STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT ... › 2017 › 09 › ... · 4/5/2016...

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STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT NORTH

SANJEEV LATH, et al., )

)

Plaintiffs, )

)

vs. )

)

SCOTT SAMPLE, )

)

Defendant. )

______________________________)

Superior Court Case No.

216-2016-CV-00173

Manchester, New Hampshire

April 5, 2016

9:07 a.m.

MOTION HEARING

BEFORE THE HONORABLE AMY L. INGATIUS

JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT

APPEARANCES:

Pro Se Plaintiffs: Sanjeev Lath

Barbara Belware

For the Defendant: John F. Brisson, Esq.

CRONIN BISSON & ZALINSKY, P.C.

722 Chestnut Street

Manchester, NH 03104

Audio Operator: Electronically Recorded

By Karen Anderson

TRANSCRIPTION COMPANY: AVTranz

7227 N. 16th Ave., #207

Phoenix, AZ 85020

(800) 257-0885

www.avtranz.com

Proceedings recorded by electronic sound recording; transcript

produced by court-approved transcription service.

2


I N D E X

WITNESS(ES) DIRECT CROSS REDIRECT RECROSS

FOR THE PLAINTIFFS:

None

FOR THE DEFENDANT:

None

MISCELLANEOUS PAGE

Court's Findings/Ruling 26

3


(Proceedings commence at 9:07 a.m.) 1

THE CLERK: So if the parties can come forward on 2

Lath versus Sample. 3

THE COURT: Why don't we put Mr. Lath and Ms. Belware 4

on this side. Good morning. And Mr. Sample and his counsel on 5

this side. 6

MR. BISSON: Good morning, Your Honor. 7

THE COURT: Good morning. This is the case of 8

Sanjeev Lath and Barbara Belware -- I hope I pronounced those 9

correctly -- versus Scott Sample. I am Judge Ignatius. I'm 10

here for the week, and so you may have been expecting a 11

different judge in this courtroom, but Judge Brown is not here 12

this week so I am covering his cases. 13

So I know that this was a motion for a complaint for 14

a restraining order, and I've been through the file. I want to 15

assure you that I've read the materials there. And let's 16

begin, first, just identifying who's here for the record, talk 17

a little bit about what we're going to do today. And what I 18

want to be sure -- well, I'll get to that in a moment. Why 19

don't we first begin just with identification, maybe. 20

MR. LATH: My name is Sanjeev Lath, Your Honor. I'm 21

the Plaintiff. 22

MS. BELWARE: My name is Barbara Belware. 23

THE COURT: Good morning. 24

MR. BISSON: I'm John Bisson for Scott Sample who's 25

4


joining me here today. 1

THE COURT: Good morning, everyone. 2

THE DEFENDANT: Good morning. 3

MS. BELWARE: Your Honor -- 4

THE COURT: So one of the things that's important to 5

remember -- have a seat, please -- is that the court monitor is 6

taking down everything as it's said. She can only hear one 7

voice at a time. She can only keep track of one set of words. 8

And so it's very important that we not cross over each other in 9

what we say. I'll try very hard not to interrupt anyone. 10

Please, all of you try very hard not to interrupt each other. 11

Another thing is that you'll each have a chance to 12

respond. I'm not going to cut anybody off and -- not having a 13

chance to react to what they've already heard, as long as it's 14

not just repeating the same thing. So you don't need to jump 15

up or interrupt or, you know, "I have something to say." 16

That's more on those judge shows on TV. But here it's a little 17

more orderly than that, and you'll have an opportunity, and 18

unlike those shows, I won't start yelling at either of you. 19

I think what we want to hear is, obviously, an 20

argument from the Plaintiffs here on why you think a 21

restraining order should be issued. It was filed on March 3rd, 22

and on that same date there was a request for an ex parte 23

restraining order, meaning without a chance to hear all sides. 24

The Judge who reviewed that looked at it and didn't find it was 25

5


-- there was a reason to do it on an ex parte basis but said, 1

"Let's schedule it for a hearing and hear more of the details." 2

So that's where we are today. And since then there's been an 3

appearance and an answer filed by Mr. Sample, filed through his 4

lawyer, Mr. Bisson. 5

So what I want to do, then, is hear from the two of 6

you who you've made this request for a restraining order. I've 7

obviously read it so you don't need to repeat everything. But 8

if you want to give your kind of a summary of the most 9

important things that you think lead to the need for a 10

