August 5, 2024

Updates on Settlement Fund, Litigation

We remain tireless in our pursuit of justice for the abuse you endured at the hands of the state. We’re continuing to do everything in our power to move your case forward and deliver you the best outcome possible. In the meantime, we’ll keep you informed of any developments and new information that may impact your case.

Litigation

There is more progress to report for our litigation clients. Last week, the New Hampshire Supreme Court issued an order that allows certain pre-trial proceedings to continue for each of the individual cases that previously had been joined together for a second, multi-victim trial.

While we wait for the Supreme Court’s ruling on the state’s appeal regarding multi-victim trials, this order allows the trial court judges to decide which cases can proceed to trial even before the appeal is decided.

This is good news, as it means that the progress of most cases toward trial will not be delayed by the state’s appeal. The state’s decision to challenge the process that allowed us to consolidate multiple victim lawsuits into one trial was yet another tactic to delay justice for our clients, and it’s now clear that tactic wasn’t successful. We’re happy that we can proceed with your cases largely uninterrupted by this delay, and we’ll continue to advocate for a victim-friendly court process on behalf of all our clients who have pending trials.

Settlement Fund

The Settlement Fund pause is still in effect through August 31. Fortunately, the pause on payment processing has now been lifted. In the past two weeks, we have begun to receive payments on some of the claims that were settled through the fund. If you settled your case through the fund and are still waiting for news on your payment, please don’t be discouraged; we’re hopeful that we’ll have good news for you soon. We will message you as soon as your payment is received—there is no need to call us.

The main reason for the continued pause is the time it is taking the Administrator’s Office to implement the recent changes to the Settlement Fund. Because of those changes, new payment guidelines and process documents must be prepared. We’ve been working with the Attorney General’s Office and the Settlement Fund staff to streamline those documents to speed up the process. Most of our suggestions have been adopted.

The next step is for those documents to be submitted to the Joint Fiscal Committee of the New Hampshire Legislature for approval. The Committee’s next meeting is on August 16, and we will be there to make the case for quick approval to get the fund back on track, adequately funded and staffed. We believe with joint support from our law firms, the AG’s Office, and the Administrator’s Office, the Committee will act quickly to approve the documents. Once that has happened, the pause should be lifted.

You may have seen media reports about a potential shortfall in the Settlement Fund. Don’t be alarmed! We have been deliberately trying to focus media attention on this so our legislators know that they need to act quickly to make more money available to claimants. That effort seems to be working. Senate President Jeb Bradley has expressly said that the state will need to put more money into the fund soon.

Despite the pause, we continue to encourage most of you to pursue the Settlement Fund path. The deadline to submit a claim is June 2025, and we don’t want you to lose the opportunity to submit a claim and see what the result would be. This path is still faster for most clients than the trial process.

Submitting a claim through the Settlement Fund is a good way to see whether we can resolve your case before trial. There is no obligation to take the state’s Settlement Fund offer, so you can continue to trial if you do not reach a settlement. If you’re interested in talking to someone to help decide if submitting a Settlement Fund claim is right for you, please contact our office.

Case Status App

We recently rolled out a new “journey” on Case Status. If you have entered the Settlement Fund, you should now see two journeys on the app. This is because even though you entered the Settlement Fund, you still have a court case pending that is currently paused. If you are unhappy with the offer you received from the Settlement Fund, your court case will resume and you will be back on the trial track.

To ensure you have access to Case Status, you must provide our office with your current cell phone number and email address. We will then send you a text message with instructions on how to download the app.

Please remember that the Case Status app is the best way to communicate with the office and the quickest way to receive updates on your case. You can also reach us by email or phone, but the response time may be delayed. Contacting us through multiple channels—such as sending a message via Case Status and following up immediately with a phone call—may also delay a response.

Mailing

We’ve received feedback that the US Postal Service is delayed in delivering mail to our clients. Those of you who communicate with us primarily by mail may experience delays in sending and receiving letters related to your case. While these delays are largely out of our hands, we’re aware of the issue and doing everything we can to communicate with you as frequently as possible. In the meantime, please let us know through Case Status if you have mailed us something, and we’ll keep an eye out for it.

Meet the Victim Specialist Team

Our team at Nixon Peabody and Rilee and Associates is committed to providing you a trauma-informed approach to navigating the justice process. We have a team of three victim specialists who are here to assist you. If you have any questions or concerns about your case, please reach out to us through Case Status first, or call 603-628-4060 and a victim specialist will connect with you.

Resources

We understand the justice process can take an emotional toll on our clients. Please read on for state-provided resources that are designed to support you as needs arise:

New Hampshire Rapid Response Access Point: 833-710-6477
New Hampshire 24/7 Statewide Helpline: 1-866-644-3574
Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Dial 988
211 NH–Get Connected. Get Help: Dial 211

Please make sure you are connecting with New Hampshire 211 if you are looking for resources like housing in the state of New Hampshire.

211 NH is the connection for New Hampshire residents to the most up-to-date resources they need from specially trained Information and Referral Specialists. 211 NH is available 24 hours, 365 days a year. Multilingual assistance and TDD access is also available. For those outside of New Hampshire, call 1.866.444.4211.

211 NH is an initiative of Granite United Way and relies on the generosity of donors and partners like Eversource, the State of New Hampshire, Volunteer NH, and local United Ways (211nh.org).