TKB Properties, LLC v. April Frechette ( 2023 )

THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
SUPREME COURT
In Case No. 2022-0269, TKB Properties, LLC v. April
Frechette, the court on April 20, 2023, issued the following
order:
The court has reviewed the written arguments and the record submitted
on appeal, and has determined to resolve the case by way of this order. See
Sup. Ct. R. 20(2). The defendant, April Frechette, appeals an order of the
Circuit Court (Subers, J.) awarding possession of the premises to the plaintiff,
TKB Properties, Inc., and awarding the plaintiff $195.44 in costs.
We reverse.
We will uphold the trial court’s factual findings unless they are
unsupported by the evidence or erroneous as a matter of law. Town of
Atkinson v. Malborn Realty Trust, 164 N.H. 62, 66 (2012). We review questions
of law de novo. Miller v. Slania Enters., 150 N.H. 655, 659 (2004).
On appeal, the defendant argues, among other things, that the trial court
unsustainably exercised its discretion by failing to grant her motion to dismiss
the possessory action on mootness grounds. See State v. Lambert, 147 N.H.
295, 296 (2001) (explaining our unsustainable exercise of discretion standard
of review). We agree.
“The mootness doctrine is designed to avoid deciding issues that have
become academic or dead.” Sullivan v. Town of Hampton Bd. of Selectmen,
153 N.H. 690, 692 (2006). “The question of mootness is not subject to rigid
rules, but is regarded as one of convenience and discretion.” Id. (quotation
omitted). “Usually, unless a pressing public interest is involved, or the
question is capable of repetition yet evading review, an issue that has already
been resolved is not entitled to judicial intervention.” Appeal of Hinsdale Fed.
of Teachers, 133 N.H. 272, 276 (1990) (quotation and citation omitted). In this
case, the landlord’s writ only sought possession of the rented premises; no
claim for unpaid rent was made. Under these circumstances, we agree with
the defendant that her voluntary surrender of the premises approximately ten
days before the merits hearing rendered the plaintiff’s possessory action moot.
We also agree with the defendant that none of the exceptions to the mootness
doctrine apply. Accordingly, we conclude that the trial court unsustainably
exercised its discretion by denying the defendant’s motion to dismiss the
plaintiff’s possessory action on mootness grounds.
Reversed.
MacDonald, C.J., and Hicks, Bassett, Hantz Marconi, and Donovan, JJ.,
concurred.
Timothy A. Gudas,
Clerk
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