In the 15 April 2015 issue of New Hampshire Bar News, Paul Bauer and Christopher Hawkins report on the recent US District Court for the District of New Hampshire decision in Gallagher v. Funeral Source One Supply and Equipment Co., Inc. (Feb. 24, 2015):

The court found that the [New Hampshire Consumer Protection Act] CPA may apply to settlement discussions between corporate entities represented by attorneys, concluding “CPA liability can extend to abusive litigation practices, and I decline to hold otherwise in the absence of clear direction from the New Hampshire Supreme Court,” writes US District Court Judge Paul Barbadoro.

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The Gallagher case raises important questions regarding the interplay between the CPA, the torts of malicious prosecution, malicious defense, and abuse of process, Rule 11(d) of the Superior Court Civil Rules, the court’s inherent authority to sanction misconduct, and the litigation privilege. For the time being, attorneys must proceed cautiously when employing “aggressive” litigation tactics, lest they subject their clients and themselves to potential liability for violating the CPA.