Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly articles from April 2004

Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly archives from April 2004

R.I. Superior Court Judge hails advances to business calendar.
April 5, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff MICHAEL A. SILVERSTEIN,Superior Court Born: Sept. 28, 1933; Providence Education: Boston University School of Law, 1959; Brown University, 1956 Bar admission: 1959 Judicial...

Rhode Island Supreme Court denies arbitration winner counsel fees.
April 5, 2004... Byline: Lisa K. Bruno A contractor who prevailed in a mechanic's lien dispute at arbitration could not later be granted additional attorneys' fees by a judge confirming the arbitrator's award, the Rhode Island Supreme Court has ruled. ...

Rhode Island Supreme Court's Florence K. Murray dies at 87-years-old.
April 5, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Florence K. Murray, the first woman appointed to the Rhode Island Superior and Supreme courts, has died. She was 87. Murray spent four decades on the bench, Supreme Court Chief Justice Frank J....

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: April 5, 2004.
April 5, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals 1st Circuit Jurisdiction - Magistrate Judge Where a defendant has appealed a magistrate judge's ruling finding the defendant guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol on a...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Court Case Summaries: April 5, 2004.
April 5, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Request To Withdraw Complaint Where (1) a pro se plaintiff filed a suit against the defendant Westerly Public School Department, (2) she subsequently moved to withdraw the...

Rhode Island Supreme Court Case Summaries: April 5, 2004.
April 5, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Mechanic's Lien - Counsel Fees Where a judge confirmed an arbitration award in favor of a plaintiff who claimed to be owed money for constructing a house for the defendants, we...

Rhode Island Supreme Court Ethics Advisory Panel Case Summaries: April 5, 2004.
April 5, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Conflict - Guardian Where an attorney, who serves as an individual's guardian, has been asked by that individual's sister to represent her in connection with a petition for...

Rhode Island State Ethics Commission Case Summaries: April 5, 2004.
April 5, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Conflict Of Interest Municipal Judge - Representation Of Town Councilor's Brother Where the petitioner is a municipal judge for the town of Johnston, it is our opinion that he is permitted...

Rhode Island Superior Court Case Summaries: April 5, 2004.
April 5, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals Stay - Reinstatement Of Detective Where the defendant city of Warwick has appealed a judgment ordering the reinstatement of a plaintiff detective, a request by the city for a stay...

R.I. Supreme Court Ethics Advisory Panel determines attorney of a ward may represent ward's sister.
April 5, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff An attorney/guardian of a ward could represent the ward's sister in another guardianship matter involving their mother without running afoul of ethical rules, the Rhode Island Supreme Court Ethics...

R.I. Supreme Court Ethics Advisory Panel determines lawyer may represent elderly client's son.
April 5, 2004... Byline: Tony Wright An attorney may represent the son of an elderly client in a guardianship petition -- even though the lawyer had earlier prepared a will for the elderly client, the Rhode Island Supreme Court Ethics Advisory Panel has...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: April 5, 2004.
April 5, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Jurisdiction Multiparty, Multiforum Trial Jurisdiction Act Where, in the wake of a fire at West Warwick's "Station" nightclub that resulted in the deaths of 100 people and in injuries to...

U.S. Supreme Court Case Summaries: April 5, 2004.
April 5, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Environmental Clean Water Act - 'Point Source' A "point source" as defined by the Clean Water Act isn't exempt from permit requirements merely because it does not itself add pollutants but...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: April 12, 2004.
April 12, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Recovery Of Relocation Expenses Where (1) a plaintiff company has filed suit seeking to recover from a defendant individual relocation expenses incurred by the plaintiff...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Court Case Summaries: April 12, 2004.
April 12, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Supervised Release - Violation Of Terms Where a defendant on supervised release has (1) committed the offenses of assault and threatening to commit a crime, (2) failed to notify...

U.S. Supreme Court Case Summaries: April 12, 2004.
April 12, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Real Property 'Valuable Minerals - Pittman Underground Water Act Sand and gravel are not "valuable minerals" that the United States government retains title to under the Pittman Underground...

Rhode Island Workers' Compensation Court Case Summaries: April 12, 2004.
April 12, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' Compensation Claim Of Psychic Injury Where a trial judge rejected an employee's request to add "psychic injury" to the description of a work-related injury he sustained in 1995,...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: April 12, 2004.
April 12, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals Failure To Oppose Dismissal Motion Where plaintiffs have appealed a U.S. District Court order dismissing their claim for attorney's fees and costs, the order should be affirmed...

U.S. District Court judge rules debtor is entitled to redemption rights.
April 12, 2004... Byline: John O. Cunningham The state could not conduct a tax sale of a debtor's property without giving the debtor notice of his redemption rights prior to the attachment of foreclosure fees to his estate, a U.S. District Court judge has...

R.I. Superior Court judge rules hotel company can't transfer property to related development.
April 12, 2004... Byline: Jason M. Scally A hotel company could not transfer property to a related development company where an earlier, failed attempt to sell the property to a third party triggered a former lender's right of first refusal, a Superior...

