SB 0343

This bill changes the court of appeal in landlord/tenant cases from the supreme court to the superior court and makes the district court the court of original jurisdiction for landlord/tenant issues.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Appeal to the Superior Court. RSA 540:20 is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:

I. Any party to an action brought pursuant to this chapter shall, within 7 days of the date of the notice of judgment, file in the district court a notice of intent to appeal to the superior court. Until the appeal is perfected by the filing of a notice of appeal in the superior court, within 30 days of the date of the notice of judgment, the district court shall retain exclusive jurisdiction of the case. After the filing of the notice of appeal in the superior court, the district court shall retain jurisdiction of the matter for the purposes of collecting rent pending appeal. In all other respects, the judgment of the district court shall be final at the expiration of the appeal period.

II. In an appeal to the superior court, the burden of proof shall be upon the party seeking to set aside any order or decision of the district court, to show that the order or decision is unlawful or unreasonable. All findings of the district court upon all questions of fact properly before the court shall be prima facie lawful and reasonable. The order or decision appealed from shall not be set aside or vacated, except for errors of law, unless the superior court is persuaded by the balance of probabilities, on the evidence before it, that said order or decision is unreasonable.

2 New Paragraph; Exclusive Jurisdiction; Actions Against Tenants. Amend RSA 502-A:14 by inserting after paragraph I the following new paragraph:

I-a. Exclusive Jurisdiction; Actions Against Tenants. All district courts shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction of actions against tenants for possession of the premises in which title to real estate is not involved and the plaintiff or defendant resides within the district. In all such actions as herein provided the parties shall be heard by the justice or special justice and the findings of fact shall be final, but questions of law may be transferred to the superior court.

The Administrative Office of the Courts states this bill may increase state expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2003 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on state, county and local revenue or county and local expenditures.

The Office states this bill will allow parties in cases involving actions against tenants who are aggrieved by the judgment of a district court, to file an appeal of such decision with the Superior Court. Currently such appeals must be filed with the Supreme Court. The Office states this bill may increase judicial branch expenditures due to a possible increase in Superior Court appeal cases, the potential for both courts to be involved in such appeals, and the associated costs of holding such hearings. The Office cannot determine the exact fiscal impact at this time, but states such costs will be minimal and can be absorbed within their existing budget.

The Judicial Council states this bill will have no impact on the funds administered by the Council, nor upon any programs. Appeals in actions against tenants are a civil matter, and there is no right to council in these cases. There are no guardian ad litem or attorneys appointed by the court in these matters for which payments must be made by the Judicial Council.