Rhode Island Supreme Court Decisions 2015
Date: December 14, 2015
Docket Numbers: 14-199, 14-200
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, Plaintiffs filed this action seeking a declaratory judgment that the original master declaration creating Goat Island South - A Waterfront Condominium (GIS) was invalid and the second amended restated master…
Date: December 9, 2015
Docket Number: 15-53
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff was the beneficiary of a charitable trust. Included within the trust was a provision allowing Plaintiff to live rent-free in a certain property. When Plaintiff exercised his right to occupy the property and…
Date: December 8, 2015
Docket Number: 14-145
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury-waived trial, Defendant was convicted of five counts of stalking. The trial justice imposed a sentence of probation on each count, to run concurrently. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the trial…
Date: December 8, 2015
Docket Number: 14-330
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs - Jazmine Wray and Reginald Green - brought a negligence suit against Defendants - Roy and Antonio Green - as a result of a three-vehicle rear-end collision, claiming that, as a result of the collision, they…
Date: December 8, 2015
Docket Number: 15-11
Justia Opinion Summary: Landlords filed an eviction action against Tenant. Eventually, the parties settled the eviction action by a stipulation that was signed by the district court judge. Thereafter, Tenant filed a negligence action alleging…
Date: December 4, 2015
Docket Number: 13-246
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of first-degree child molestation. The Supreme Court vacated the conviction and remanded for a new trial, determining that Defendant’s right to counsel was violated by the…
Date: December 4, 2015
Docket Number: 14-10
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, Plaintiff purchased a condominium unit at a condominium association lien foreclosure sale. In 2013, Plaintiff filed suit seeking to quiet title to the unit in his name. Plaintiff also sought declaratory and…
Date: December 1, 2015
Docket Number: 15-93
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff was a school bus driver employed by Durham School Services (Durham), a private bus company. Citing a “Driver Withdrawal” provision from its contract with Durham for transportation of school students, the Town…
Date: November 17, 2015
Docket Number: 14-50
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of one count of felony domestic assault, two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, and one count of simple domestic assault after previously having been convicted twice of…
Date: November 16, 2015
Docket Number: 13-340
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2003, Robert Loppi purchased a life insurance policy from United Investors Life Insurance Co. in which he initially named Marilyn Loppi, his wife, as the beneficiary. In 2008, after Marilyn filed for divorce from…
Date: November 16, 2015
Docket Number: 14-113
Justia Opinion Summary: The Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) filed petitions in Family Court alleging that Respondent had abused and neglected his two minor children and sought to terminate Respondent’s parental rights to both…
Date: November 13, 2015
Docket Number: 14-141
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff was injured when he fell down the stairs in his residence. Plaintiff filed a negligence action against Defendants, his landlords, alleging that Defendants failed to maintain the premises in a clean and safe…
Date: November 12, 2015
Docket Number: 14-133
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of three counts of first degree sexual assault and one count of assault with the intent to commit a sexual assault. Defendant appealed, arguing that the trial justice erred…
Date: November 5, 2015
Docket Number: 14-33
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury-waived trial, the family court issued a decree terminating Mother’s parental rights to three of her children. Mother appealed, arguing that both R.I. Gen. Laws 15-7-7 and Supreme Court precedent with respect…
Date: November 4, 2015
Docket Numbers: 14-248, 14-249, 14-250
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was adjudicated by a justice of the superior court to be in violation of the terms and conditions of his probation for his participation in a home invasion. Defendant appealed, arguing that the trial justice…
Date: November 3, 2015
Docket Number: 12-171
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, by and through her mother, filed a complaint against the City of Pawtucket, alleging that she sustained injuries when she received a splinter while playing on a wooden jungle gym at a city park. A hearing…
Date: November 2, 2015
Docket Number: 13-346