restraining order. So it's not necessarily all of the history 11

between you and Mr. Sample. It's what you think leads to a 12

need for a restraining order that has to do with a fear of harm 13

and sort of immediate concern about harm as opposed to, you 14

know, bad interactions years ago. For example, I know there 15

was something from 2003. I recognize that. I know that that's 16

part of the history between you as you see it. But that 17

doesn't -- isn't very important to me in terms of whether 18

there's an immediate risk of harm. So the more we can focus on 19

those questions, the better. All right? So I'll leave it to 20

whichever of you wants to begin. 21

Oh, and the other thing is, when one speaks you 22

stand. All right? 23

MR. LATH: Sure. Your Honor, my name is Sanjeev Lath 24

and I reside in Oakbrook Condominium. I moved there about 25

6


three years ago. And two years ago I had an issue with the 1

board, and since then Scott Sample has retaliated against me. 2

For an example, in the last five months there's a matter 3

pending before this court for wiretapping, illegal wiretapping. 4

And since then his harassment has accelerated. I have 5

requested -- the attorney representing Scott Sample, Attorney 6

John Bisson, and he had request of me that to communicate via 7

email. And I requested Scott Sample to communicate to me via 8

email or postal mail. Despite my several requests, in the last 9

five months he posted seven notices on my door. And every time 10

he comes to my door he vigorously shakes it in order to 11

intimidate and cause fear. 12

The last incident that happened was last night. 13

There was another note posted. On February 26th I hired a 14

handyman to change my locks. And the handyman has placed his 15

tools right outside my door, not inhibiting any fire exits. 16

The handyman, his name is Jerry Dube, he's from Merrimack, and 17

he's here as a witness. And he will testify today that when he 18

came outside he saw the note posted on the door, and his tools 19

were missing. So Scott Sample has continued to harass me 20

despite my several requests. And that request was initially 21

made by Attorney Bisson in October. And I'm prepared to submit 22

that letter as an exhibit because Attorney Bisson said, "In 23

order to prevent any claims of competing harms, that I should 24

communicate" -- and I have followed that. I've communicated 25

7


via email. 1

THE COURT: What are the nature of the notices? 2

What's contained in the information in the notices? 3

MR. LATH: So he is requesting a copy of my unit 4

keys, and I have also authorized open -- in case of an 5

emergency, you can bring down my door. Now there's another 6

concern, because I hold a security clearance for a national 7

security position, I'm required to do some work from home 8

during snow days, and I've expressed that concern to the 9

Oakbrook Association. That due to my safety and due to the 10

nature of aggression that Scott Sample has shown, I would 11

rather have you break my door and I will replace it at my own 12

expense. But regardless, they continue to say that they need a 13

copy of my keys, which I'm really scared of giving them -- 14

THE COURT: All right. 15

MR. LATH: -- a copy of my unit keys. 16

THE COURT: And, you know, I just totally forgot 17

about this. But what we should do before I forget any further 18

is have each of you and Mr. Sample stand, and I just want to 19

put you under oath so I don't forget to do that later, all 20

right? So if you'd stand and raise your right hand, please. 21

PARTIES, SWORN 22

THE COURT: Thank you, and I apologize for forgetting 23

that initially. 24

So, all right, you've talked about the keys and 25

8


you're concerned about not wanting to have anyone have access, 1

in part because of your work and your security clearance, 2

right? 3

MR. LATH: Yes. Yes, Your Honor. 4

THE COURT: All right. Continued. 5

MR. LATH: And that's all I have to say today. 6

THE COURT: Okay. Just the tools, have you located 7

them again? Do you know where they are? 8

MR. LATH: Yes, Your Honor. When I was -- I was 9

running an errand and -- when Jerry Dube -- when I returned 10

back Jerry Dube handed me the letter, and when I opened the 11

letter the letter had the signature of Scott Sample, and he 12

said he'd have to look for his tools for a little while. And 13

so he did find his tools -- 14


MR. LATH: -- and he went on to complete his job. 16

