Grace Woodham v. Janet Woodham & a.

THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

SUPREME COURT

In Case No. 2023-0270, Grace Woodham v. Janet Woodham
& a., the court on March 15, 2024, issued the following order:

The court has reviewed the written arguments and the record submitted
on appeal and has determined to resolve the case by way of this order. See
Sup. Ct. R. 20(2). The plaintiff, Grace Woodham, appeals an order of the
Circuit Court (Greenhalgh, J.) dismissing her small claim complaint against the
defendants, Janet Woodham, Trevor D. Garner, and NE Auto, for failure to
attend the pretrial hearing. See Dist. Div. R. 4.4(b). She argues that the trial
court “effectively entrapped [her] into missing [the] hearing . . . because [the
court] would not grant a transport order.” Based upon our review of the
plaintiff’s brief, the relevant law, the record on appeal (including the transcript
of the pretrial hearing and the document submitted by the plaintiff with her
brief), and the trial court’s dismissal order, we find this argument
unpersuasive, and we affirm the trial court’s decision to dismiss the plaintiff’s
small claim complaint for failure to attend the pretrial hearing.

The plaintiff also argues that the trial court was biased against her
because it “has summarily dismissed every single pleading [she has] placed
before [it] ([and] others [she has] not), without findings of fact,” and that it was
obligated to recuse itself. Even if the trial court has “summarily dismissed
every single pleading” the plaintiff has filed, that fact, alone, does not establish
a claim of judicial bias. In re C.M., 166 N.H. 764, 776-77 (2014). Based upon
our review of the record, the plaintiff has not established that a reasonable
person would have questioned the impartiality of the trial court. See Sup. Ct.
R. 38, Canon 2.11; State v. Bader, 148 N.H. 265, 268 (2002).

Affirmed.

MacDonald, C.J., and Bassett, Hantz Marconi, Donovan, and Countway,
JJ., concurred.

Timothy A. Gudas,
Clerk