Critics of town sue Gilmanton

GILMANTON — A local couple is suing the town for $3 million, alleging selectmen and other town officials with slander and defamation of character.

The suit, brought by Brett and Brenda Currier, was filed in U.S. District Court on Dec. 20.

Mr. Currier is a former selectman who was defeated by Marshall Bishop, now the chairman of the Board of Selectmen. The suit names the town of Gilmanton, as well as Bishop, both individually and as the owner of Gilmanton Winery and Vineyard, as defendants.

The suit alleges that selectmen have not been following the regulations pertaining to official public meetings, have harassed the Curriers in retaliation for their criticism of certain selectmen/town policies, and exposed the Curriers to “public hatred, contempt or ridicule,” according to the civil complaint.

When asked for comment about the suit, Assistant Town Administrator Heather Carpenter would only say that selectmen decided at a special meeting Friday to refer the suit to Donahue Tucker & Ciandella, a law firm in Exeter.

In the 60-page complaint the Curriers, through their attorney, Leslie Johnson, allege that selectmen have failed to give adequate advance notice of meetings, have discussed business at unposted meetings, held illicit emergency meetings, and “repeatedly slandering and retaliating against citizens who made (requests for information under the state’s Right-to-Know Law), including the Curriers.”

The suit goes on to state that the selectmen have tried to bring criminal charges against the Curriers for statements they have made at public meetings, in letters to the editor, and “posting signs on their property in support of the Gilmanton Police, which included their son as the chief.”

The suit further alleges the decision to lock the front door of Town Hall and require members of the public to be buzzed into the building through a rear door is intended to dissuade residents from making requests for copies of town records. This policy, the suit states, was implemented “as a way of discouraging lawful requests (for public documents), and also for Gilmanton employees to avoid dealing with members of the public …”

The Curriers’ argue that selectmen have “reported them to various agencies, including the Attorney General’s Office, the Department of Environmental Services, the (Belknap) County Attorney, and the Secretary of State.” They also maintain the selectmen have slandered them during selectmen’s meetings, in the meeting minutes, in letters to state agencies, “and statements to individuals in public, including at meetings, stores, restaurants, and repeatedly at the Gilmanton Winery (owned by Bishop).

Specifically, the suit requests the town pay damages for defamation, punitive damages and the Curriers’ legal fees. It also asks the judge to prohibit the town from continuing to lock the front door of Town Hall, from dissuading citizens from making requests for public documents and that Bishop be required to repay the town “$30,000 paid to him as a result of his lawsuit against the Town of Gilmanton.”