Opinion ID: 2375527
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Timeliness of Filing of Reserved Case

Text: [1] The defendants first argue that the plaintiffs' filing of a reserved case was untimely under superior court rules. RSA 491:App. R 69 (Supp. 1977). The court denied the plaintiffs' motion to charge the trustee on November 18, 1977, but did not act on the defendants' motions to remove the attachment and dismiss the cause of action. The plaintiffs filed a motion for rehearing on November 28, 1977, but did not file a reserved case. The remaining motions pending in the case were acted upon on March 28, 1978, when the attachment was removed and the cause of action dismissed. After these decrees, the plaintiffs timely filed a reserved case challenging the court's decisions on those motions. The plaintiffs also included in the reserved case their exception to the court's November denial of the motion to charge the trustee. It is that aspect of the reserved case that the defendants complain was untimely filed. The Trial Court ( Keller, C.J.) overruled the defendants' objection and the defendants excepted. Even if the plaintiffs did not technically comply with the timing requirements of RSA 491:App. R 69 (Supp. 1977), there is nothing before us to indicate that the superior court abused its `undoubted authority to suspend Rule [69] if justice required.' Manchester Housing Authority v. Arms Textile Manufacturing Co., 114 N.H. 346, 347, 320 A.2d 640, 640 (1974), quoting Timmins v. Brennan, 103 N.H. 459, 460, 174 A.2d 419, 420 (1961) (citations omitted). Nothing in the record suggests prejudice to the defendants; moreover, there is evidence that they agreed with the plaintiffs' choice of procedure.