Justia Opinion Summary: A criminal complaint was filed against Defendant charging him with burglary. After a combined bail and violation hearing, a hearing justice found that Defendant failed to be of good behavior and that Defendant violated…
Date: October 19, 2015
Docket Number: 14-101
Justia Opinion Summary: This action arose from injuries Plaintiff suffered as a result of a fall he took while he was incarcerated at the Adult Correctional Institutions. Plaintiff filed a complaint against the State alleging negligence in…
Date: June 18, 2015
Docket Numbers: 13-249, 13-248, 13-247
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue in these consolidated cases was the passing of the Financial Stability Act and the appointment of a Receiver for the City of Central Falls. The Supreme Court already held that the Act is constitutional, and the…
Date: June 17, 2015
Docket Number: 14-35
Justia Opinion Summary: An investment scheme exploiting the complexities of certain variable annuity policies led to litigation in the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. The First Circuit certified to the Rhode Island Supreme…
Date: June 17, 2015
Docket Number: 14-38
Justia Opinion Summary: The Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) filed a petition seeking to terminate the parental rights of Jah-nell’s mother and father. After a trial, the trial justice concluded that Father’s parental rights to…
Date: June 17, 2015
Docket Numbers: 14-99, 14-100
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants were the divorced parents of a minor child, Maya. Maya lived with Mother but regularly stayed at Father’s home for overnight visits twice a week. While Maya was visiting Father in keeping with the normal…
Date: June 15, 2015
Docket Number: 13-13
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of possession of more than five kilograms of marijuana. Defendant was sentenced to twenty years’ imprisonment. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Defendant waived her…
Date: June 15, 2015
Docket Number: 14-168
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2013, the Town of Narragansett invited competitive bidding for a five-year concession contract to operate a paddle sports business on town-owned property. Plaintiff submitted a bid to the Town. During a meeting of the…
Date: June 8, 2015
Docket Numbers: 12-272, 13-156, 13-157
Justia Opinion Summary: In three separate debt collection cases, three attorneys authored pleadings on behalf of three pro se defendants without disclosing their respective identities or entering his or her appearance in the cases. In separate…
Date: June 5, 2015
Docket Number: 13-359
Justia Opinion Summary: The estate of a former resident of Charlesgate Nursing Center filed a civil action against Charlesgate and related defendants (collectively, Charlesgate), claiming that the former resident was the victim of a sexual…
Date: June 5, 2015
Docket Number: 13-58
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006, Defendant was found guilty of breaking and entering, assault with a dangerous weapon, and simple assault. In 2012, while he was incarcerated, Defendant was involved in an altercation with a correctional officer.…
Date: June 5, 2015
Docket Number: 14-146
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of second-degree sexual assault. The trial justice denied Defendant’s motion for a new trial. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the trial justice (1) did not err in…
Date: June 5, 2015
Docket Numbers: 14-24, 25-25
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants hired various construction companies to assist in the construction of a house and barn on their property. Plaintiff was one of the subcontractors that worked on the project. Plaintiff brought this action…
Date: June 4, 2015
Docket Number: 13-159
Justia Opinion Summary: Reyna Bernard purchased property and executed a promissory note in the principal amount secured by a mortgage on the property. The mortgage was assigned to HSBC Bank, USA, N.A. A fire later destroyed the property. Manuel…
Date: June 4, 2015
Docket Number: 13-365
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of four criminal counts related to a murder committed during the course of an attempted robbery. The Supreme Court affirmed the superior court’s judgment of conviction and…
Date: June 4, 2015
Docket Number: 14-97
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2005, Plaintiffs purchased property from Seller, and Seller conveyed the property to Plaintiffs by deed. After the sale was finalized but before Plaintiffs were able to move into the property, Plaintiffs experienced…
Date: June 4, 2015
Docket Number: 2014-312
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2013, the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) filed a petition to terminate the parental rights of Father to his son. After a trial held in 2014, the trial justice concluded that Father was unfit to…
Date: May 29, 2015
Docket Numbers: 12-239, 14-254, 12-237
