Judge dismisses Chichester lawsuits over canceled special meeting

A judge dismissed two lawsuits from a resident accusing the town officials in Chichester of quashing a special town meeting demanding weekly selectboard meetings.

The lawsuits, filed in the fall by Chris Weir, who is also running for selectman, occurred after the board of selectmen first refused to respond to a citizen petitioned special town meeting and then canceled the meeting in December, saying it lacked the required number of signatures to be valid.

“The Court concludes that plaintiff has failed to state any viable claims for injunctive relief. Accordingly, the town’s motions to dismiss are granted,” Merrimack County Superior Court Judge Daniel St. Hilaire wrote in his order.

The special town meeting would have given voters a say over how often the board of selectmen meets and its attendance policy.

At a February court hearing, Weir asked the judge to allow a warrant article on the annual town meeting asking voters to approve weekly selectmen meetings.

“The voters have not been allowed to act, and that is the failure before the court today,” Weir said at the hearing on Feb. 23. He represented himself in court.

St. Hilaire asked why he did not submit the article for the annual town meeting once the special meeting was canceled in December.

“When it was submitted, it became very, very clear, very, very quickly that they were not going to insert this in any way, shape or form,” Weir answered. “Filing further petitions with the town would have been a moot point.”

The town, for its part, argued that the petition Weir submitted had 25 physical signatures and 25 e-signatures — and the latter needed to be agreed upon by both parties ahead of time.

While dismissing the suit, St. Hilaire did say the town must hold a special meeting if its requirements are met.

“To the extent plaintiff unsuccessfully reapplies for a special meeting, it is possible
that the relevant circumstances would support a finding that the board abused its
discretion in denying his request,” St. Hilaire wrote in his ruling. “Moreover, the court notes that the statutory scheme affords the board no discretion to deny a timely and otherwise proper request for inclusion in the warrant for the annual meeting.”

Town finances have been cause for concern from many Chichester residents in the past year. As of Feb. 20, the town had spent over $5,000 in legal fees on the lawsuits through Cox Pelletier’s law firm, Upton and Hatfield. This amount does not include the court hearing.

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