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NOTICE: This opinion is subject to motions for rehearing under Rule 22 as well as formal revision before publication in the New Hampshire Reports. Readers are requested to notify the Reporter, Supreme Court of New Hampshire, One Charles Doe Drive, Concord, New Hampshire 03301, of any editorial errors in order that corrections may be made before the opinion goes to press. Errors may be reported by E-mail at the following address: reporter@courts.state.nh.us. Opinions are available on the Internet by 9:00 a.m. on the morning of their release. The direct address of the court's home page is: http://www.courts.state.nh.us/supreme. THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE ___________________________ Rockingham No. 2007-662 CHRISTOPHER BENNETT & a. v. TOWN OF HAMPSTEAD

TOWN OF HAMPSTEAD v. CHRISTOPHER BENNETT & a. Argued: May 7, 2008 Opinion Issued: July 11, 2008 Sumner F. Kalman, Attorney at Law, P.C., of Plaistow (Sumner F. Kalman and Thea S. Valvanis on the brief, and Mr. Kalman orally), for the petitioners. Soule, Leslie, Kidder, Sayward & Loughman, P.L.L.C., of Salem (Diane M. Gorrow on the brief and orally), for the respondent.

DUGGAN, J. In these consolidated cases, the petitioners, Christopher Bennett, Alycia Bennett, and Bennett Landscaping, Inc. (collectively Bennett), appeal two rulings by the Trial Court (McHugh, J.) concerning attorney's fees. We hold that RSA 676:17, II (Supp. 2007) required the trial court to award attorney's fees to the respondent, Town of Hampstead (town), because the town prevailed in its action for injunctive relief against the petitioners. We further hold that, because the trial court did not find that Bennett's due process rights were violated, Bennett is not entitled to attorney's fees for its declaratory judgment action against the town. Accordingly, we affirm. I The trial court found the following relevant facts. Since March 1998, Christopher and Alycia Bennett have owned and resided at property located in a residential zone of the town that prohibits commercial uses. In June 1998, the town's zoning board of adjustment (ZBA) granted Bennett a special exception "to permit a home occupation

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