THE COURT: Okay. Good. Thank you. 17

MR. LATH: Thank you, Your Honor. 18

THE COURT: Ms. Belware. 19

MS. BELWARE: Hi, Judge. 20

THE COURT: Good morning. 21

MS. BELWARE: Judge, I've lived -- I moved in 22

Oakbrook in 2000, and this April, I think the 13th probably, 23

will be 16 years. You mentioned 2003. That was a situation 24

where I looked out and Scott Sample was sawing one of the 25

9


branches which was over my car. And the rules are, if they're 1

going to do any work they will notify you so you can move your 2

vehicle or whatever. And so I went downstairs, and I was -- he 3

was told not to have any contact with me, and don't talk at 4

him, whatever, and so I have -- I am going to -- the manager 5

was there. That was Francis White at the time, and I said to 6

him, I said, "All you had to do is just let me know. I would 7

have moved my car." 8

And I heard Scott Sample say, "Why don't you" -- 9

whatever -- "F yourself." And so I walked over to my car and 10

his truck was parked across the back of my car, which I 11

couldn't back out. I wanted to move it. So said, "Would you 12

move your car, please -- your truck, please?" He said, "Kiss 13

my" -- and I said, "Look it," I says, "I want to get my car out 14

of here. I don't want you sawing that over my car." And so he 15

said, "Eff you," whatever, and, "Kiss my butt." And I says, 16

"It looks too much like your face." That's what I answered. 17

And so that's one of the things. 18

Oh, and then the police came. I had to have the 19

police come. And they talked to him. And he -- when the 20

police were talking to him he said, "I'll have her condo." 21

That's what he told the police. 22

THE COURT: Okay. 23

MS. BELWARE: He says, "And this" -- 24

THE COURT: Now remember, this is -- I'm sure that 25

10


was a day you don't -- 1

MS. BELWARE: Yeah. 2

THE COURT: -- like to think about. 3

MS. BELWARE: No. 4

THE COURT: But that's -- 5

MS. BELWARE: Okay. That's it for that. 6

THE COURT: -- over ten years ago. 7

MS. BELWARE: Yeah. Okay. So then -- 8

THE COURT: So let's -- 9

MS. BELWARE: So then February 4th I went into the 10

gym -- 11

THE COURT: Of this year? 12

MS. BELWARE: Yes. 13

THE COURT: Okay. 14

MS. BELWARE: '15 -- '14, I'm sorry. '14. Or was it 15

'15? '14. I'm just not sure. '14 or '15, Judge. 16

THE COURT: All right. Still, remember, I'm looking 17

at what there's -- is there an immediate risk of harm. 18

MS. BELWARE: Or is it February, '14? It was '15, 19

I'm sorry. 20


MS. BELWARE: And so I came out of the gym and I was 22

going to go for a little walk, and I came to a stop sign and 23

there was -- I think it's a bulldozer with this big bucket, and 24

it was picking up snow and moving it to another pile. And so I 25

11


stood at the stop sign and waited and -- because the girl, I 1

couldn't get her attention. She was talking to the driver. He 2

had backed it up and he stopped. Then he shut the ignition 3

off. So when that happened I said, "Excuse me," and she -- she 4

turned around and she walked towards me. So I walked over to 5

her. I says -- you know, I says, "Could I go, you know, over 6

here?" And by the time I said that, I did see Scott at first, 7

he runs over. He runs over this bucket thing and he's saying, 8

"Listen you stupid B," he says, "Why don't you go around the 9

back of that thing?" And -- because then when I noticed him I 10

didn't want to go over there because he was on the other side. 11

So -- and he kept swearing at me, and he says, "Go 12

ahead, move, move, bitch." He says, "You old bag." So I went 13

around the back of thing. And when I went around the back, he 14

ran over on the other side and then he started following me. 15

There was a lady there from Warrens, and she just stood there. 16

And he was saying, "Come on, move, move, move, bitch. You old 17

bag. If I had a face like that I'd stay home." And he -- I 18

says, "Scott, get away from me. Don't bother me." I says, 19

"Because I'll call the police." But he kept following me. And 20

finally he stopped, and he -- as he was walking back to the 21

girl he says, "Barbara Belware's a troublemaker. Barb" -- and 22

he kept repeating that. So I went for the walk, and I went 23

around, and then I went back home. And I did call the police 24

department and told them about that. And that was one of the 25

12


things. 1

THE COURT: All right. And so let's -- anything 2

that's -- 3

MS. BELWARE: And then -- 4

