Opinion ID: 2422764
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Motion to Dismiss Nassau I and Vox Radio

Text: The defendants next contend that the trial court erred when it denied their motions to dismiss Nassau I and Vox Radio for lack of standing. Generally, in ruling upon a motion to dismiss, the trial court must determine whether the allegations contained in the plaintiff's pleading sufficiently establish a basis upon which relief may be granted. Baer v. New Hampshire Dep't of Educ., 160 N.H. 727, 729, 8 A.3d 48 (2010) (quotation omitted). When the motion to dismiss does not challenge the sufficiency of the plaintiff's legal claim but, instead, raises certain defenses, the trial court must look beyond the plaintiff's unsubstantiated allegations and determine, based on the facts, whether the plaintiff has sufficiently demonstrated his right to claim relief. Id. at 729, 8 A.3d 48 (quotation and brackets omitted). A jurisdictional challenge based upon lack of standing is one such defense. Id. We will uphold a trial court's ruling in such a case unless its decision is not supported by the evidence or is legally erroneous. See Atwater v. Town of Plainfield, 160 N.H. 503, 507, 8 A.3d 159 (2010). In evaluating whether a party has standing to sue, we focus on whether the party suffered a legal injury against which the law was designed to protect. Libertarian Party of N.H. v. Sec'y of State, 158 N.H. 194, 195, 965 A.2d 1078 (2008) (quotation omitted). The requirement that a party demonstrate harm to maintain a legal challenge rests upon the constitutional principle that the judicial power ordinarily does not include the power to issue advisory opinions. Id. at 195-96, 965 A.2d 1078.
The trial court denied the defendants' motion to dismiss Nassau I because it found that Nassau I had direct standing to sue under the second amended stock purchase agreement. The defendants argue that this is insufficient to grant Nassau I standing because, in February 2009, Nassau I assigned all of its rights under the second amended stock purchase agreement to Birch Broadcasting and retained no rights for itself. To the contrary, as the plaintiffs aptly note, the February 2009 assignment and assumption agreement provides that, upon closing of the transaction, Birch Broadcasting will assume a portion of the debt that Nassau I undertook to finance its $950,000 payment to the defendants. The agreement also gives Nassau I the right to purchase the station back from Birch Broadcasting if, at any time, Nassau I is permitted to own an additional radio station in the same market. Based upon these provisions, the trial court could have reasonably determined that the defendants' refusal to close on the transaction caused harm to Nassau I by denying it these contractual benefits. Therefore, the trial court did not err by denying the defendants' motion to dismiss Nassau I for lack of standing. In their reply brief, the defendants contend that Nassau I's interest in the stock purchase agreement is too attenuated to grant Nassau I standing to proceed in this case. We hold that the trial court reasonably concluded to the contrary.
The trial court denied the defendants' motion to dismiss Vox Radio on the grounds that Vox Radio was a direct signatory to the first amended stock purchase agreement and that one of the signatories to the application for FCC approval signed on behalf of Vox Radio. Contrary to the defendants' assertions, these findings are supported by the evidence, and we uphold them.