Town of Hampton - Lane Memorial Library

- LEGAL DEPARTMENT -
The services provided by this Department include handling litigation that is brought by and against the
Town, advising Town Boards and Departments, and representing the Town’s interests before
regulatory agencies. Also, the Department coordinates the services of outside counsel.
This has been a year when a number of matters were concluded in the Town’s favor:
• A petitioned growth management ordinance that was not grounded in a solid statistical base
was declared to be invalid and unenforceable by the Superior Court, before any damages were
incurred by developers that could have led to suits against the Town.
• A second attempt by the same plaintiffs to address through litigation a parking situation
connected with a condominium development at Hampton Beach was dismissed on the Town’s
Motion, and the plaintiffs were ordered to pay the Town’s attorneys fees and costs in the
amount of $2,709.00.
• The New Hampshire Supreme Court upheld on June 27, 2006 in Sullivan v. Board of
Selectmen, Town of Hampton, the Selectmen’s discretion to transfer appropriations within
various budget line items in response to the passage of a default budget. This was a case of
first impression in New Hampshire.
• In November of 2006, after a day of trial, a settlement was reached in a case involving the
Royal Market on Ashworth Avenue whereby claims against the Town for damages in excess
of $200,000.00 were dropped and the location of the boundary line of that property along
Ashworth Avenue was fixed as depicted by the Town’s surveying expert.
Along with these successes, the Department has brought revenue to the Town in the form of charges
for review of condominium documents for developments approved by the Planning board. Ten
developments worth of documents were reviewed in 2007.
There is a lot of experience and education in the Legal
Department, and we are constantly working hard to ensure the
best representation for the Town.
Town Attorney Mark Gearreald graduated from Brown
University with Honors in 1974, went on to Boston University
Law School and received his Juris Doctor in 1978. He brings 28
years of experience as an attorney to the Town of Hampton.
Mark is admitted to practice law in New Hampshire, the United
States District Court of New Hampshire, the First Circuit Court
of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court. He has 26
reported cases before the New Hampshire Supreme Court, the
latest of which was the victory for the Town of Hampton in June
of 2006 in Sullivan v. Town of Hampton.
In addition to his extensive legal career Mark is also involved in
many diverse organizations: He is a Past President of the New
Mark S. Gearreald, Esq.
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