Rhode Island Supreme Court Decisions 2011
Date: December 27, 2011
Docket Number: 10-59
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Adrian Shepard pled nolo contendere to conspiracy to commit a felony, for which he was sentenced to ten years at the adult correctional institutions, consisting of two years to serve and eight years suspended,…
Date: December 16, 2011
Docket Number: 09-383
Justia Opinion Summary: A jury convicted Defendant Ronald Barkmeyer of first-degree child molestation. The trial justice sentenced Defendant to fifty years incarceration, with thirty years to serve and the remaining twenty years suspended, with…
Date: December 16, 2011
Docket Number: 10-239
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant Miguel Navarro was convicted of first-degree child molestation sexual assault. The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court, holding that the trial justice did not abuse her…
Date: December 15, 2011
Docket Number: 09-135
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Applicant Theodore Chapdelaine was found guilty of second-degree child molestation. Defendant later filed an application for postconviction relief, alleging ineffective assistance of his trial defense…
Date: December 15, 2011
Docket Number: 09-277
Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose out of a dispute over real property. Plaintiffs, a husband and wife, brought an action against Defendant, a dentist, for trespass and private nuisance, and to quiet title. Plaintiffs stated in their…
Date: December 14, 2011
Docket Number: 09-336
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant Carlos Jimenez was convicted on two counts of first-degree sexual assault after being accused by his sister-in-law of sexually assaulting her while she was too intoxicated to resist. The…
Date: December 14, 2011
Docket Number: 10-30
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Roy Diefenderfer was convicted of first-degree robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, kidnapping, and assault of a person over sixty years of age. Defendant thereafter moved for a reduced sentence, arguing that…
Date: December 9, 2011
Docket Number: 09-149
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant Raquel Figuereo was found guilty of shoplifting. As her sole argument on appeal, Defendant contended that the trial justice erred in declining to instruct the jury that eyewitness certainty…
Date: December 9, 2011
Docket Number: 09-236
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a former police officer, filed an action against Defendants, the Town of Portsmouth, its then chief of police, and a now retired lieutenant, alleging several causes of action arising from an investigation into…
Date: December 9, 2011
Docket Number: 10-387
Justia Opinion Summary: The family court terminated Father's parental rights with respect to Daughter. Father appealed, arguing that the justice of the family court (1) improperly admitted into evidence certain exhibits during the trial, and…
Date: December 2, 2011
Docket Number: 07-209
Justia Opinion Summary: When he was fifteen years old, Craig Price admitted committing four brutal murders. Price was committed to the custody of a training school, and the family court directed the school to provide intensive psychiatric…
Date: December 2, 2011
Docket Number: 10-228
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Gerald Brown was convicted of sexual assault and child molestation. The superior court dismissed his second application for postconviction relief. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the hearing…
Date: November 30, 2011
Docket Number: 09-349
Justia Opinion Summary: When Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island (NHP), a not-for-profit corporation that operated a licensed health maintenance organization that provided health insurance coverage to its enrollees, began reimbursing…
Date: November 28, 2011
Docket Number: 10-235
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of domestic first-degree sexual assault and domestic assault with intent to commit sexual assault. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the trial justice did not abuse her…
Date: November 28, 2011
Docket Number: 10-235
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of domestic first-degree sexual assault and domestic assault with intent to commit sexual assault. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the trial justice did not abuse her discretion by (1)…
Date: November 9, 2011
Docket Number: 10-109
Justia Opinion Summary: Police officers applied for and obtained a search warrant for Defendant Edward Gordon's apartment after a woman reported that Defendant had sexually assaulted her. A jury convicted Defendant of second-degree sexual…
Date: November 8, 2011
Docket Number: 10-249
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Windell McRae was convicted for simple domestic assault. Defendant appealed, arguing, inter alia, that a remark by complainant that Defendant had been drinking on the day of the assault was sufficiently…
Date: November 7, 2011
Docket Number: 10-193
Justia Opinion Summary: Twelve-year old Frances G. told a law enforcement officer that she threw a rock or brick against the windshield of a vehicle and carved something into the side of the vehicle. After a trial before a justice of the family…
Date: November 4, 2011
Docket Number: 10-399
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Timothy Scanlon was found guilty on six counts related to the sexual assault of a woman. The trial justice sentenced Scanlon to fifty years to serve concurrently on each of the first four counts and a…
