Case Title: Grace Woodham v. Janet Woodham & a.

Citation: 

Docket Number: 

State: new-hampshire

Court: New Hampshire Supreme Court

Date: 2024-03-15T00:00:00Z

Document:
THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE SUPREME COURT In Case No. 2023-0270, Grace Woodham v. Janet Woodham & a., the court on March 15, 2024, 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 plaintiff, Grace Woodham, appeals an order of the Circuit Court (Greenhalgh, J.) dismissing her small claim complaint against the defendants, Janet Woodham, Trevor D. Garner, and NE Auto, for failure to attend the pretrial hearing. See Dist. Div. R. 4.4(b). She argues that the trial court “effectively entrapped [her] into missing [the] hearing . . . because [the court] would not grant a transport order.” Based upon our review of the plaintiff’s brief, the relevant law, the record on appeal (including the transcript of the pretrial hearing and the document submitted by the plaintiff with her brief), and the trial court’s dismissal order, we find this argument unpersuasive, and we affirm the trial court’s decision to dismiss the plaintiff’s small claim complaint for failure to attend the pretrial hearing. The plaintiff also argues that the trial court was biased against her because it “has summarily dismissed every single pleading [she has] placed before [it] ([and] others [she has] not), without findings of fact,” and that it was obligated to recuse itself. Even if the trial court has “summarily dismissed every single pleading” the plaintiff has filed, that fact, alone, does not establish a claim of judicial bias. In re C.M., 166 N.H. 764, 776-77 (2014). Based upon our review of the record, the plaintiff has not established that a reasonable person would have questioned the impartiality of the trial court. See Sup. Ct. R. 38, Canon 2.11; State v. Bader, 148 N.H. 265, 268 (2002). Affirmed. MacDonald, C.J., and Bassett, Hantz Marconi, Donovan, and Countway, JJ., concurred. Timothy A. Gudas, Clerk