Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly articles from August 2004

Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly archives from August 2004

Rhode Island Lawyer says court ruling impacts class action law.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Lisa K. Bruno Geoffrey W. Millsom, Providence Born: Oct. 24, 1968; New York Education: Fordham University School of Law, Order of the Coif, 1995; Colgate University, 1990 Bar admission: 2001 Professional...

U.S. District Court judge rules whistleblower law won't shield executives of a government contractor.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Lisa K. Bruno Executives of a government contractor who were fired after complaining of improper business practices within the company could not bring suit against their employer under whistleblower provisions of state and federal...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: August 2, 2004.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Default Judgment - Death Of American Citizens Abroad Where a U.S. Magistrate Judge recommended that a default judgment be entered against the defendant Palestinian Authority...

Rhode Island District Court Case Summaries: August 2, 2004.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Unemployment Compensation Standby Duty During Emergencies Where a plaintiff left her job after (1) her job duties were changed so as to require her to be on standby in the event of...

Rhode Island Superior Court Case Summaries: August 2, 2004.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Request For Postconviction Relief - Second Application Where an individual, who has been convicted of sexual assault and child molestation, has filed a second application for...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: August 2, 2004.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Discharge - Student Loan Obligations Where a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge ordered discharged all but $3,120 of a debtor-appellee's student loan obligations to an appellant, the...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: August 2, 2004.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Developer - Equal Protection - DPW Superintendent Where a plaintiff developer filed suit alleging that the defendant, while acting as superintendent of a town's Department of...

Rhode Island Supreme Court grants amicus brief motions.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Supreme Court No. 04-210-M.P. In Re: Request for Advisory Opinion from the Governor (casino) ORDER The motions of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, the Narragansett...

Rhode Island Supreme Court amends mediation session procedures.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Supreme Court Article I. Supreme Court Rulesof Appellate Procedure Provisional Rule A As Amended Mediation ConferenceSession Procedures A(1.) Purpose of the Rule. The purpose...

Rhode Island Superior Court Announces Judicial Assignments: August 2, 2004.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff STATE OF RHODE ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS PROVIDENCE, SC. SUPERIOR COURT ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 2004-12 RE: ASSIGNMENTS -- FIRST PERIOD September 5 through December...

Rhode Island builder may recoup costs after tax redemption.
August 2, 2004... Byline: John O. Cunningham A builder who made improvements to property purchased at a tax sale was entitled to reimbursement of expenses from the original owners of the property, who later redeemed their interest in the property, a...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: August 2, 2004.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Supervised Release - Violation Of Terms Where a defendant has, during a period of supervised release, committed the offense of obtaining money under false pretenses in an amount...

R.I. Workers' Compensation Court rules bus driver's 'stress' is no basis for comp claim.
August 9, 2004... Byline: Ariana L. Johnson A bus driver claiming that she developed a psychiatric disorder because she could not react to rude passengers should be denied workers' compensation benefits, the Appellate Division of the Workers' Compensation...

R.I. judge speaks up about the Bush administration's review panel appointees.
August 9, 2004... Byline: Tony Wright Superior Court Judge Stephen J. Fortunato isn't afraid to speak his mind, as evidenced by a recently published article he wrote questioning the judgment and wisdom of the Bush administration's appointment of four...

Rhode Island Human Rights Commission Case Summaries: August 9, 2004.
August 9, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment Unequal Pay - Constructive Discharge Where a female complainant was paid less than a male coworker, the respondent employer should be held liable for sex discrimination but not...

Rhode Island Supreme Court Case Summaries: August 9, 2004.
August 9, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Domestic Relations Divorce - Relocation Where a Family Court judge denied a divorced mother's request for permission to move with her children to an island in French Polynesia, a remand...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: August 9, 2004.
August 9, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights ADA - 'Rooker- Feldman' Doctrine Where (1) a plaintiff suffering from a partial hearing impairment filed suit in U.S. District Court against Puerto Rico court defendants...

Rhode Island Workers' Compensation Court Case Summaries: August 9, 2004.
August 9, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' Compensation Emotional Injury - Bus Driver Where an employee sought workers' compensation benefits on the ground that stress related to her job as a bus driver had caused a...

