Rhode Island Supreme Court Decisions 2018
Date: December 20, 2018
Docket Number: 17-155
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the superior court entering judgment in favor of Defendant on Plaintiff’s claim that Defendant terminated her employment in violation of the Fair Employment Practices Act (FEPA),…
Date: December 20, 2018
Docket Number: 17-5
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court dismissing Plaintiff’s probate court appeals for his failure to comply with several court orders, holding that the superior court justice properly exercised…
Date: December 17, 2018
Docket Number: 16-340
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court finding Defendant guilty of one count of second-degree murder and one count of discharging a firearm while committing a crime of violence, holding that the…
Date: December 11, 2018
Docket Number: 16-323
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court denying Appellant’s application for postconviction relief, holding that Appellant was not entitled to postconviction relief. Appellant was found guilty of…
Date: December 11, 2018
Docket Number: 17-90
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court convicting Defendant of one count of second-degree sexual assault for having sexually assaulted a fifteen-year-old neighbor, holding that the trial justice…
Date: December 6, 2018
Docket Number: 16-162
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court quashed the judgment of the superior court denying Appellant’s application for postconviction relief and remanded the case for further factfinding in light of this Court’s opinion in State v. Gibson,…
Date: December 4, 2018
Docket Number: 17-132
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court granting Defendants’ motion to dismiss this action pursuant to Rule 41(b)(2) of the Superior Court Rules of Civil Procedure, holding that the motion justice…
Date: November 30, 2018
Docket Numbers: 15-86, 16-138
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court finding Defendant guilty of second-degree child abuse, holding that no prejudicial error occurred in the proceedings below. Specifically, the Court held (1)…
Date: November 30, 2018
Docket Number: 17-121
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated in part and affirmed in part Defendant’s five criminal convictions, holding that Defendant’s convictions of two counts of sex trafficking of a minor in violation of R.I. Gen. Laws 11-67-6 must…
Date: November 29, 2018
Docket Number: 17-168
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decree of the Family Court terminating Father’s parental rights with respect to his daughter, holding that that any errors complained of were harmless beyond a reasonable…
Date: November 27, 2018
Docket Number: 16-117
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the superior court dismissing Appellant’s application for postconviction relief, holding that Appellant was not afforded counsel in accordance with Shatney v. State, 755 A.2d 130…
Date: November 27, 2018
Docket Number: 16-251
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court granting the State’s motion for summary judgment and denying Appellant’s petition for a writ of certiorari, holding that the hearing justice did not err in…
Date: November 27, 2018
Docket Number: 17-306
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court convicting Defendant of second-degree sexual assault, holding that even if Defendant’s issue on appeal had been properly preserved for appellate review, no…
Date: November 21, 2018
Docket Number: 17-104
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the superior court denying Defendant’s motion to reduce a sentence, holding that the trial justice was within his discretion to give and confirm the punishment for…
Date: November 5, 2018
Docket Number: 16-61
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court quashed the order of the superior court finding Defendant guilty of one count of second-degree murder and one count of discharging a firearm while committing a crime of violence, holding that the trial…
Date: October 19, 2018
Docket Number: 16-322
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the family court requiring Defendant to register as a sex offender and denying his motion to waive sex-offender registration and notification pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws…
Date: October 17, 2018
Docket Number: 17-89
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s conviction of three counts of second-degree child molestation sexual assault, holding that the trial justice properly admitted testimony regarding previous restraining orders…
Date: July 3, 2018
Docket Number: 16-140
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the superior court in favor of Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation (Resource Recovery) in the amount of $5,733,648.18, inclusive of interest, on Resource Recovery’s claims…
Date: June 29, 2018
Docket Number: 16-151
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s conviction for carrying a firearm without license and other firearm-related offenses. After Defendant filed his appeal, he filed in the Supreme Court a motion to hold the appeal…
Date: June 29, 2018
Docket Number: 16-352
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court convicting Defendant for the second-degree murder of his girlfriend’s six-year-old son. On appeal, Defendant claimed that he was entitled to a new trial…
Date: June 28, 2018
Docket Numbers: 16-349, 16-354
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decree of the family court declaring that Mother neglected and abused her two children, Madlyn and Luke. Specifically, the Court held (1) there was sufficient evidence to support an…
Date: June 27, 2018
Docket Number: 17-330
Justia Opinion Summary: In this appeal by the Rhode Island Troopers Association from a judgment granting declaratory and equitable relief in favor of the State, the Supreme Court affirmed the first six declarations and vacated the remaining two…
Date: June 26, 2018
Docket Number: 17-158
