N.H. restaurant owner who alleged conspiracy of retaliation by police reaches $75,000 settlement
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'Even if I didn't receive the outcome I desired, it still briefly held them accountable, at least in the media and in the public, and shined the spotlight on people in positions of power behaving poorly,' she said.
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The story began in July 2022, when Kovacs turned to the Franklin Police Department for help after she and her business were bombarded with anonymous phone calls, fake reviews, and antisemitic messages after she condemned a white supremacist group online.
Kovacs was unsatisfied with how officers handled her complaint, so she publicly criticized the department — and Police Chief David Goldstein responded by
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Goldstein also strongly implied that the officer who was dating Kovacs at the time would need to choose between his girlfriend and his job, since Kovacs was promoting 'anti-law enforcement attitudes and behaviors.'
News coverage spurred public debate over how Franklin officials had responded to Kovacs and how leaders everywhere should tackle bias-related incidents.
Kovacs filed her lawsuit in August 2023 against the city, its police department, and eight local officials, including Goldstein, the mayor, and certain city councilors. Her attorneys,
The lawsuit accused city officials of intentionally inflicting emotional distress on Kovacs, including by commenting publicly about her mental health and saying she looked 'like a thug' when she criticized police. The lawsuit also accused local officials of violating the state's public records law and trying to interfere with Kovacs's plans to meet with the New Hampshire Department of Justice's Civil Rights Unit.
Officials denied the allegations, and one by one, most of them left their posts: The mayor
The defendants have perhaps moved on collectively as well. Their attorneys did not respond to a request for comment.
A judge in Merrimack County Superior Court signed off Friday on the joint stipulation to dismiss Kovacs's case. The $75,000 payment is due within two weeks, according to a copy of the settlement agreement.
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Miriam Kovacs, owner of the Broken Spoon in Franklin, N.H., accused the city, its police department, and eight local officials of conspiring to deprive her of her First Amendment rights.
Steven Porter/Globe Staff
Looking ahead, Kovacs sees an uncertain future for the Broken Spoon. After closing her dine-in business temporarily in 2023, she reopened for much of 2024, but found business was considerably slower. She shuttered the eatery again, as she explores other business models, including catering and wholesale options.
As far as her storefront in Franklin is concerned, Kovacs said she expects to close that permanently by the end of the year, though she hopes to hold
This story appeared in Globe NH | Morning Report, a free newsletter focused on New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles elsewhere. To receive it via email Monday through Friday,
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Steven Porter can be reached at
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