Justia Opinion Summary: After the parties’ divorce was granted and a final judgment of divorce was entered, William filed two motions in the family court seeking clarification of the division of assets, specifically as to two businesses that he…
Date: May 29, 2015
Docket Number: 13-310
Justia Opinion Summary: After a bench trial in district court, Defendant was convicted of one count of simple domestic assault and one count of resisting arrest. Defendant appealed these convictions to the superior court. Immediately before the…
Date: May 29, 2015
Docket Number: 2014-15
Justia Opinion Summary: Officer Tori-Lynn Heaton filed a grievance with the City of Cranston seeking to be allowed to retire from the Cranston Police Department at nineteen years, six months, and one day with her full twenty year pension. The…
Date: May 28, 2015
Docket Number: 14-206
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent was indicted for inflicting numerous injuries on his five-week-old daughter, resulting in the infant’s death. The Department of Children, Youth, and Families subsequently petitioned to terminate Respondent’s…
Date: May 27, 2015
Docket Number: 12-362
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged by information with stealing over $500 in violation of R.I. Gen. Laws 11-41-1 and 11-41-5 and soliciting another to receive stolen goods in violation of R.I. Gen. Laws 11-1-9. The amount of money in…
Date: May 19, 2015
Docket Numbers: 12-208, 12-211
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs initiated a medical malpractice suit against numerous medical organizations and professionals twelve years after their daughter, Yendee, was born with a genetic disorder. Plaintiffs alleged negligence in the…
Date: May 14, 2015
Docket Number: 13-142
Justia Opinion Summary: When James Maddalena, a correctional officer with the Department of Corrections (DOC), admitted that another officer was smoking marijuana, in his presence, while on duty, Maddalena was terminated from employment with…
Date: May 1, 2015
Docket Number: 13-77
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of one count of second-degree sexual assault. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the trial justice did not err in (1) denying Defendant’s motion to suppress the…
Date: April 29, 2015
Docket Number: 13-305
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010, Rudolph Bettez died. Rudolph was survived by his three sons - Robert, Ronald, and William - and his second wife, Joyce. Robert Bettez petitioned the probate court to admit Rudolph’s September 2009 to probate. In…
Date: April 28, 2015
Docket Number: 13-257
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners’ property directly abutted property identified as the Hines Road property, owned by Plaintiff. Plaintiff and the Town of Cumberland came to an agreement regarding a retaining wall on the Hines Road property…
Date: April 27, 2015
Docket Number: 14-51
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of first-degree sexual assault and second-degree sexual assault and two counts each of assault with intent to commit second-degree sexual assault and of indecent solicitation…
Date: April 22, 2015
Docket Number: 14-72
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner filed an application for a license to carry a concealed weapon. The Chief of Police for the City of East Providence denied the application. Petitioner sought review of the denial of his application pursuant to…
Date: April 17, 2015
Docket Number: 14-12
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff and Defendants in this action were business owners with abutting properties. The disputed property in this case was a diagonal path through Plaintiff’s driveway to the business located on Defendants’ premises,…
Date: April 17, 2015
Docket Numbers: 14-17, 14-18
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled nolo contendere to uttering or delivering checks in an amount exceeding $1500 with intent to defraud, misappropriating property, and obtaining goods valued at more than $500 by false pretenses with intent…
Date: April 8, 2015
Docket Number: 13-280
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed a negligence action against the Town of South Kingstown stemming from an injury she sustained at a Town-owned park while she was a spectator at a little league baseball game. Specifically, Plaintiff…
Date: April 7, 2015
Docket Number: 14-172
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, the Town of Middletown issued an invitation for bids on a drainage improvement project. Two contractors submitted bids, including HK&S Construction Holding Corp., which provided the lowest bid. Woodard & Curran,…
Date: April 3, 2015
Docket Number: 12-361
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with eleven offenses in a single indictment, most notably murder. After a jury trial, guilty verdicts were returned on all counts. The trial court sentenced Defendant to three consecutive life…
Date: April 2, 2015
Docket Number: 12-299
