Rule 10 - Appeal from Administrative Agency(1) The supreme court may, in its discretion, decline to accept an appeal, or any question raised therein, from an order of an administrative agency, or may summarily dispose of such an appeal, or any question raised therein, as provided in Rule 25. Review of an order of an administrative agency, when authorized by law, shall be obtained by filing (a) an appeal under RSA 541; (b) in the case of an appeal from the department of employment security, an appeal under RSA 282-A:67; or (c) a petition for writ of certiorari if otherwise, accompanied by the required entry fee within the time prescribed by law. No entry fee will be required for an appeal filed by an individual claiming benefits under the unemployment compensation statute in accordance with RSA 282-A:158. NOTE: To appeal to the supreme court from an administrative agency under RSA 541, the appealing party must have timely filed for a rehearing with the administrative agency. SeeRSA 541:4 and Appeal of White Mountains Education Association, 125 N.H. 771 (1984). The time period for the appeal does not begin to run until the administrative agency has acted upon the motion.
The appeal or petition, including any appeal from the department of employment security filed pursuant to RSA 282-A:67, shall as far as possible and in the order listed below:
(a) Specify the names of the parties seeking review of the order, the names of all other parties of record, the names of all counsel, the addresses of all parties and counsel, and the New Hampshire Bar identification numbers of counsel for the parties seeking review of the order.(b) Contain, or have annexed or appended to it, a copy of the administrative agency's findings and rulings, a copy of the order sought to be reviewed, a copy of the motion for rehearing and all objections thereto, and a copy of the order on the motion for rehearing. The appeal or petition, and any appendix that may be filed, shall contain a table of contents.(c) Specify the questions presented for review, expressed in the terms and circumstances of the case, but without unnecessary detail. The statement of a question presented will be deemed to include every subsidiary question fairly comprised therein. Only the questions set forth in the petition or fairly comprised therein will be considered by the court.(d) Specify the provisions of the constitutions, statutes, ordinances, rules, or regulations involved in the case, setting them out verbatim, and giving their citation. If the provisions to be set out verbatim are lengthy, their citation alone will suffice at that point and their pertinent text shall be annexed or appended to the petition. If the provisions aggregate more than 5 pages, their text may be filed as a separate appendix, including a table of contents referring to numbered pages.(e) Specify the provisions of insurance policies, contracts, or other documents involved in the case, setting them out verbatim. If the provisions to be set out verbatim are lengthy, their pertinent text shall be annexed or appended to the petition. If the provisions aggregate more than 5 pages, their text may be filed as a separate appendix, including a table of contents referring to numbered pages.(f) Set forth a concise statement of the case containing the facts material to the consideration of the questions presented, with appropriate references to the transcript, if any.(g) State the jurisdictional basis for the appeal, citing the relevant statutes or cases.(h) A direct and concise statement of the reasons why a substantial basis exists for a difference of opinion on the question and why the acceptance of the appeal would protect a party from substantial and irreparable injury, or present the opportunity to decide, modify or clarify an issue of general importance in the administration of justice.(i) A statement that every issue specifically raised has been presented to the administrative agency and has been properly preserved for appellate review by a contemporaneous objection or, where appropriate, by a properly filed pleading.(2) The order sought to be reviewed or enforced, the findings and rulings, or the report on which the order is based, and the pleadings, evidence, and proceedings before the agency shall constitute the record on appeal. NOTE: The moving party in any appeal brought pursuant to RSA chapter 541 is required initially to bear the full, reasonable cost of preparing a transcript for inclusion in the record. Appeal of City of Manchester, 149 N.H. 283, 290 (1999). To request that a transcript be prepared and included in the record on appeal, the moving party should consult the administrative agency's regulations and/or RSA 541-A:31. Unless the moving party requests that a transcript be prepared, in compliance with the administrative agency's regulations and/or RSA 541-A:31, no transcript will be prepared for inclusion in the record.
Absent a transcript of the proceedings below, the supreme court generally will assume that the evidence was sufficient to support the result reached by the administrative agency. If the appealing party fails to ensure that a transcript is prepared, the supreme court may not review issues that the appealing party has raised. Cf. Bean v. Red Oak Prop. Mgmt., 151 N.H. 248 (2004).
(3) The administrative agency, complying with the provisions of Rule 6(2) as to form, shall file the record with the clerk of the supreme court as early as possible within 60 days after it has received the supreme court's order of notice. The original papers in the agency proceeding or certified copies may be filed. At the beginning of the record there shall be inserted a table of contents with references to the page of the record at which each item listed in the table of contents begins.(4) The parties may designate by stipulation filed with the clerk of the supreme court that no part, or that only certain parts, of the record shall be filed with the court.(5) If anything material to any party is omitted from the record by error or accident or is misstated in the record, the parties by stipulation may provide, or the supreme court on motion or on its own initiative may direct, that the omission or misstatement be corrected and, if necessary, that a supplemental record be prepared and filed.(6) In lieu of the record as defined in section (2) of this rule, the parties may prepare and sign a statement of the case showing how the questions of law transferred arose and were decided, and setting forth only so many of the facts as are essential to a decision of the questions presented.(7) Notice by serving, delivering or mailing a copy of the appeal or petition upon all parties or opponents below as well as the agency involved and the attorney general is the responsibility of the moving party, and a certificate of compliance stating their names and addresses must be filed with the petition.(8) If a timely appeal or petition is filed by a party appealing from an administrative agency, any other party may file a cross-appeal or cross-petition within 10 days from the date on which the appeal or petition was docketed with this court, and shall pay a filing fee therewith, provided that the party filing the cross-appeal or cross-petition must have timely filed any required motion for rehearing with the administrative agency.Amended effective 1/1/2020; amended effective 1/1/2020.