THE COURT: -- in very recent -- 5

MS. BELWARE: Yep. Then when I went into -- let's 6

see. I was into my carport. That was this year. I think it 7

was this year. I guess there was a problem. The lightening 8

hit something and lights were out or something. And he was on 9

a phone, and I could hear him talking. I guess it was the 10

alarm people or something. And so I drove my car in the 11

carport, and then I -- and I had my windows all open. And 12

dialed to call my friend, Diane, who was sitting here, and I 13

said, "Diane," I says -- and we were just gabbing away. And I 14

said, "I just got home," or whatever. And I was there for -- I 15

don't know how long I was there. 16

But then I heard -- and I was kind of leaning on the 17

door, and I have a phone like this. And then I heard, "Are you 18

going to stay in your car all night?" And he was standing 19

right at the door, right at my car door. And I just shut the 20

windows and whatever, and Diane says -- she says, "That sounds 21

like Scott." I said, "It was." She said, "Well, what is he 22

bothering you for?" And I just said, "Well, I'm going to see 23

where he is because I don't want to get out of the car now." 24

So I sat there for a few minutes and I didn't see him around. 25

13


So then I -- I went out and I says, "I'll call you when I get 1

upstairs." She says, "Yeah, call me." So I went upstairs and 2

then I called her. 3

Another thing was, it was brought to my attention 4

that Gerard Dufresne, who is also here, Your Honor, said to -- 5

said -- well, I guess he told his dad and that. He said that 6

he was over -- he worked for Oprah, and he said that I went in 7

there. And after I left, he said Scott had a ratchet in his 8

hand, he said, "And, Barbara, he said -- he says, 'I'd like to 9

smash her head with this,'" he said, and he did the motion, he 10

said, and everything. Like, you know, "I'd like to smash her 11

head." 12

And then I had -- then, you know -- let's see what 13

else. I mean, there was -- 14

THE COURT: When did -- when did that occur? Let's 15

back up a little bit on that one. Mister -- you said 16

Mr. Dufresne, so. 17

MS. BELWARE: That -- oh, God, geez, I don't -- I -- 18

he probably knows the date exactly. I don't remember. 19

THE COURT: Was it this year? 20

MS. BELWARE: Last year. 21

THE COURT: Sometime in 2015? 22

MS. BELWARE: Yeah, because now he -- yeah, he -- 23

yeah, he was still there, Your Honor. 24

THE COURT: Okay. 25

14


MS. BELWARE: And he's been told many times not to 1

have -- I've asked him to please -- I ask him to leave me 2

alone. And he's been told. I have a letter just from 3

September 15th from Bill Maury who was here also, for Oprah. 4

And he told me that he would -- he told Scott that I -- he 5

says, "I directed Scott Sample not to have anything to do with 6

you," blah, blah, blah, blah. And then he said, "And I would 7

like the same from you." Believe me, I don't want anything to 8

do with him, Your Honor. 9


MS. BELWARE: And so -- but then -- but then after 11

that happened, I got that letter, then I -- I've been there 16 12

years, Your Honor, and I've never had my locks changed. Then I 13

said I want to have my locks changed. And they have a rule 14

that if you change the locks, okay, you have to have the -- 15

which is Scott Sample, the management, he has to do it. But 16

he's been told, and I was told, that the only thing he's going 17

to do in my condo is to come in in an emergency. Otherwise, 18

he's not going to do any kind of work, and that's changing 19

locks or anything. And so I asked a person, he's -- his 20

business is in Pinardville, I guess, or Goffstown, and I told 21

him the situation. I said, "How soon can you come over here?" 22

And he says -- he says, "Barbara, I'll come over. You know, 23

I'll be there in about a couple hours." So I said, "Okay." 24

And he came, and he was changing the locks, and the 25

15


next thing I hear, and I was standing right near the -- he was 1

right here working on the door. He was kind of like half in 2

the hall and whatever. And I heard Scott Sample say, "Are you 3

changing Barbara's locks?" He's yelling at this -- what do you 4

call it -- locksmith. And I looks out and I said, "Scott, 5

you're not supposed to be bothering me. You're not supposed to 6

be here. Would you please leave?" 7

And so, you know -- and then the guy -- they guy told 8

me, "And I had intentions of giving keys to the office." Okay? 9

