Onetime hermit skips court over disputed NH woodlot
CONCORD, N.H. — A former hermit in New Hampshire who went back to live on the wooded property he was ordered to leave realizes that his time there is drawing to a close — but he appears willing to keep fighting against his removal for now.
David Lidstone, 82, failed to show up for a contempt of court hearing Thursday in his tug-of-war with a Vermont landowner over a patch of forest near the Merrimack River that he’s called home for 27 years before his cabin burned down in an accidental fire.
Given his history of not appearing at hearings until he’s arrested, a judge on Thursday interpreted Lidstone’s no-show as a “seemingly deliberate” move and imposed costs to cover some of Giles’ expenses.
He said Lidstone would face a daily fine of $500 if he doesn’t leave the woodlot by April 11.
A judge issued an injunction in 2017 for “River Dave” — as Lidstone is known — to leave after the landowner, Leonard Giles, sued him. But there have been delays in the case: Besides the pandemic, Lidstone hasn’t always shown up for court, and he’s been in and out of jail as he resisted the injunction.
Court records say the undeveloped property has been in the Giles family since 1963 and is used for timber harvests. Lidstone had claimed that years ago, the current owner’s father gave his word — but nothing in writing — allowing him to live there. He also has disputed whether he’s on the property in the first place.
“I have a great deal of sympathy for Mr. Lidstone,” Judge Andrew Schulman said Thursday, “but it is what it is.”
Giles’ attorney, Lisa Snow Wade, responded, “I look at it from a different perspective. The person who should have the sympathy here is Mr. Giles, who’s an 86-yearold veteran who’s been put through this. This is not that easy for him emotionally, or you know, financially.” She said he’s paid over $39,000.
Snow Wade had suggested a financial penalty for Lidstone, saying time in jail did not seem to change his behavior.
Early last month, Lidstone told The Associated Press “I know my days are numbered here,” a day after he was arrested and pleaded not guilty to a trespassing charge on the land. “Eventually, I’m going to have to move.”
Lidstone, who became known as a friendly face to kayakers and an advocate for keeping the river clean, wasn’t sure what he would do next or where he would go, even though he’s had offers of other places to live and more than $200,000 in donations.
Lidstone is accused of squatting in a rustic, two-level A-frame cabin with solar panels that he built on the land in Canterbury. It had a small kitchen and curtains on the windows.
But while Lidstone was in jail over the property dispute, his cabin burned down in August as it was being dismantled at Giles’ request. The Canterbury fire chief said the fire was accidental.