Foster v. Town of Hudson

This appeal raises the question of whether a police chief is a public official holding a position of sufficient trust so as to come within the ambit of Silva v. Botsch, 121 N.H. 1041, 437 A.2d 313 (1981), in which we held that certain elected public officials are entitled to reimbursement for attorney’s fees under a “public trust” theory.

In May 1981, the plaintiff was fired from his position as appointed police chief for the Town of Hudson. Pursuant to RSA 105:2-a, see Ingersoll v. Williams, 118 N.H. 135, 136-40, 383 A.2d 1119, 1120-22 (1978), a hearing before the superior court was…