YDC fund administrator warns new N.H. law will remove him, amid concerns of fairness
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Broderick told the Globe he has not resigned, but his reading of the new statute – slated to go into effect Tuesday – effectively removes him from the position.
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'As I sit here in this office with staff, I have no idea what happens tomorrow morning,' said Broderick, who has served as administrator of the YDC Settlement Fund since its inception in 2022. He was appointed by the NH Supreme Court, but under the new law, the governor can replace him with a candidate of her choosing after securing Executive Council support.
The Supreme Court previously needed 'good cause' to remove the administrator. The
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Another measure in the budget gave Ayotte's attorney general the power to reject agreements the administrator made with victims.
Those changes prompted the
The class action lawsuit filed by victims asked a superior court judge to grant a temporary restraining order to keep Broderick in the position until the court makes a ruling on the lawsuit. But Merrimack County Superior Court Judge John C. Kissinger Jr. denied that request in an order issued Friday, instead scheduling a hearing on the matter on July 8.
Broderick said he is anticipating a transition period after the governor appoints a new administrator, but he hasn't received information about the rollout of that transition.
'No one's had the decency to reach out to me or my staff telling us what happens at 12:01 tonight to this operation,' he said in an interview Monday.
Broderick was critical of what he called a fundamental redesign of the settlement system, after hundreds of victims had been enticed to file claims there instead of handling them through the courts, which had the potential to be even more costly for the state.
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'The way it's going to work now, it's like a third world country,' he said.
'The CEO of the defendant, the state, is going to appoint the judge, who can be removed at any time for any reason, and the CEO and the lawyer for the defendant gets to decide whether the judge's decision is correct,' he said.
A spokesperson for the governor and for the attorney general did not return a request for comment.
Amanda Gokee can be reached at
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