Clause challenge to legislative changes to the calculation of retirement benefits of members of the retirement system.
- Lawrence v. Philip Morris USA, 162 N.H. 93 (2012). Successfully reversed trial court decision certifying a class consisting of “all individuals who purchased Marlboro Lights Cigarettes in New Hampshire” after 1997.
- Anderson v. BNY Mellon, 463 Mass. 299 (Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts 2012) Successful constitutional challenge to a Massachusetts statute retroactively redefining the meaning of “child” for purposes of instruments of inheritance.