Rhode Island District Court Case Summaries: April 12, 2004.
April 12, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Motor Vehicles Refusal Of Chemical Test - Untimely Appeal Where the state has appealed an order dismissing a charge which alleged that a defendant motorist had refused to submit to a...

Rhode Island Supreme Court Case Summaries: April 12, 2004.
April 12, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Conflict Of Interest - Law Firm Policy Where a law firm has adopted a policy under which (1) a law partner who is married to a deputy chief of police will not handle any criminal...

Funding for court interpreters has Rhode Island Bar worried.
April 12, 2004... Byline: Lisa K. Bruno Five years after the General Assembly enacted legislation requiring interpreters for non-English speaking criminal defendants, Rhode Island courts continue to struggle with a lack of available translators and to...

Rhode Island Superior Court Case Summaries: April 12, 2004.
April 12, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract DOC - Settlement Agreement Where the Department of Corrections has filed suit against a defendant subcontractor and codefendant surety in connection with a prison construction...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: April 12, 2004.
April 12, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Tax Levy - Automatic Stay Where a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge denied the Massachusetts Department of Revenue's motion for an order authorizing and directing a Chapter 13 Trustee...

Rhode Island Supreme Court Case Summaries: April 19, 2004.
April 19, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals Probate Court - Denial Of Guardianship Petition - Appeal To Superior Court Where (1) two sisters filed a petition for guardianship of their father, (2) a Probate Court judge denied...

Rhode Island State Ethics Commission Case Summaries: April 19, 2004.
April 19, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Conflict Of Interest Firefighter - Consulting Services Where the petitioner, a member of the Cranston Fire Department and an Assistant Deputy State Fire Marshal, wishes to provide private...

Rhode Island Superior Court Case Summaries: April 19, 2004.
April 19, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Corporate Breach - Formalities - Fraudulent Transfers - Fraud In Inducement Where a plaintiff hotel developer has filed suit seeking to hold the defendants liable for breach of contract and...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: April 19, 2004.
April 19, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Horse Trainer - License Suspension - Abstention Where the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico issued a preliminary injunction preventing the defendant Puerto...

Rhode Island lawyer takes on City of Providence in wiretapping case on behalf of 100+ clients.
April 19, 2004... Byline: Tony Wright CAROLYN A. MANNIS, Providence Education: Southwestern University School of Law, Los Angeles, 1989; Rhode IslandCollege, 1986 Bar admission: 1989 Professional experience: Sole practitioner, Providence...

R.I. Superior Court rules medicaid is recoverable in med-mal suit.
April 19, 2004... Byline: Lisa K. Bruno A plaintiff in a medical-malpractice suit could recover Medicaid payments made by the state on behalf of the plaintiff's ill daughter while she was alive, a Superior Court judge has ruled. The defendants had...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: April 19, 2004.
April 19, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Motion For Relief From Judgment Where, in a fifth attempt to obtain postconviction relief from a state court conviction that became final in 1987, the plaintiff has filed...

Commentary: A famous juror... Is that okay?
April 19, 2004... Byline: David Yas Let me get this straight. In New York, former Tyco executives Dennis Kozlowski and Mark Swartz are on trial for embezzlement. The two were mobbed by cameras every time they entered and exited the courthouse. ...

Commentary: Courthouse security -- a chilling reminder.
April 19, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff In recent months we have heard the report of a Middletown resident facing five years in prison after allegedly threatening a judge who had just sentenced him to 30 days in the Adult Correctional...

R.I. Supreme Court rules 'overbroad' noncompete may not be enforceable.
April 19, 2004... Byline: John O. Cunningham A trial judge should not have enjoined a company's former executive from working with a competitor where the noncompete agreement governing the parties contained "unbounded" geographic and temporal restrictions,...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: April 19, 2004.
April 19, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Default - PLO And PA Where (1) an American citizen and his Israeli wife were murdered by the terrorist group Hamas, (2) the plaintiff legal representative of the deceased...

Rhode Island attorney says management is the key for today's law firms.
April 26, 2004... Byline: John O. Cunningham The practice of law has changed a lot since 1967, the year that Robert E. Liguori entered a small general practice in Providence with three other attorneys. Rhode Island was home to approximately 1,500...

R.I. Superior Court judge rules land subdivision OK despite 11-year delay.
April 26, 2004... Byline: Jason M. Scally Real-estate developers should be allowed to subdivide their property under a town's 1987 zoning regulations -- even though more stringent zoning restrictions were enacted after they filed their initial application...

Rhode Island Supreme Court rules contractor is entitled to attorneys' fees for partial win.
April 26, 2004... Byline: Lisa K. Bruno A contractor whose mechanic's lien petition was granted was entitled to attorneys' fees as a prevailing party -- even though it recovered only a portion of its initial claim after set-offs and credits were taken into...