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court convicting Defendant of murder and discharging a firearm while committing a crime of violence, among other crimes. Specifically, the Court held (1)…
Date: June 22, 2018
Docket Numbers: 16-12, 16-145
Justia Opinion Summary: In this property dispute, the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court denying Plaintiffs’ claims in whole and denying Defendants’ request for attorneys’ fees. When Defendants fenced the confines of an…
Date: June 22, 2018
Docket Number: 16-143
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court denying postconviction relief for Appellant, who challenged the trial court’s acceptance of his nolo contendere plea on a second-degree murder charge. At…
Date: June 22, 2018
Docket Number: 17-370
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court entering summary judgment in favor of Defendants, the City of Providence and various City officials, on Plaintiff’s complaint alleging, among other things,…
Date: June 22, 2018
Docket Number: 17-92
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated Defendant’s convictions on count four, sex trafficking of a minor, in violation of R.I. Gen. Laws 11-67-6, and count six, conspiring to commit the crime of sex trafficking with a minor, holding…
Date: June 21, 2018
Docket Number: 16-331
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court granting summary judgment for Defendant, Chase Bank USA, N.A., on Plaintiff’s claims alleging that Chase agreed to issue him two new loans to pay promissory…
Date: June 21, 2018
Docket Number: 16-9
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the family court denying Mother’s motion to relocate with the parties’ four minor children from Rhode Island to Australia, holding that the hearing justice did not overlook or…
Date: June 21, 2018
Docket Number: 16-91
Justia Opinion Summary: In this dispute over a strip of real property in the Town of Coventry the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the hearing justice issuing declaratory judgment in Plaintiffs’ favor after having granted Plaintiffs’…
Date: June 21, 2018
Docket Number: 17-299
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court denying the motion brought by Plaintiff, SMS Financial XXV, LLC, for summary judgment and granting the cross-motion for summary judgment brought by…
Date: June 20, 2018
Docket Number: 16-182
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court convicting Defendant of one count of felony assault following a jury-waived trial. On appeal, Defendant argued (1) there was sufficient evidence of…
Date: June 20, 2018
Docket Number: 17-127
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the decision of the superior court granting summary judgment in favor of Plaintiffs on count one of Plaintiffs’ complaint sounding in adverse possession, holding that granting summary judgment…
Date: June 20, 2018
Docket Number: 17-156
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue was whether Plaintiff was entitled to relief under Rule 60(b)(6) of the Superior Court Rules of Civil Procedure from an order directing him to remove a garage from his property. In 2014, the superior court…
Date: June 20, 2018
Docket Number: 17-334
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court granting summary judgment in favor of Plaintiffs in this declaratory judgment action seeking a declaration that an amendment to a declaration creating a…
Date: June 14, 2018
Docket Number: 17-112
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court dismissing Plaintiffs’ second amended complaint with prejudice, holding that the hearing justice did not err in dismissing the complaint. In their second…
Date: June 14, 2018
Docket Number: 17-178
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court granted summary judgment in favor of Defendants on Plaintiff’s complaint alleging intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of…
Date: June 13, 2018
Docket Number: 17-188
Justia Opinion Summary: The arbitrator in this case did not manifestly disregard the law or the provisions of the employment agreement at issue when he awarded Defendant extended severance payments based on his finding that Defendant had been…
Date: June 13, 2018
Docket Number: 17-2
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court convicting Defendant of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and discharging a weapon while committing a crime of violence. On appeal, Defendant argued that…
Date: June 12, 2018
Docket Number: 15-322
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court convicting Defendant of two counts of first-degree sexual assault. On appeal, Defendant argued, among other things, that the trial justice should have…
Date: June 11, 2018
Docket Number: 16-334
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the family court finding that Defendant and Plaintiff were married at common law, holding that the trial justice’s factual findings did not represent “a firm belief or…
Date: June 8, 2018
Docket Number: 16-157
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court dismissed this appeal brought by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) and the State, holding that an appeal from a final judgment of the superior court brought under R.I. Gen.…
Date: June 8, 2018
Docket Number: 16-240
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated in part and affirmed in part the Supreme Court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Defendants - the Town of Scituate and others - on Plaintiff’s claims alleging breach of a memorandum of…
Date: June 8, 2018
Docket Number: 17-31
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the superior court granting the motions to dismiss filed by Defendants, Bank of America, N.A. (BOA) and EverBank Mortgage (EverBank), on Plaintiff’s complaint seeking monetary…
Date: June 7, 2018
Docket Number: 15-323
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the superior court denying Petitioner’s application for postconviction relief, in which he alleged that his constitutional rights were violated when his parole was revoked and he…