Date: November 3, 2011
Docket Number: 10-126
Justia Opinion Summary: A superior court jury found Defendant Chhoy Hak guilty of four counts of first-degree child molestation and two counts of second-degree child molestation. The trial justice sentenced Defendant to forty years…
Date: October 31, 2011
Docket Number: 09-274
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant William Tetreault was convicted of maliciously beating and sexually assaulting his girlfriend (Complainant) and sentenced to concurrent terms of thirty years' incarceration. Defendant…
Date: October 24, 2011
Docket Number: 07-195
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Brian Dennis was twice convicted of felony crimes involving sexual misconduct. After Defendant's second conviction, the Sex Offender Board of Review assessed Defendant's level of risk of re-offending that he…
Date: October 19, 2011
Docket Number: 09-276
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant Emmanuel Karngar was found guilty of breaking and entering. Defendant appealed, arguing that his motion for a new trial should have been granted based on the lack of credibility of the…
Date: July 12, 2011
Docket Number: 08-156
Justia Opinion Summary: Anthony DeCiantis was convicted of murder in the first degree and received a life sentence. DeCiantis filed a third application for postconviction relief, the subject of this appeal, alleging, inter alia, prosecutorial…
Date: July 12, 2011
Docket Number: 08-334
Justia Opinion Summary: While traveling in a vehicle insured by Travelers Insurance, Wayne DeMarco was injured in a collision. DeMarco filed a personal injury action against Travelers. The trial court entered judgment in favor of DeMarco for…
Date: July 12, 2011
Docket Number: 09-330
Justia Opinion Summary: The insurance coverage dispute at issue in this appeal stemmed from a civil action brought by Ronald and Mildred Destremps against Viking Stone for allegedly damaging property. At the time, Viking Stone was insured by…
Date: July 8, 2011
Docket Number: 08-292
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, defendant Tracey Barros was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, first-degree murder, discharging a firearm while committing a crime of violence, and unlawfully carrying a firearm without a…
Date: July 8, 2011
Docket Number: 08-311
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Mark Sampson was convicted for second degree child abuse in superior court pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws 11-9-5.3, otherwise entitled Brendan's Law. Defendant appealed, making several arguments, including that the…
Date: July 8, 2011
Docket Number: 09-93
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff North End Realty, a developer, filed a complaint in superior court seeking declaratory and injunctive relief against defendants, the town planner, finance director, and members of the town council of East…
Date: July 6, 2011
Docket Number: 09-128, 10-402
Justia Opinion Summary: This case involved an alleged easement on plaintiffs' property used by defendant development company. Plaintiffs sued for injunctive relief, alleging that defendant had violated the warranty covenants in the deed that…
Date: July 6, 2011
Docket Number: 09-222
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Harodite Industries filed a complaint against defendant Warren Electric for negligence and other causes of action, seeking damages for the failure of a gasket in the oil pre-heater that Harodite purchased from…
Date: July 1, 2011
Docket Number: 10-273
Justia Opinion Summary: The state public utilities commission approved a power-purchase agreement (PPA) between National Grid and Deepwater Wind, the respondents. Under the PPA, Deepwater Wind agreed to construct an offshore wind farm in state…
Date: June 29, 2011
Docket Number: 09-240
Justia Opinion Summary: After a violation report was filed against defendant Ramondo Howard alleging defendant had violated the terms and conditions of his probation, defendant filed a pro se motion indicating that he wished to release his…
Date: June 29, 2011
Docket Number: 09-362
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Paul Grieder assaulted plaintiff Michael Trainor and pled nolo contendere to one count of simple assault and battery and one count of felony assault. Plaintiff sued defendant in superior court, seeking damages…
Date: June 29, 2011
Docket Number: 09-62
Justia Opinion Summary: The state Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) filed petitions to terminate the parental rights of respondents Kathleen D. and Ronald D. with respect to their two children, Steven and Zachary, after the…
Date: June 27, 2011
Docket Number: 09-56, 08-60
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants Norman Cipriano, Jr. and Jamie Bryant were convicted of receiving stolen goods with a value in excess of $500 and for conspiring to commit larceny. On appeal, defendants argued that the trial justice erred in…
Date: June 27, 2011
Docket Number: 09-88
Justia Opinion Summary: Three property owner companies filed with the planning board an application for a land development project on their property. The planning board denied the plaintiffs' application after members of the state advisory…
Date: June 24, 2011
Docket Number: 09-229
Justia Opinion Summary: Esther Randall, the mother of plaintiff Elton Randall and defendant Deborah Randall, executed a will leaving her residuary estate to her four children. After Esther's death, Deborah, as executrix of her mother's estate,…
Date: June 24, 2011
Docket Number: 09-372
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Barry DuBois, an environmental officer, was seriously injured when he was bitten by a dog owned by defendant Frederick Quilitzsch while DuBois was inspecting a pigeon loft on defendant's property. DuBois and…
Date: June 24, 2011
Docket Number: 09-85
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2001, the planning board of the town of East Greenwich granted final plan approval to plaintiff Carmine D'Ellena's proposed subdivision. In 2004, plaintiff's attorney requested a time extension, which the planning…
Date: June 24, 2011
Docket Number: 09-87
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Martin Malinou filed a wrongful death and medical negligence action against Miriam Hospital and other medical professionals after his ninety-four year old mother died. Defendants filed motions for summary…
Date: June 24, 2011
Docket Number: 10-168
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Linda Pereira injured her left ankle when she fell into a depression in the grass at at park owned by the city of East Providence. Plaintiff filed a personal injury action against the city, alleging that the…
Date: June 24, 2011
Docket Number: 10-42
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Michael English pled nolo contendere to four counts of first-degree child molestation, one count of second-degree molestation, and one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, arising out of his…
Date: June 24, 2011
Docket Number: 10-64
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Craig Quigley was a beneficiary of a testamentary trust. In 2003, the trustees filed a petition in the superior court to reform the trust. The court entered an order granting the petition. In 2009, Quigley…
Date: June 24, 2011
Docket Number: 10-91
Justia Opinion Summary: After plaintiff Arthur Toegemann was involved in a motor vehicle accident at a street intersection in Providence, plaintiff filed a pro se complaint in superior court against the city, alleging that the city had…
Date: June 23, 2011
Docket Number: 09-172
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant John Ferreira was convicted for one count of first-degree child molestation and three counts of second-degree child molestation. Defendant appealed, arguing that the trial justice erred in denying his motion…
Date: June 23, 2011
Docket Number: 09-304
Justia Opinion Summary: A police surveillance operation at a street intersection led to the conviction of defendant, Geornando Vargas, for one count of delivery of a controlled substance. On appeal, defendant argued (1) that the trial justice…
Date: June 17, 2011
Docket Number: 08-18
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Deborah Dawkins was treated by defendant David Siwicki during an emergency room visit after the plaintiff fell and injured her left wrist. The plaintiff subsequently filed a medical malpractice lawsuit,…
Date: June 17, 2011
Docket Number: 10-16
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants Charles and Nancy Rogers and plaintiff Shelter Harbor Conservation Society owned contiguous lots in the same subdivision. The Society filed a complaint for declaratory judgment and injunctive relief against…
Date: June 17, 2011
Docket Number: 10-256
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Viroth Phannavong was convicted of three counts of child molestation against his former girlfriend's daughter. At trial, defendant sought to introduce a map of Woonsocket, Rhode Island, which depicted the…
Date: June 17, 2011
Docket Number: 10-54
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant James Enos dated Mary for six months before they separated. After their separation they met at a restaurant where defendant began swearing at Mary. Defendant then hit Mary on the head with drinking glasses and…
Date: June 17, 2011
Docket Number: 10-67
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Kathy Lamarque executed a mortgage with defendant Centreville Savings Bank. After defaulting on another loan for a second mortgage on the same property, defendant disclosed the balance of plaintiff's mortgage…
Date: June 17, 2011
Docket Number: 10-8
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Nicholas Gianquitti was convicted of second-degree murder and using a firearm while committing a crime of violence. During trial, the trial justice found that there was nothing that would suggest that defendant…
Date: June 17, 2011
Docket Number: 10-94
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff City of Providence filed a complaint against John Doe et al. and Jane Doe et al., unknown defendants, for trespassing on city-owned land by setting up an encampment. The complaint sought injunctive relief…
Date: June 16, 2011
Docket Number: 09-140
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006, defendant Edgar Goulet killed his dog by shooting it with a sawed-off shotgun. One year later, the state, by way of criminal information, charged defendant with one count of malicious killing of an animal and…
Date: June 16, 2011
Docket Number: 09-356
Justia Opinion Summary: Citizens Bank filed a complaint against Howard Issler, seeking to recover funds allegedly owned to the bank in connection with a line of credit that the bank had extended to him. After judgment was entered against Howard…
Date: June 15, 2011
Docket Number: 09-204
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Raymond Staffier was charged with four counts of second-degree child molestation. The case was submitted to the jury, and a verdict of not guilty was returned on count one with a finding of guilt on the…
Date: June 14, 2011
Docket Number: 08-338
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2007, a family court justice terminated a mother's rights to her two children. The mother appealed, arguing (1) the trial justice erred in finding that the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) proved by…
Date: June 10, 2011
Docket Number: 09-247
Justia Opinion Summary: Shianna Kelly was found guilty by jury of entering a dwelling with the intent to commit larceny. Kelly appealed on the ground that the trial justice erred in denying her motion for a new trial. The Supreme Court…
Date: June 10, 2011
Docket Number: 10-108
Justia Opinion Summary: Timothy and Barbara Barrow purchased property from Herbert and Claire Weida. Before the sale the Weidas obtained permission from the adjoining landowner, Peter Dunn, to use a strip of land between their property and a…
Date: June 9, 2011
Docket Number: 09-232
Justia Opinion Summary: Rather than undertaking appeals from the assessment of taxes on its gas assets in accordance with R.I. Gen. Laws 44-5-26(a), plaintiff electric company sought declaratory and injunctive relief directly from the superior…
Date: June 6, 2011
Docket Number: 10-111
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Horton appealed from a superior court grant of summary judgment in favor of the police department defendants, dismissing the plaintiff's thirteen-count complaint which alleged, among other complaints, malicious…
Date: June 6, 2011
Docket Number: 10-362
Justia Opinion Summary: In a financial dispute between two charter schools and a local school district about how the local share of the charter school tuition reimbursement should be computed, the commissioner of elementary and secondary…
Date: May 27, 2011
Docket Number: 09-165
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue for review by the Supreme Court was whether the Town of North Providence complied with the Rhode Island Zoning Enabling Act of 1991 when it amended the town's zoning ordinance in 1999. The zoning law in…
Date: May 27, 2011
Docket Number: 10-160
Justia Opinion Summary: The City of Newport appealed a Superior Court order that ultimately made it liable for injuries sustained by Plaintiff Geraldine Sloat. In 2004, Ms. Sloat sued the City and State because she tripped and fell on a…
Date: May 19, 2011
Docket Number: 09-211
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Memeh Kizekai appealed the conviction and sentence he received for "uttering and publishing" when he and co-Defendant Sonnah Sampson tried to cash a $7500 counterfeit check at a Pawtucket bank. Defendant argued…
Date: May 19, 2011
Docket Number: 09-347
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Jose Torres appealed the denial of his motion for post conviction relief. On appeal to the Supreme Court, Defendant argued that the grand jury indictment wrongly charged him with murder. Although he ultimately…
Date: May 16, 2011
Docket Number: 09-316
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Virginia Sharkey appealed the dismissal of her legal malpractice claim against Defendant Attorney George Prescott. Plaintiff and her husband retained Attorney Prescott to prepare an estate plan. Mr. Prescott…
Date: May 13, 2011
Docket Number: 08-140
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Veronica Coates appealed the Superior Court’s dismissal of her complaint against Defendant Ocean State Jobbers, Inc. Plaintiff argued that she should have been granted a continuance in the case because the…
Date: May 12, 2011
Docket Number: 10-29
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2001, the president of Ocean State Job Lot conducted an inspection of one of the company’s stores. He expressed his displeasure over placement of a price sticker, and removed it, forcefully placing it on the shoulder…
Date: May 10, 2011
Docket Number: 09-191
Justia Opinion Summary: A dispute arose when four siblings disagreed over how the estate of their mother should be divided. Elizabeth Cullen, sister and trustee of the estate, filed a petition to discharge her duties and to distribute the…
Date: May 9, 2011
Docket Number: 09-92
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants Earl Blamires, his wife Sylvia, and his son Brian all appealed a Superior Court decision that affirmed a trial court’s judgment in favor of Plaintiff Val-Gioia Properties, LLC. In 2004, police responded to a…
Date: May 6, 2011
Docket Number: 07-81
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Gerald Lynch appealed his conviction and sentence on four counts of first-degree sexual assault. At trial after the close of evidence, the state dismissed two counts of Defendant’s indictment, and Defendant…
Date: May 6, 2011
Docket Number: 08-254
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Michael West sought to develop six two-family homes on land in a residential neighborhood. After gaining initial support for his proposal by the local zoning officer, the full zoning commission denied…
Date: May 6, 2011
Docket Number: 10-10
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Walter Moore appealed a grant of summary judgment in favor of the Defendants, the Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education (Board of Governors) and the University of Rhode Island (URI). Plaintiff…
Date: April 18, 2011
Docket Number: 09-364
Date: April 14, 2011
Docket Number: 09-100
Date: March 29, 2011
Docket Number: 10-400
Date: March 22, 2011
Docket Number: 09-152
Date: January 20, 2011
Docket Number: 08-34
Date: January 6, 2011
Docket Number: 08-160
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