Mahoney v. Town of Canterbury

Summary

The New Hampshire Supreme Court held that Old Still Road was a class VI public highway established by prescription under RSA 229:1. It affirmed the determination that the public had used the road adversely and continuously for the requisite period. The court upheld Fortin & Redmond Associates’ entitlement to damages arising from a wrongful injunction but vacated the amount awarded and remanded for recalculation; it also affirmed the denial of attorney’s fees.

Holdings

1. Old Still Road was established as a public highway by prescription because the public used it continuously and adversely, without interruption and under a claim of right, for at least twenty years before January 1, 1968.
2. RSA 229:1 does not require proof of use during the specific twenty-year period from January 1, 1948, through January 1, 1968; continuous adverse use could have begun earlier, so long as a twenty-year period was completed before January 1, 1968.
3. A party subject to a wrongfully issued injunction may recover damages caused by the injunction, and Fortin & Redmond was entitled to pursue such damages.
4. The trial court improperly calculated damages by arbitrarily awarding one-half of one month's total company expenses. Recoverable damages must be specifically attributable to the interruption, necessary, incurred during a reasonable adjustment period, and not avoidable through reasonable efforts.
5. Fortin & Redmond was not entitled to attorney's fees because the Mahoneys' position was not patently unreasonable.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Old Still Road was established as a class VI public highway by prescription under RSA 229:1.
2. Whether RSA 229:1 required proof of public use specifically during the period from January 1, 1948, through January 1, 1968.
3. Whether Fortin & Redmond was entitled to damages caused by the injunction and whether the trial court properly calculated those damages.
4. Whether Fortin & Redmond was entitled to an award of attorney's fees.

Disposition

other