Date: June 6, 2018
Docket Number: 17-43
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the superior court granting a motion brought by Defendant, the State Public Defender’s Office, for judgment on the pleadings regarding Plaintiff’s employment discrimination…
Date: June 1, 2018
Docket Number: 17-272
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the order of the superior court granting a motion to dismiss brought by Defendants in this case alleging that Defendants, including ESS Group, Inc., violated the…
Date: May 25, 2018
Docket Numbers: 15-379, 16-24
Date: May 24, 2018
Docket Number: 15-250
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court quashing an execution previously issued by the Rhode Island Superior Court on a State of Utah District Court judgment and dismissing George Hawes’s petition…
Date: May 22, 2018
Docket Number: 16-129
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and vacated in part the judgment of the superior court granting summary judgment for Defendant, Price Rite, on count one of Plaintiff’s complaint and also granting Defendant’s motion to…
Date: May 22, 2018
Docket Number: 17-196
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court granting summary judgment in favor of the Dunn’s Corners Fire District on its complaint seeking a declaration that it was not obligated to provide fire…
Date: May 18, 2018
Docket Number: 16-347
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court vacating an arbitration award that reinstated Michael Crenshaw to his position as a campus police officer for the Community College of Rhode Island.…
Date: May 18, 2018
Docket Number: 17-173
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court convicting Defendant of two counts of first-degree child molestation sexual assault, for which Defendant received two concurrent forty-year sentences. On…
Date: May 17, 2018
Docket Number: 15-330
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court denying Defendant’s application for postconviction relief in which Defendant argued that he had received ineffective assistance of counsel because his lawyer…
Date: May 14, 2018
Docket Number: 17-186
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the superior court in favor of the Town of Cumberland granting its motion to vacate an arbitration award in favor of Defendants, the Cumberland Town Employees Union and Norman…
Date: May 11, 2018
Docket Number: 16-316
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court convicting Defendant of robbery in the first degree and conspiracy after a jury trial. On appeal, Defendant requested a new trial on the grounds that the…
Date: May 11, 2018
Docket Number: 17-73
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court in favor of Santander Bank, N.A. in this complaint challenging Santander’s foreclosure of Plaintiff’s property. In her complaint, Plaintiff alleged that…
Date: May 9, 2018
Docket Number: 15-128
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court quashed the judgment of the superior court that reversed a decision by the Rhode Island Department of Health (DOH) to grant Petitioner’s application for a Health Care Certificate of Need (CON) on the…
Date: May 8, 2018
Docket Number: 16-278
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the superior court and remanded this case to the superior court with directions to hear and decide Plaintiff’s motion to amend his complaint upon the merits, holding that the…
Date: May 8, 2018
Docket Number: 17-91
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the superior court granting summary judgment for Defendants on Plaintiff’s negligence claim. Plaintiff, a former college hockey player, filed this negligence suit alleging that…
Date: May 2, 2018
Docket Numbers: 17-6, 17-8, 17-9, 17-11
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue was whether Plaintiffs, a group of taxpayers in the Town of Portsmouth, were required to base their tax appeals on the fair market value of their properties as of December 31 in the year of the last update or…
Date: April 25, 2018
Docket Number: 15-255
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court convicting Defendant of two counts of first-degree child molestation sexual assault and one count of second-degree child molestation sexual assault, holding…
Date: April 23, 2018
Docket Numbers: 15-108, 16-149, 17-317
Justia Opinion Summary: Contrary to the conclusions of the magistrate and the hearing justice, Defendant did not have a lifetime duty to register, but rather, his duty to register expired ten years from the expiration of his sentence for the…
Date: April 19, 2018
Docket Number: 17-159
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court convicting Defendant of one count of first-degree child molestation sexual assault and one count of the sale or distribution of photographs of a minor…
Date: April 19, 2018
Docket Number: 17-87
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court granting summary judgment in favor of West Davisville Realty Co., LLC (West Davisville) holding David Paolo liable on a personal guaranty of a termination of…
Date: April 16, 2018
Docket Number: 16-40
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the decision of the superior court granting Defendant’s motion to suppress statements he made to a Massachusetts Department of Children and Families investigator on grounds that the…
Date: April 11, 2018
Docket Number: 16-48
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court granting summary judgment in favor of Defendant, the City of Providence, on Plaintiff’s amended complaint alleging that she fell and sustained injuries due to…
Date: April 10, 2018
Docket Numbers: 15-351, 15-352, 15-353
Justia Opinion Summary: In this protracted litigation between Carol and A.L. Ballard and SVF Foundation and the Foundation’s predecessor owner regarding certain property, the Supreme Court affirmed summary judgments and an order of dismissal…
Date: April 9, 2018
Docket Number: 16-295
