Preti Attorneys Secure Significant Win for NH Construction Industry – NH Superior Court Rejects Bid to Expand Scope of Nullum Tempus

In City of Rochester v. Marcel A. Payeur, Inc. et al., the City of Rochester sued multiple parties after a water tower that it had built in 1985 sprung a leak.  New Hampshire has adopted the doctrine of Nullum Tempus, which means that statutes of limitations do not apply against the State.  The question for this case was whether cities and towns are immune from statutes of limitation.  Preti Flaherty attorneys Ken Rubinstein and Nathan Fennessy represented an ENR 50 Contractor who was named as a defendant in the litigation.

Although the NH Supreme Court has previously held that Nullum Tempus applies to claims brought by the State, the Superior Court soundly criticized the doctrine, and refused to allow municipalities to exercise the same rights.  This decision should help to limit the scope of liability for design professionals, contractors and subcontractors working on municipal projects, by allowing the statute of limitations to establish an outside date within which claims can be presented.