Polizzo v. Town of Hampton

At issue in this case is the legal status of a “paper street.” The street was plotted on the plan of a subdivision which was approved by the Hampton Planning Board on February 11, 1960. The land in question, however, has never been developed or used as a street. It is undisputed that fee title to the land is in the plaintiffs, whose properties abut the street on either side. See Duchesnaye v. Silva, 118 N.H. 728, 732, 394 A.2d 59, 61 (1978).

The plaintiffs argue that all of the other parties’ rights in the street have been extinguished under RSA 231:51. The defendants and the intervenor claim…