Court Opinion

ID: 2964057
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2015-09-21 21:19:49.589229+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T11:42:49.733250
License: Public Domain

USCA1 Opinion

	

          April 26, 1996
                                [NOT FOR PUBLICATION]

                            UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
                                FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT

                                                     
                                 ____________________

        No. 95-1649

                                  GEM REALTY TRUST,

                                Plaintiff, Appellant,

                                          v.

                        FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF BOSTON, ET AL.,

                                Defendants, Appellees.

                                                     
                                 ____________________

                     APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

                          FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

                   [Hon. Shane Devine, Senior U.S. District Judge]
                                       __________________________

                                                     
                                 ____________________

                                        Before

                               Torruella, Chief Judge,
                                          ___________

                           Cyr and Boudin, Circuit Judges.
                                           ______________

                                                     
                                 ____________________

             James H. Gambrill,  with whom Engel, Gearreald and  Gardner, P.A.
             _________________             ___________________________________
        was on brief for appellant.
             Bruce  W. Felmly,  with whom  Byrne J.  Decker and  McLane, Graf,
             ________________              ________________      _____________
        Raulerson & Middleton, P.A. were on brief for appellees.
        ___________________________

                                                     
                                 ____________________

                                                     
                                 ____________________

                    Per Curiam.   GEM Realty Trust appeals  from a district
                    Per Curiam.
                    __________

          court  judgment     based  on a  jury  verdict     dismissing its

          challenge  to  a mortgage  foreclosure  sale  conducted by  First

          National  Bank  of  Boston  against certain  New  Hampshire  real

          property owned by GEM.  On appeal, GEM presses various objections

          to the  district court's  jury instructions and  evidentiary rul-

          ings.  Following full  briefing and oral argument, we  affirm the

          district court  judgment and  comment briefly on  but two  claims

          raised by GEM on appeal.  

                    A careful review of the record and the controlling  New

          Hampshire precedent  persuades us that the  district court fairly

          and accurately conveyed the governing principles of New Hampshire

          law in its instructions to the jury.  See Davet v. Maccarone, 973
                                                    _____    _________

          F.2d  22, 26 (1st  Cir. 1992),  for our  standard of  review, and

          Murphy  v. Financial Dev. Corp.,  495 A.2d 1245  (N.H. 1985), for
          ______     ____________________

          the applicable  law.  And  the district  court did not  abuse its

          discretion, Bates v. Shearson  Lehman Bros., 42 F.3d 79,  83 (1st
                      _____    ______________________

          Cir.  1994), either  by  excluding the  marginally probative  and

          potentially confusing evidence relating to the first  forbearance

          agreement  between the parties, see  Fed. R. Evid.  401-03, or by
                                          ___

          sustaining  the Bank's hearsay objection, see  Fed. R. Evid. 801,
                                                    ___

          to the Katsaros  real estate appraisal  as plainly cumulative  in

          light of other appraisals before the jury, see id. 403.  
                                                     ___ ___

                    Accordingly, the district court judgment is affirmed. 
                                 _______________________________________

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