Rhode Island lawyers swap horror stories about difficult opposing parties.
August 9, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Lawyers love to swap horror stories about difficult opposing parties. Now Providence attorneys Scott C. Baer and Gary Berkowitz have a doozie of their own to share. Baer initially encountered...

Commentary: Attorney makes a good career move.
August 9, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff You might say Anthony L. Bastone II has made a career out of helping others with their careers. Effective last week, Bastone joined Roger Williams University School of Law as assistant dean of...

R.I. Supreme Court rules no 'compelling reason' needed for divorced mother 's custody relocation.
August 9, 2004... Byline: John O. Cunningham A divorced mother who wanted to move to a South Pacific island did not have to show a "compelling reason" for her relocation in order to retain custody of her children, the Rhode Island Supreme Court has ruled....

Rhode Island law firms announce staffing changes: August 9, 2004.
August 9, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff William A. Quattrucci Jr. has joined the firm of Montaquila & Summer as an associate. He will focus his practice on all areas of administrative agency representation and civil litigation....

U.S. Court of Appeals rules the denial of long-term disability benefits cannot rely on 'new' reason.
August 16, 2004... Byline: Lisa K. Bruno A long-term disability plan administrator could not defend its denial of benefits to an employee in court on grounds different than those it articulated to the claimant during its internal review process, the 1st U.S....

U.S. Court of Appeals rules individual's failure to keep cash log blocks bankruptcy discharge.
August 16, 2004... Byline: John O. Cunningham An individual who did not record significant cash transactions should not have been granted a discharge in bankruptcy where questions existed over the adequacy of his financial records, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court...

Rhode Island lawyer wins rare slip & fall suit against state.
August 16, 2004... Byline: John O. Cunningham A trial lawyer who recently won a rare slip-and-fall verdict against the state for failure to maintain a sidewalk credits the victory to a comprehensive records search and thorough interviews regarding previous...

Rhode Island Judge Arthur N. Votolato Jr. talks about courtroom efficiency.(Interview)
August 23, 2004... Byline: Jason M. Scally JUDGE ARTHUR N. VOTOLATO JR. U.S. Bankruptcy Court Born: Aug. 20, 1930; Providence Education: Boston University School of Law, 1956; University of Rhode Island, 1953 Bar admission: 1956 ...

U.S. District judge rules ship owner to pay seaman's medical costs.
August 23, 2004... Byline: Jason M. Scally The owner of a commercial yacht should be required to pay for the medical treatment of an injured seaman -- even though the seaman had qualified for Medicare coverage, a U.S. District Court judge has ruled. The...

Rhode Island Superior Court approves agency's rejection of liquor license.
August 23, 2004... Byline: David L. Yas The state's Department of Business Regulation did have authority to deny a store's transfer of its liquor license to another store, a Superior Court judge has ruled. The DBR intervened in a case pending at the...

Antiterrorism is a priority for Providence attorney Robert C. Corrente.(Rhode Island Bar Association )(Interview)
August 30, 2004... Byline: Lisa K. Bruno Robert C. Corrente, Providence Born: Dec. 27, 1956; Providence Education: New York University School of Law, 1981; Dartmouth College, 1978 Bar admission: 1981 Professional experience: Hinckley, Allen...

U.S. Court of Appeals gives foreign alien second try at appeal due to mail error.
August 30, 2004... Byline: Lisa K. Bruno An alien should be entitled to reconsideration of his asylum appeal after he missed his opportunity to file a brief when a mailing error prevented him from receiving the hearing transcripts and briefing schedule, the...

Rhode Island Superior Court rules bank may be sued for wrongful withdrawal.
August 30, 2004... Byline: Tony Wright A trustee who had opened a certificate of deposit account for his father's trust could proceed with negligence claims against the bank when it allowed unauthorized withdrawals from the account by the trustee's attorney,...

Commentary: the confusion over lotteries and casinos in Rhode Island.
August 30, 2004... Byline: Patrick T. Conley In colonial times there were many Indians in Rhode Island, some lotteries and no casinos, despite an abundance of clams. By 1843, our forefathers had reduced and dispossessed the Indians and banned lotteries. They...