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of disorderly conduct and sentenced to six months’ incarceration. The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of conviction and the denial of Defendant’s motion for a new trial…
Date: April 1, 2015
Docket Numbers: 11-119, 11-156
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed this petition for the appointment of a guardian over their father. After the probate court denied Plaintiffs’ petition, Plaintiffs appealed. The superior court dismissed the complaint seeking review from…
Date: April 1, 2015
Docket Number: 13-92
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed a civil action against a physician and his employer alleging that Defendants negligently failed to protect the confidentiality of his HIV test results and seeking to recover both compensatory and…
Date: March 30, 2015
Docket Numbers: 13-103, 13-104
Justia Opinion Summary: The consolidated appeals arose out of a dispute between the Town of Johnston and Plaintiffs, former Town police officers who retired on injury disability. Plaintiffs filed complaints seeking declaratory and injunctive…
Date: March 26, 2015
Docket Number: 11-380
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant entered a plea of nolo contendere to the charges of burglary, breaking and entering, and receiving stolen goods. Defendant filed an application for postconviction relief, alleging several grounds for relief…
Date: March 20, 2015
Docket Numbers: 13-60, 13-61, 13-62
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, David Miller and Miller’s Auto Body, alleged that they were subject to a malicious investigation into suspected insurance fraud that Defendants, three insurance companies, believed was taking place at…
Date: March 17, 2015
Docket Number: 12-87
Justia Opinion Summary: After Plaintiff underwent cervical disk replacement surgery at Rhode Island Hospital she suffered a stroke caused by a vertebral artery dissection. Dr. Gita Pensa at Newport Hospital treated Plaintiff when she first…
Date: March 17, 2015
Docket Number: 13-110
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of one count of second-degree child molestation. The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment, holding that the trial justice did not err in (1) denying Defendant’s motion to…
Date: March 17, 2015
Docket Numbers: 13-306, 14-27
Justia Opinion Summary: Atwood Health Properties, LLC contracted with Calson Construction Company to construct a medical office building. Calson engaged Gem Plumbing & Heating Co., Inc. (GEM) as a subcontractor to design and install a heating,…
Date: March 9, 2015
Docket Numbers: 12-110, 12-111, 12-112
Justia Opinion Summary: Frank Corrente was employed by the City of Providence during two separate time periods. Following a federal investigation, Corrente was convicted of six felony counts stemming from his employment during the second time…
Date: March 9, 2015
Docket Number: 13-282
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of first-degree felony murder and conspiracy to commit robbery. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the trial justice did not abuse his discretion in denying Defendant’s…
Date: March 9, 2015
Docket Number: 13-294
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of one count of delivery of a controlled substance (cocaine) and was sentenced to five years’ incarceration. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the trial justice did…
Date: March 4, 2015
Docket Number: 12-322
Justia Opinion Summary: The Narragansett Indian Tribe (Tribe) filed a complaint against the State seeking a declaration that the Casino Act must be invalidated because it is unconstitutionally vague or because it otherwise violates the…
Date: March 4, 2015
Docket Number: 13-101
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, Renewable Resources, Inc., purchased the Potter Hill Mill, which was slated for demolition. Plaintiff and the Town of Westerly subsequently entered into a memorandum of agreement (MOA) in which Plaintiff…
Date: February 25, 2015
Docket Number: 12-257
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed a pro se complaint against Defendants, medical providers, alleging, inter alia, claims of medical malpractice and negligence. The superior court granted summary judgment in favor of Defendants. The…
Date: February 25, 2015
Docket Number: 13-344
Justia Opinion Summary: When Ferris Avenue Realty, LLC (Ferris) purchased twenty-two acres of property from Huhtamaki, Inc. (Huhtamaki), the parties executed an indemnity agreement providing that, upon the occurrence of certain conditions,…
Date: February 13, 2015
Docket Number: 13-53
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff applied to the Town Planning Board for the Town of Hopkinton for a preliminary plan approval of a minor subdivision. The Town Planner stated that he would certify the subdivision application as complete once…
Date: February 12, 2015
Docket Number: 13-253