Because he has to have keys. Your Honor, I've had many -- 10

three or four times someone came into my condo, left their 11

prints and that, and I've called the police department. And 12

there's a couple of reports there. And the last time I called 13

was the Officer Bowen, I think it was or something. 14

THE COURT: All right. Remember, let's stay focused 15

on what the -- 16

MS. BELWARE: Yeah. 17

THE COURT: -- restraining order request is. 18

MS. BELWARE: Okay. So -- so the changing of the 19

locks is because I don't want him coming in my condo. I want 20

him to -- with his keys. I don't want him to have a key 21

because I'm afraid of him. Every time I turn around he -- I go 22

in the gym and he attacks me in the gym. And then -- 23

THE COURT: Well, wait a minute. Don't -- let's be 24

careful about phrases about that. What do you mean he attacked 25

16


you in the gym? 1

MS. BELWARE: Well, because he went in the gym and I 2

was on a -- I guess a treadmill or something. And when he 3

walked out he slammed the door. So I reported it to -- there 4

was another lady in there, I think Sandy, but I really don't 5

know her, but she was in there. And I reported it to the 6

board. And I got a letter back from the board, "Well, you 7

know, Barbara, you have had -- many times you've had problems 8

with him. You need to stop bothering him, and you need to stay 9

away from him." And it -- I'm in there exercising. 10

THE COURT: All right. All right. So is there 11

anything else of a recent, very recent, like -- 12

MS. BELWARE: Well -- 13

THE COURT: -- event -- 14

MS. BELWARE: -- the lock -- the lock is the most 15

recent, and that was the 15th of this year. 16

THE COURT: 15th of what month? 17

MS. BELWARE: March. 18


MS. BELWARE: And he's had other -- like Janet Riley, 20

she sent a letter, and she said to me that, you know, "I have 21

told Mr. Sample not to have any contact with you whatsoever." 22

But he doesn't listen. 23

THE COURT: All right. And from what I hear, tell me 24

if I'm correct, there's been a pattern that you see of verbal 25

17


harassment, shouting, saying things that are rude, maybe -- 1

MS. BELWARE: That were belittling to me. 2

THE COURT: Okay. 3

MS. BELWARE: When I was walk -- when I -- like I 4

mentioned when I was walking and that machine was there with a 5

big dump thing, he -- when I had wanted to walk over here, and 6

all the -- I didn't want to walk in the back of the machine 7

because I was afraid it might roll back. Usually they put 8

blocks on those wheels, and that was my main thing. But then 9

when I saw Scott, I didn't want to walk in the back either. 10

But he come flying over there and, "Listen, you stupid B," and, 11

"You old bag," and all of this. 12

THE COURT: Okay. All right. Let me -- 13

MS. BELWARE: It just went on and on. 14

THE COURT: I've heard that. 15

MS. BELWARE: And he kept following me, Your Honor, 16

right on my back. 17

THE COURT: All right. Okay. Good. Thank you. 18

MR. LATH: Your Honor, I just want to add, we have 19

Senator Jeanne Boleo (phonetic throughout). 20

MS. BELWARE: Oh, yeah. I'm sorry. 21

MR. LATH: And she was as an advocate. She was there 22

for two annual meetings, and she would testify today how Scott 23

Sample threatened at the -- her and Barbara Belware at the 24

meetings. 25

18


THE COURT: All right. Thank you. And we -- 1

MS. BELWARE: I'm sorry, I forgot. 2

THE COURT: That's okay. That's all right. 3

All right. So why don't you have a seat. 4

MS. BELWARE: Thank you. 5

THE COURT: I want to hear from Mr. Sample's lawyer 6

in response. 7

MR. BISSON: Thank you, Your Honor. And by way of 8

offer of proof, Mr. Sample is here, and he would testify that 9

everything that you just heard is absolutely false. There is 10

harassment going on, but it's not harassment from Mr. Sample to 11

the Plaintiffs; it's the other way around. 12

The Plaintiffs, Mr. Lath and Ms. Belware, are 13

constantly in his way. Mr. Sample has worked for Oakbrook 14

Condominium Association for 23 years. He manages a property of 15

192 residents. He has keys to every -- he has a master key, 16

under the condo documents, he is authorized and required to 17

have a master key for health and safety reasons to every unit 18

except for theirs. They have changed their locks. They have 19

decided to take it upon themselves to ignore the condominium 20

documents. 21

Some people should not live in condominiums, Your 22

