Geldhof v. Penwood Associates

Decision Date12 October 1979
Docket NumberNo. 79-099,79-099
Citation119 N.H. 754,407 A.2d 822
PartiesJoseph W. GELDHOF v. PENWOOD ASSOCIATES.
CourtNew Hampshire Supreme Court

Joseph Geldhof, by brief and orally, for plaintiff.

Jill Garber, law student, and Bruce E. Friedman, Concord (Friedman, orally) filed brief, for amicus curiae Franklin Pierce Law Center Family and Housing Law Clinic.

Stanley, Tardif & Shapiro, Concord (R. Peter Shapiro, Concord, orally), for defendant.

DOUGLAS, Justice.

The issue in this case is whether RSA 477:48 (Supp.1977), which requires landlords to pay interest on security deposits, affects deposits tendered under lease agreements executed prior to the effective date of the statute. We hold that it does not.

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Geldhof rented an apartment from Penwood Associates, Inc. on September 11, 1976. The parties executed a lease under which the tenant gave the landlord $140 as a security deposit. The lease did not mention interest. On September 13, 1977, the legislature enacted RSA 477:48 (Supp.1977). Eight months later the parties terminated the tenancy and Penwood, after deducting certain sums from the deposit, and without calculating any interest, returned the remainder to the Geldhofs. Mr. Geldhof then brought an action in Concord District Court to recover the interest accumulated between the effective date of RSA 477:48 (Supp.1977) and the end of the lease, and for other relief not germane to this appeal. The District Court (Waters, S. J.) ruled that the landlord's failure to pay interest violated the statute, and Penwood appealed.

The New Hampshire Constitution states: "Retrospective laws are highly injurious, oppressive, and unjust. No such laws, therefore, should be made, either for the decision of civil causes, or the punishment of offenses." N.H.Const. pt. I, art. 23. The Geldhofs take the position that RSA 477:48 (Supp.1977) may be applied to a lease contract made before the statute's effective date without violating our constitution. We disagree. In this jurisdiction, the question whether the application of a law violates part I, article 23 of our State constitution is resolved according to an often-stated principle, first articulated by this court in 1826. A statute is retrospective if it "takes away or impairs vested rights acquired under existing laws, or creates a new obligation, imposes a new duty, or attaches a new disability, in respect to transactions or considerations already past . . . ." North American Manufacturing Co. v. Crown Int'l Inc., 115 N.H. 114, 116, 335 A.2d 660, 662 (1975); Woart v. Winnick, 3 N.H. 473, 479 (1826).

The lease in question in this case, signed in 1976, created a one-year term which was automatically renewed in the...

To continue reading

Request your trial
8 cases
  • State v. Ballou
    • United States
    • New Hampshire Supreme Court
    • 31 July 1984
    ...187 (1974); and compare with Smith Insurance, Inc. v. Grievance Committee, 120 N.H. 856, 424 A.2d 816 (1980); Geldhof v. Penwood Associates, 119 N.H. 754, 407 A.2d 822 (1979). Such distinctions between the consequences of retrospectivity in the penal and civil spheres should not concern us ......
  • United States v. Ottati & Goss, Inc.
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — District of New Hampshire
    • 9 December 1985
    ...retrospective. Id. (quoting Society v. Wheeler, 22 F.Cas. 756, 767 (C.C.D. N.H.1814) (No. 13, 156)); see, Geldhof v. Penwood Associates, 119 N.H. 754, 755, 407 A.2d 822, 823 (1979). Norton, 125 N.H. at 415, 480 A.2d 190 (quoting Woart, 3 N.H. at In Norton the court stated that a retrospecti......
  • Opinion of the Justices, 92-131
    • United States
    • New Hampshire Supreme Court
    • 10 June 1992
    ...alleged, see Smith Insurance, Inc. v. Grievance Committee, 120 N.H. 856, 862-63, 424 A.2d 816, 820 (1980); Geldhof v. Penwood Associates, 119 N.H. 754, 755, 407 A.2d 822, 823 (1979). We therefore understand article I, section 10 and part I, article 23 to offer equivalent protections where a......
  • Appeal of Pennichuck Water Works
    • United States
    • New Hampshire Supreme Court
    • 10 September 1980
    ...that they affect the rights and obligations of parties who have previously formed a contractual relationship. Geldhof v. Penwood Associates, 119 N.H. ---, 407 A.2d 822 (1979). In Geldhof, we focused on part I, article 23 of our State Constitution which states: "(R)etrospective laws are high......
  • Request a trial to view additional results
1 firm's commentaries
  • New Hampshire's New Non-Compete Law
    • United States
    • Mondaq United States
    • 10 January 2013
    ...unless the language of the amendment or surrounding circumstances express a contrary legislative intent."); Geldhof v. Penwood Assoc., 119 N.H. 754, 755 (1979) (holding that a statute could not be applied retroactively under part I, article 23 of the State Constitution to change the rules f......

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT