DiGaetano v. DiGaetano, 50 A.3d 10

This case involves an appeal from a superior court order granting a motion in limine to exclude parol evidence in a trust dispute.
The trust was created by Domenica and Michael DiGaetano in 1996, with grandchildren and great-grandchildren as beneficiaries, including the plaintiffs.
In 2003 Domenica amended the trust appointing the defendant as sole trustee and beneficiary; Domenica died in 2006.
The defendant then sold the family-trust property and sought probate interpretation, which the probate court granted in his favor after a six-day trial.
The plaintiffs appealed de novo to the superior court under RSA 547:ll-d, seeking a jury trial on contract-formation issues; the superior court denied the defendant’s strike of the appeal and granted the parol-evidence motion, leading to dismissal of the case.
The defendant cross-appealed the denial of his motion to strike, and this court reversed that denial and remanded to dismiss the appeal.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Jurisdiction for jury trial under RSA 547:ll-d	DiGaetano argued for jury on contract-formation issues	Probate court has exclusive jurisdiction over trusts	No jury trial; probate court has exclusive jurisdiction over trust interpretation and reform
Third-party beneficiary right to jury trial	Plaintiffs invoke third-party beneficiary theory for jury right	Doctrine does not create jury-right here	No jury trial based on third-party-beneficiary theory under these facts
Authority to strike appeal and ruling on the appeal	Appeal should proceed to jury trial on trust issues	Superior court lacked jurisdiction; strike proper	We reverse the denial of the motion to strike and remand to dismiss the appeal

In re Bourassa, 159 N.H. 344 (2009) (probate jurisdiction over trust matters; equity focus)
Petition of Atkins, 126 N.H. 577 (1985) (probate matters; jury trial not constitutionally guaranteed)
In re Estate of Heald, 147 N.H. 280 (2001) (probate matters; jury trial right is statutory)
Brooks v. Trustees of Dartmouth College, 161 N.H. 685 (2011) (third-party beneficiary doctrine; status and rights clarified)
Arlington Trust Co. v. Estate of Wood, 123 N.H. 765 (1983) (nonparties may sue to enforce contract under third-party beneficiary concept)
In re Pack Monadnock, 147 N.H. 419 (2002) (trust-related claims adjudicated in probate context; jurisdictional considerations)
New Hampshire Health Care Assoc. v. Governor, 161 N.H. 378 (2011) (de novo review of statutory questions; interpretive approach)