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the family court terminating Mother’s parental rights with respect to her three children. After a trial, the trial justice concluded that, by clear and convincing evidence, the…
Date: April 4, 2018
Docket Number: 15-304
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court denying Petitioner’s application for postconviction relief, in which Petitioner claimed that he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel. The Court…
Date: April 3, 2018
Docket Number: 15-340
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court granting the motions for summary judgment filed by Defendants - a Union and the Treasurer for the City of Providence - holding that the Court need not pass on…
Date: March 22, 2018
Docket Number: 14-231
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s judgment convicting Defendant of second-degree murder, discharging a weapon while committing a crime of violence, and possession of a firearm, having previously been convicted…
Date: March 14, 2018
Docket Number: 16-343
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the superior court that confirmed an arbitration award in favor of Plaintiff and a corresponding judgment of the superior court in favor of Plaintiff and against Defendant in the…
Date: March 14, 2018
Docket Number: 17-49
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and vacated in part a family court decision pending entry of final judgment following a divorce proceeding, holding that the trial justice erred in not identifying certain assets as…
Date: March 2, 2018
Docket Number: 17-125
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs did not have standing to seek review of the Town of New Shoreham’s decision to purchase a majority of the shares of Block Island Power Company (BIPCO). Plaintiffs - certain residents and taxpayers of the Town…
Date: February 28, 2018
Docket Number: 16-309
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the superior court denying Plaintiff’s petition to vacate an arbitration award, granting Defendant’s petition to confirm the arbitration award, and granting Defendant’s motion to…
Date: February 23, 2018
Docket Number: 16-298
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court granting Plaintiff’s request for declaratory relief and prohibiting Defendant from transferring assets of the decedent’s irrevocable living trust into the…
Date: February 20, 2018
Docket Number: 15-324
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the Family Court finding Respondent, a juvenile, delinquent for committing first-degree robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery. The only pertinent issue Respondent raised on…
Date: February 20, 2018
Docket Number: 16-170
Justia Opinion Summary: The trial justice erred by requiring Defendants to continue to provide accidental disability pension benefits to Plaintiff and to place him on a waiting list to return to his position at the Providence Fire Department…
Date: February 12, 2018
Docket Numbers: 16-83, 15-378
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the superior court determining that Plaintiff need not comply with R.I. Gen. Laws 45-21-23 and 45-21-24 in order to continue receiving his accidental disability pension because…
Date: February 5, 2018
Docket Number: 16-114
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue was whether victims of illegal entries to owed a duty to unknown plaintiffs. Plaintiffs sued Defendant, Nickerson Community Center, alleging that Defendant was negligent in failing to secure the keys to a van…
Date: January 26, 2018
Docket Number: 16-53
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and vacated in part the judgment of the superior court denying the motion filed by the Rhode Island Council on Postsecondary Education and the University of Rhode Island (collectively…
Date: January 19, 2018
Docket Number: 16-241
Justia Opinion Summary: In this employment dispute, the Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the superior court insofar as it granted the North Kingstown School Committee’s (“school committee”) motion to quash the subpoenas of two attorneys…
Date: January 18, 2018
Docket Number: 16-280
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the superior court denying Plaintiff’s motion for a new trial following a jury verdict in favor of Defendants in this negligence case arising out of an automobile accident. In…
Date: January 16, 2018
Docket Number: 16-166
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court quashed the decision of Respondent, the Chief of Police for the City of East Providence, denying Petitioner’s application for a permit or license to carry a concealed weapon and directed Respondent to…
Date: January 16, 2018
Docket Number: 16-301
Justia Opinion Summary: Subsection 4(a) of Rhode Island’s Right to Farm Act, Rhode Island General Laws chapter 23 of title 2, does not permit Landowner to host commercial events, such as weddings for a fee, on his farmland in the Town of…
Date: January 16, 2018
Docket Number: 16-336
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the superior court dismissing Plaintiff’s complaint for declaratory relief asserting that he had a right to access to records in the possession of the Rhode Island Department of…
Date: January 11, 2018
Docket Number: 14-348
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the superior court convicting Defendant of two counts of first-degree child molestation and one count of second-degree child molestation. The court held (1) the trial justice…
Date: January 10, 2018
Docket Number: 16-57
Justia Opinion Summary: Collateral estoppel is not applicable to issues determined in the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal when the issues are “only a small part of a larger, ongoing criminal investigation.” Defendant in this case was cited in…
Date: January 8, 2018
Docket Number: 16-283
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the superior court adjudging Defendant to have violated the terms and conditions of his probation and executing eighteen years of a twenty-year suspended sentence. On appeal,…
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