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Are All Conversations With a Lawyer Privileged? Exceptions To The Attorney/Client Privilege
By Rory Parnell• November 10, 2025We often hear about how communications between attorneys and their clients are privileged, meaning that they are confidential. Therefore, third parties cannot compel either the attorney or the client to disclose the contents of their communications with each other. An aspect of this privilege that is not often discussed is that there are exceptions to the privilege in certain, limited situations. For instance, communications between a client and a lawyer are no longer privileged if there is a third party involved in the communication. If you bring a friend to a meeting with your lawyer, the contents of that meeting are no longer privileged because the presence of the third party waives the attorney-client privilege. The NH Supreme Court recently issued an order on a…
NH SUPREME COURT EXTENDS DEATH BENEFITS TO WIDOW OF WORKER
By Rory Parnell• October 31, 2025The New Hampshire (NH) Supreme Court recently addressed the tragic situation of a woman who lost her husband to cancer from his work at a firefighter. Her husband was employed as a firefighter for nearly 20 years. He began seeking treatment for health issues in early 2019 and was eventually diagnosed with bile duct cancer. Husband submitted a report of injury to the Department of Labor. Husband’s request for Workers’ Compensation was denied by the employer. Husband did not pursue the claim any further and died in January 2020. Wife applied for death benefits in April 2020, four months after Husband’s death. She was initially denied benefits and successfully appealed the order. Wife then requested Workers’ Compensation death benefits in January 2023. The employer and…
NEW HAMPSHIRE SUPREME COURT RULES SEXUAL ASSAULT VICTIMS ARE TIME BARRED FROM PURSUING THEIR CLAIMS
By Rory Parnell• October 17, 2025The New Hampshire state legislature passed a law removing the statute of limitations as a defense for civil actions involving sexual assault and related offenses in 2020. The New Hampshire Supreme Court was recently asked to apply this law to revive a claim for sexual assault which was not filed prior to the expiration of the statute of limitations in place at the time. The Court determined that applying the 2020 law retroactively and using it to revive a claim for sexual assault that had expired prior to the 2020 law taking effect would violate Part I, Article 23 of the New Hampshire Constitution. For this reason, the Court declined to apply the statute to the expired claim and dismissed the case. The plaintiff filed…
New Hampshire Product Liability Law: Design Defects, Warnings & Legal Time Limits
By Rory Parnell• September 12, 2025Product liability refers to the legal responsibility of manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and others in the supply chain for injuries or damages caused by a product. In New Hampshire, as in many states, there are statutes and case law that shape how product liability claims work. This blog explains the framework, important concepts, time limits, defenses, and recent developments in NH product liability law. What Is a Product Liability Action? Under New Hampshire law (RSA Chapter 507‑D, “Product Liability Actions”), a product liability action is broadly defined. It includes any lawsuit for injury, death, property damage, or other harm that arises from: Types of Defects Claims generally fall into a few categories of defect: Time Limits (Statute of Limitations) One of the critical issues in product liability…
Stuck in Limbo: How the workers’ compensation pre-authorization process makes injured workers feel stuck in the sand
By Rory Parnell• August 22, 2025Everyone wants to be paid. As a lawyer, I do understand that. However, at the intersection of wanting to be paid, and wanting to get necessary medical care is a process in workers’ compensation cases call the pre-approval or pre-authorization process. This is when a medical provider asks the workers’ compensation insurer to pre-approve or authorize a specific type of medical treatment like surgery, therapy, injections or other treatment. The provider does this so they can guarantee they receive payment, as they express concern that they could provide the care and be left holding the bill. Conversely, the injured worker just wants to get the necessary medical care that gets them on the path to recovery and return to work. New Hampshire manages this conflict…
The Road to the Nine Hells is Paved with Good Intentions – How my Adventuring Party Ended up Behind Bars
By Erik Renner• August 1, 2025Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) is a game played by millions across the world. It is a massively popular roleplaying game that utilizes interwoven stories to make it compelling. In some worlds, laws are violated, and those dwarves, elves, and various monsters need to know their legal rights in those circumstances. In last week’s D&D session, our “heroes” committed a number of crimes—so many, in fact, that they required a legal analysis of their rights. The party had entered a dwarven city in order to “liberate” an artifact needed to save the world. The party decided to work with a group of thieves to try to steal this artifact. While planning the heist with the thief leader, the party – sans the Rogue, who stayed back…
Before ‘I Do’: What Happens to Premarital Pension Contributions in Divorce?
By Rory Parnell• July 18, 2025In divorce, the Court is required to divide the parties’ marital property equitably. The law defines marital property as all property from any source whether titled to one party individually or to the parties jointly, no matter where the asset came from. RSA 458:16-a, I. For many years, the law with regard to pension plans was applied differently than the law with regard to other assets, and even other retirement plans. This difference was based on the Hodgins case, decided by the New Hampshire Supreme Court in 1985. Hodgins v. Hodgins, 126 N.H. 711 (1985). Before the Hodgins case, Courts had struggled with dividing pension plans because they are difficult to value. Generally, the retiree’s benefit from a pension plan is based on a formula…
Explosive Consequences: How NH and MA differ on liability for Firework injuries
By Rory Parnell• July 10, 2025As summer continues, many of us eagerly anticipate fireworks displays. But when mishaps occur, the legal question arises – who’s responsible? New Hampshire and Massachusetts adopt vastly different legal frameworks regarding firework-related injuries. Understanding these distinctions is pivotal for consumers, event organizers, and legal practitioners. At PMM law, we make it our business to know these rules and how they affect our clients. New Hampshire: Regulated Use with Civil & Liability Protections 1. Legal Use of Fireworks In New Hampshire, consumer (Class C) fireworks are legal for those aged 21+ and can be purchased from licensed retailers. Anyone using fireworks must follow both state and local ordinances. Those ordinances can be easily found at the NH fire marshal’s website. Violations of licensing rules may result in…
What Happens to Our Marital Home if We Divorce?
By Rory Parnell• June 27, 2025In many divorce cases, the party’s main asset is the marital home. Therefore, one of the questions we hear the most in family law is “what’s going to happen to my home?” For some, this is a purely financial question. For others, there is a great deal of emotional attachment with concerns about the party’s children and their own future living arrangements. For most, the parties generally agree that there should be equal division of the equity, but the question is how that is accomplished. This blog post will cover the parties’ options in dividing the marital home. Option 1: Sell the Home This is the “cleanest” option and allows both parties a fresh start, and may provide the most financial return to each party….
