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___________________________
Merrimack
No. 97-001
v.
GOVERNOR & a.
Id.
Ranger v. N.H. Youth Dev. Center, 118 N.H. 163, 165, 384 A.2d
493, 495 (1978) (citation and quotations omitted).
The court has "broad and flexible equitable powers which allow
it to shape and adjust the precise relief to the requirements of
the particular situation." Dunlop v. Daigle, 122 N.H. 295, 300,
444 A.2d 519, 521 (1982) (quotation omitted). "[A] court of
equity . . . will order to be done that which in fairness and
good conscience ought to be or should have been done." Langevin
v. Hillsborough County, 114 N.H. 317, 320, 320 A.2d 635, 636
(1974). "It is the practice of courts of equity, having
jurisdiction, to administer all relief which the nature of the
case and facts demand." Baldwin v. Wallace, 84 N.H. 71, 72, 146
A. 90, 91 (1929) (quotation omitted); see N.H. Donuts, Inc. v.
Skipitaris, 129 N.H. 774, 783, 533 A.2d 351, 355 (1987) (it is
the historic purpose of equity to secure complete justice, and
courts are able to adjust the remedies so as to grant the
necessary relief). We conclude that an award of attorney's fees
is not barred by sovereign immunity in this case because the
underlying case is not barred by the doctrine, the relief the
plaintiffs seek in the form of fees is within our inherent
equitable power, and we have equitable jurisdiction over this
case.
So ordered.