Legal Briefs: News From Around NH

Adam Collicelli

Right Networks names first general counsel

Hudson-based Right Networks, which provides cloud services to accounting firms and professionals, has named Adam Collicelli as its general counsel, the firm’s first in-house general counsel.

Collicelli has more than 15 years of legal experience in corporate law and governance, M&A, SEC reporting, data privacy, intellectual property and commercial matters. He most recently served as deputy general counsel and assistant secretary for Datto, a cybersecurity software company based in Norwalk, Conn.

Ex-attorney charged with stealing from trusts

A Hillsborough County-Northern District grand jury has returned indictments charging David C. Dunn, of Durham (formerly of Manchester), with four class A felony counts of theft by misapplication of property and four class A felony counts of theft by unauthorized taking or transfer. Dunn, a former attorney who practiced in Manchester, was disbarred in 2022.

The theft by misapplication indictments allege that between March 3, 2016, and June 9, 2021, Dunn, obtained an unspecified amount from two revocable trusts that he served as trustee as well as one estate for which he served as executor.

If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in the prison and a $4,000 fine on each charge. Dunn is scheduled to be arraigned on the charges on July 20.

An indictment is merely an accusation, and Dunn is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Devine Millimet attorneys win recognition

Eight Devine Millimet attorneys have been recognized by Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers for New England.

Attorneys Andrew D. Dunn, Anu R. Mullikin, David P. Eby, Donald “Lee” Smith, Jon B. Sparkman, Peter W. Mosseau and Thomas Quarles Jr. have all received the ranking for 2023. Each of the attorneys recognized has received this honor multiple times in the past, with attorneys Dunn, Mullikin, and Sparkman making the list 17 years in a row.

Hanna May received special recognition as a Rising Star, a designation reserved for attorneys who are either 40 years old or younger or have been in practice for less than 10 years.

Sig Sauer asks judge to toss some claims in lawsuit

A federal judge is considering a motion filed by attorneys representing Sig Sauer to throw out some claims against the New Hampshire-based gun manufacturer in a lawsuit that alleges one of the company’s handguns can fire without the trigger being pulled, WMUR-TV reported.

The suit was filed by 20 plaintiffs, including federal agents, police officers and private gun owners from across the country who allege that one of the company’s handgun models can fire on its own without the trigger being pulled, resulting in injury and damages in dozens of instances.

Judge Joseph Laplante is considering Sig Sauer’s request to throw out claims that it violated New Hampshire’s Consumer Protection Act because none of the alleged incidents happened in New Hampshire.

But the judge also agreed with the plaintiffs and is keeping the cases together for now despite a request by Sig Sauer to separate the complaints by jurisdiction.

Former notary pleads guilty to improper activity

Ian Symons, a notary and justice of the peace formerly of Derry, has pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor relating to improper notary activity, the attorney general’s office announced.

Symons was charged with notarizing a power of attorney document in June 2021 for the daughter of a man who was not present for the signing even though Symons’ notarized the document stating that the man was present. Following an investigation, the daughter confirmed that she forged her father’s signature and. Symons admitted that the man had never appeared in front of him.

On June 16, Symons pleaded in the Derry Circuit Court to one class A misdemeanor count of Penalties for Misconduct of Notaries and Public Commissioners As part of a settlement, Symons was sentenced to serve 30 days in the House of Corrections, all suspended for a two-year period, and fined $1,240. He also has resigned his commission as a Notary Public and as a justice of the peace and has agreed to not apply again for either office, the AG’s office said.

Disability Rights Center-NH wins foundation award

The NH Bar Association Foundation has awarded $93,000 to the Disability Rights Center-NH to support the center’s legal advocacy for people with disabilities across New Hampshire.

Funding for the grant comes from the Foundation’s Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts (IOLTA) Program.

Former New London Hospital exec pleads guilty

A former chief medical officer at New London Hospital has pleaded guilty to health care fraud over his role in a scheme to bilk Medicare by prescribing unnecessary medical devices for beneficiaries, with whom in most cases he had not consulted or communicated.

The Valley News reported that Dr. Steven Powell, formerly of Grantham but now a resident of Georgia, pleaded guilty April 26 in U.S. District Court in Concord to health care fraud after federal prosecutors charged him with colluding with people at two purported telehealth companies to submit more than $1.9 million in fallacious claims to Medicare, according to court documents. The crimes were committed after Powell resigned from New London Hospital, where Powell has worked for more than 15 years.

According to the government’s indictment, Powell — who resigned from New London Hospital in 2018 to join MedOptions, a Connecticut-based provider of behavioral services to skilled nursing and assisted living facilities — colluded with “accomplices” at two “purported” telehealth companies over a three-month period from December 2018 to February 2019 to sign orders for such medical devices as off-the-shelf ankle, knee, back, elbow and hand braces for Medicare patients.

The fraudulent false claims submitted to Medicare for the braces were neither medically necessary nor eligible for reimbursement from Medicare, according to the indictment.

Powell, 53, is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 30. The charge can carry up to 10 years in prison, but the prosecutors will recommend a prison sentence of three years and eight months at the hearing, according to the plea agreement accepted by the court on May 24, the newspaper reported. Powell also must pay $761,000 in restitution to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the plea agreement says.