Justia Opinion Summary: In Huntley I, the Supreme Court determined that a judgment entered in the federal district court for the defendants, including the State and the Office of the Attorney General, against Plaintiff Dawn Huntley was entitled…
Date: February 11, 2015
Docket Number: 13-281
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. Defendant appealed, asserting that her right to counsel guaranteed by both the federal and state Constitutions was violated when the…
Date: February 6, 2015
Docket Number: 13-102
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs were a certified class of approximately 14,000 policyholders of Beacon Mutual Insurance Company, a state-chartered workers’ compensation insurance provider. Plaintiffs filed suit against Beacon, alleging that…
Date: February 6, 2015
Docket Numbers: 13-135, 13-136, 13-137
Justia Opinion Summary: Gabrielle Mee passed away in 2008. Plaintiff, Gabrielle's niece, filed three separate cases in the superior court, alleging (1) Gabrielle’s will was executed through undue influence, fraud, and mistake in the inducement;…
Date: February 6, 2015
Docket Number: 2012-319
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed this negligence action against Daniel Stack and the Disabled American Veterans Department of Massachusetts, Inc. (collectively, Defendants) seeking damages for injuries he received in an automobile…
Date: January 26, 2015
Docket Number: 13-124
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree and other offenses. Defendant appealed, asserting, among other claims of error, that the trial justice erred by deciding to limit the extent to…
Date: January 26, 2015
Docket Numbers: 13-369, 13-370
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1996, the parties were granted a divorce. When the divorce became final, the parties’ jointly executed property settlement agreement, which, among other things, set forth the distribution of Defendant’s retirement…
Date: January 16, 2015
Docket Numbers: 13-262, 12-127
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff obtained a mortgage loan from Equity One, Inc. As security for the note, Plaintiff executed a mortgage on the property in favor of Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS). The note was twice…
Date: January 16, 2015
Docket Number: 13-89
Justia Opinion Summary: One evening, Shawn McKiernan drove by Kevin Hough several times in an automobile owned by Rita Bower and taunted Hough as he drove past. McKiernan subsequently exited the insured vehicle and punched Hough, who was…
Date: January 16, 2015
Docket Number: 2013-352
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff was a patron at a bar on Defendant’s premises when he was involved in a fight first inside Defendant’s premises and then in Defendant’s parking lot. Plaintiff sustained serious injuries. Plaintiff subsequently…
Date: January 14, 2015
Docket Number: 13-146
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2000, Plaintiff filed a suit against Defendant in her capacity as Treasurer and Finance Director of the Town of Cumberland, alleging age discrimination in hiring and retaliation. After a trial, a verdict was returned…
Date: January 14, 2015
Docket Number: 13-190
Justia Opinion Summary: In order to finance her purchase of a home, Plaintiff executed a note payable to New Century Mortgage Corporation. The note was secured by a mortgage on the property naming Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc.…
Date: January 14, 2015
Docket Number: 13-318
Justia Opinion Summary: The parties in this case were the parents of a minor child. The family court entered an order granting joint custody of the parties’ child to the parties, physical placement with Mother, and visitation in favor of…
Date: January 13, 2015
Docket Number: 12-136
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff executed a promissory note that was secured by a mortgage on her real estate. The mortgage deed named Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS) as the mortgagee. The note was transferred to USA…
Date: January 12, 2015
Docket Number: 13-150
Justia Opinion Summary: Imperial Capital Bank granted a loan to Main and West, LLC in the sum of $607,500. Main and West signed a promissory note as security for the loan, and two individuals personally guaranteed the loan. City National Bank…
Date: January 12, 2015
Docket Number: 14-5
Justia Opinion Summary: This controversy arose from an easement over a right-of-way that ran along a driveway on Plaintiff’s lots allowing access to Poppasquash Road from Defendant’s property. When Defendant and her family began using the…
Date: January 9, 2015
Docket Numbers: 13-44, 13-66, 13-96
Justia Opinion Summary: These consolidated appeals concerned a highly contested labor dispute between the Town of North Kingstown and the North Kingstown Firefighters, Local 1651, International Association of Firefighters, AFL-CIO (“union”). At…
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