Honor, and those people are here today. They constantly harass 23

Mr. Sample. They're in his face. They're in his way. You 24

have heard Ms. Belware talk about interfering with contractors 25

19


on the property. Constantly making it impossible for him to do 1

his job. And just for an example, Your Honor, I'm going to 2

list the number of ongoing litigation matter where those two 3

are suing the association and/or prior property managers and 4

what have you. 5

There are three HUD complaints. There is a District 6

Court matter pending against Mr. Sample. There are two civil 7

actions pending in this court, Your Honor. They're -- they 8

have filed an attorney discipline office complaint against me. 9

They have filed a Bar complaint against me in Maine. They have 10

filed a writ of cert against me in New Hampshire. And they are 11

saying that they are harassed. But it's absolutely the other 12

way around, Your Honor. 13

With respect to the facts that you have heard, if 14

you've heard any facts, Your Honor, Your Honor is exactly on 15

point, nothing is recent. The worst fact that you heard was an 16

incident that happened in 2003. After the 2003 incident 17

Ms. Belware, in 2006, filed an attempt to get a civil 18

restraining order against the-then property manager, and it was 19

denied by this court. This court, and I have a copy of the 20

order, said that Ms. Belware was completely incredible and not 21

to be believed. So to the extent that she felt threatened by 22

something that happened in 2003, she used this court process in 23

2006 against a prior property manager, and was denied the 24

relief she sought. 25

20


What you have heard is -- at worst you have heard 1

insults. That is at worst. If you believe everything that 2

they say, Your Honor, and I would encourage you not to, you 3

have heard abusive language. That is it. For Mr. Lath you 4

have heard that someone posts things on his door and he is 5

offended by that. The reason that things get posted on his 6

door is because that's how the property management company at 7

Oak Brook communicates with its residents. 8

THE WITNESS: Well, that wasn't his statement. It 9

was not the posting; it was the sort of aggressive form of 10

posting and banging and rattling on the door. Do you deny all 11

of that? 12

MR. BISSON: Which Mr. Sample would deny. He posts 13

things on everybody's door that he needs to post. And if he 14

was in the process of rattling and -- and engaging people for 15

192 residents that's all he'd be doing all day is going around 16

posting and antagonizing people. 17

So he -- the facts that you've heard are simply -- if 18

you assume everything they said is true, there's nothing that 19

supports a civil harassment restraining order, Your Honor. 20

There's no irreparable harm. There is no immediacy. There is 21

nothing that has occurred in the recent past. And in addition 22

to that, Mr. Sample denies everything that you have heard, Your 23

Honor. 24

THE COURT: And is it your explanation of -- well, 25

21


let me ask it more directly. The people that they say are here 1

and would describe the events that they testified to, do you 2

think they -- they're wrong, they didn't see those things, they 3

have a different explanation for them? 4

MR. BISSON: Again -- again, even if you assume the 5

truth of them -- I do think that they're wrong. I was at that 6

annual meeting that they talked about, as were -- the back row 7

over there, Your Honor, is residents of Oak Brook who would be 8

here to support Mr. Sample. So if we're going to line up 9

people to testify, they would all support what Mr. Sample would 10

say. But I was at that annual meeting. Ms. Boleo was at that 11

meeting. I don't know if she's a senator or representative, I 12

don't know what her capacity is. I don't know what her 13

capacity was at that meeting. But she was rude and 14

belligerent, and I was there. So we can -- we can both take 15

the stand, we can both swear to that. 16

And, in any event, Your Honor, that was in November 17

of 2015. That does not rise to the level of something that 18

this Court should pay attention to for purposes of a civil 19

restraining order. You haven't heard anything from any of 20

those people that would say that there's an immediate threat of 21

irreparable harm right now, currently. 22

THE COURT: What -- 23

MR. BISSON: Mr. Sample has a job to do, and he does 24

