Censabella v. Hillsborough County Attorney

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Petitioner Lisa Censabella appealed a superior court’s dismissal of her petition for relief against Hillsborough County Attorney Dennis Hogan under the Right-to-Know Law. Petitioner argued the trial court erred in ruling that she was not a “person aggrieved” under RSA 91-A:7 (2013) and, therefore, lacked standing to pursue this action. In March 2017, petitioner, by and through her attorney, filed a petition seeking, among other things, to enjoin respondent from further violations of the Right-to-Know Law. Petitioner claimed to be a person aggrieved, under RSA 91-A:7, by respondent’s alleged violations of RSA chapter 91-A occurring between December 28, 2015 and November 29, 2016. The petition alleged Attorney Tony Soltani filed a Right-to-Know Law request on her behalf with respondent seeking information regarding another individual, but that the response to the request and to follow-up requests made by Soltani over the ensuing eleven months was late and incomplete. At no time during the exchange did Soltani reveal that petitioner was his client for the purpose of the request, nor did respondent inquire for whom the requests were being made. The first time petitioner’s name was revealed was in the petition filed in the superior court. Respondent moved to dismiss, asserting that, because petitioner was not identified directly or indirectly in any of the requests made by Soltani, she lacked standing to bring the petition. The trial court granted the motion. Respondent argued the petitioner was not a “person aggrieved” because she “never directly requested inspection of government records, nor was she ever identified as a citizen upon whose behalf a request was made.” The New Hampshire Supreme Court discerned no such requirements in the Right-to-Know Law, and reversed the superior court’s judgment. View "Censabella v. Hillsborough County Attorney" on Justia Law