NHCaseLaw.com

This matter arises out of an alleged phone-jamming scheme during the November 2002 election. The background of this matter has been summarized in earlier orders. Therefore, the Court proceeds directly to the merits of the pending motions to dismiss, regarding which a hearing was held on April 11, 2006.

Plaintiff Shelley Cannon has sued Ronna Wise, Esquire ("Attorney Wise") for legal negligence in her representation of Ms. Cannon in connection with her divorce from her former husband, Fred Feddersen. Attorney Wise moves to dismiss first, arguing that the action was not commenced within the three-year statute of limitations as required by RSA 508:4, 1, or in the alternative that the suit lacks causation and damages. Ms. Cannon objects. For the reasons stated below, Attorney Wise's Motion to Dismiss Based on the Statute of Limitations is GRANTED.

This is a civil action for damages for sexual abuse committed against the plaintiff by Brother Beaulieu, a member of the Order of the Sacred Heart, a former teacher at Bishop Guertin High School, and a former staff employee at Camp Fatima. The plaintiff alleges he was sexually abused and molested by Beaulieu between 1972 and 1975 while a camper at Camp Fatima and a student at Bishop Guertin High School. The alleged abuse ended in the fall of 1975 during the plaintiffs junior year at Bishop Guertin when Beaulieu attempted to force the plaintiff to perform fellatio. After the forcible assault, the plaintiff left school and never returned.

Inasmuch as the procedural history of this case is so unusual, it must be reviewed prior to the Court's ruling on the issues presented for determination. On September 2, 1993, the plaintiff brought suit against three defendants, Michael Hazen, Ralph Maxwell, and the Kingdom, Inc., on several legal theories as a result of her being sexually assaulted in June of 1977. She alleged that the assault was perpetrated by Defendant Hazen on property owned by Defendant The Kingdom, Inc., at a time when Defendant Maxwell was its minister.