it very well. Oak Brook is a beautiful property, if you're 25

22


familiar with it. It's mostly due to his efforts. I think the 1

people that are on this side of the courtroom would testify 2

that it's well managed, it's professionally managed, that they 3

have never had incidences with Mr. Sample. It is simply these 4

two people who, for whatever reason, don't like him and have 5

decided to take on a personal vendetta against the association 6

and Mr. Sample. 7

THE COURT: Well, it sounds like it's more than just 8

two individuals. I mean, there are people here who are here in 9

support of the two Plaintiffs. And it -- from what I've heard, 10

things don't rise to the level of a restraining order because 11

it's hard to see what the eminent threat of irreparable harm 12

is. But there's definitely a flavor of volatility and verbal 13

instability, however, we'll put it that way, which is a fancy 14

word for rudeness. And if that's going on, that may not be 15

something that the Court needs to be ruling on, but it's 16

absolutely something that the management of the organization 17

should make sure gets tamped down. It's not pleasant for 18

people. It only leads to further escalation. 19

I don't know the facts. I wasn't there. But 20

descriptions of someone who is shouting, using foul language, 21

belittling people is -- is unacceptable. And I -- you know, I 22

can't reconstruct everything that's gone on, but it's 23

disturbing to hear someone describe that sort of behavior on 24

anyone's part. 25

23


MR. BISSON: And it occurs on that side of the table 1

as well, Your Honor. And I've heard it personally. I have 2

heard that language personally and in a meeting. I agree with 3

you, there's no place for it. But there's no place for a civil 4

restraining order to correct rude behavior. A civil 5

restraining order is an extraordinary remedy, Your Honor, and 6

it's not appropriate here. There's insufficient facts to rise 7

to the level of a restraining order, Your Honor. 8

THE COURT: All right. I want to give the two of you 9

an opportunity to respond to what Attorney Bisson said. I told 10

you I'd do that. 11

MS. BELWARE: You want to go first? 12

MR. LATH: Yeah. 13

THE COURT: And I -- so I want to give you that 14

chance right now. 15

MR. LATH: Your Honor, I -- I'm not -- 16

THE COURT: One moment. Somebody's ringing. Do you 17

know who that is? Thank you. It's just hard for the monitor 18

to have that going on. Go ahead. 19

MR. LATH: Your Honor, Attorney Bisson just said that 20

the only way to communicate, Scott Sample, is through by 21

posting letters on people's doors. However, I have a letter 22

from Attorney Bisson dated October 13th where he states that, 23

"We request you to communicate by email only. The staff denies 24

this allegation and insists that it's you who have been abusive 25

24


and threatening." And in regards to the letter, Attorney 1

Bisson fails to account for that how does he contradict his own 2

letter where he asked me to communicate via email but allows 3

the office staff to go out -- go around and post letters. 4

Posting letters on my door, Your Honor, is his 5

pretext of causing that ruckus and trying to intimidate and 6

harass me. So I do believe there is an immediate damage of 7

harm to my life. Because I am basing it on competing harms 8

claims, which he states in this letter, "In order to prevent 9

any competing harm claims." And I have honored his request and 10

have communicated via email; however, the staff refuses to do 11

that despite my several requests. Seven letters were posted 12

because he wants a copy of my keys, but he fails to enumerate 13

what the immediate danger is that he needs a copy of my unit 14

keys of the 192 units that the condominium houses. There has 15

been no fire, I called the fire department, since 1996. They 16

could go back. There has been no fire in Oprah. Then what is 17

the immediate need for a copy of my unit keys. 18

THE COURT: All right. Anything else? 19

MR. LATH: No. 20

THE COURT: Anything else, ma'am? 21

MS. BELWARE: Yes, please. As far as being malicious 22

to me and calling me names and things, when I went over to pay 23

my condo fee, I don't know the exact date, I was with my 24

friend, Diane, who is here again. And, see, anytime I go over 25

25


there, because of their behavior, him and the management, I 1

would have somebody with me. I never wanted to go alone 2

because of their behavior. Could I have -- 3

THE COURT: I know this is personally emotional to 4

you, but I do think that the tests that I have to apply here is 5

pretty strict, and it has to be a showing of an immediate 6

threat of irreparable, non-fixable harm before I can issue a 7

restraining order. And I don't see that here. I do see -- I 8

do see just a real breakdown in people's ability to interact. 9

And it's a shame because it makes it difficult for everyone, 10

whether you're the people on the battle lines or the people who 11

are living around that. And there's a kind of -- it sucks the 12

energy out of people to have that kind of stuff going on all 13

the time. 14

MS. BELWARE: Well -- 15

THE COURT: And so -- yes. 16

MS. BELWARE: I'm sorry. 17

THE COURT: No, it's all right. 18

MS. BELWARE: Well, when I went over there with 19

Diane, I brought her over to pay my condo fee, when we were 20

going to leave Scott says, "Get out of here you bitch." And I 21

just turned around and looked at him. And then -- and Diane 22

looked at me, and he says, "And you, too, you old bitch," to 23

her. He doesn't know her, and she's here today, also. 24

THE COURT: Okay. 25

26


MS. BELWARE: But as far the -- a restraining order, 1

his behavior, it's like he's violent. He gets violent, and 2

he's very, very abusive. And when you're -- like when he 3

followed me, he followed me all the way over. In fact, when I 4

went over to help Sanjeev, what, just a month ago or something, 5

he followed me. He's in his truck, and he parked his truck 6

like right over, and Sanjeev's building is right there, and he 7

sat there for I don't know how long. So when I got inside the 8

door, I looked at those windows on each side of the door, and I 9

looked out and he still was there. He still stayed there, and 10

he had a snipe on his plate, and he stayed there. And he's 11

done that a few times. And -- 12

THE COURT: Okay. So -- 13

MS. BELWARE: And then especially with the -- and 14

then with -- what's his name -- Gerard telling me about -- 15

about that ratchet thing. 16

THE COURT: All right. This is -- we're going to 17

have to wrap this up. We've got a couple of other things and 18

trial starting at 10:00. 19

So I -- I will write a quick order in writing that 20

repeats this, but I'll just tell you right now, I don't see a 21

basis for a restraining order. I do really encourage everyone, 22

and that includes the management of the association, to take 23

steps to improve communications, to discipline your own 24

employees, to encourage, however it needs to happen in 25

27


meetings, a greater degree of stability. No one deserves to be 1

pushed around. No one deserves to be intimidated. You all 2

have to live together, and you should be able to live together 3

and not have to have the sense that somebody's being bullied. 4

And I get the absolute impression, Mr. Sample, that 5

you're bullying them. Now I -- that's not a basis for a 6

restraining order, but that's what comes to me loud and clear. 7

And they may be vexing people. They may be people who annoy 8

you. They may be people you don't like. But that doesn't give 9

you the right to bully them. 10

You all got to get along. You've got to put up with 11

the management rules. You got to put up with difficult people 12

in the association. You don't want to have two camps in the 13

community that are all trying to, you know, always be in 14

conflict with each other. 15

So I'm going to deny the request for the restraining 16

order, but I really, really do encourage some effort to bring a 17

little greater sense of peace and respect to the community. 18

MR. BISSON: Thank you, Your Honor. 19

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Your Honor -- 20

THE COURT: I'm sorry, we're not able -- we're not 21

taking evidence. It's really just the two what we called 22

offers of proof. 23

(Proceedings concluded at 9:40 a.m.) 24

25

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CERTIFICATE

I, Tami S. Mayes, CET-547, a court approved

transcriptionist/proofreader, do hereby certify that the

foregoing is a correct transcript from the official electronic

sound recording of the proceedings in the above-entitled

matter, to the best of my professional skills and abilities.

Tami S. Mayes, CET-547 April 15, 2016

Proofreader

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT ... › 2017 › 09 › ... · 4/5/2016...

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