Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly articles from February 2008

Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly archives from February 2008

Commentary: The primary looms. Who should lawyers vote for?
February 4, 2008... Byline: David Yas Is it me or are there, like, lots of people running for president? Crowded debates. Delegate votes split up like a Domino's pizza. More lead changes than a vintage Celtics-Lakers game. I mean, there are too many...

Intervenor lacks right to hearing before DEM, rules Rhode Island Supreme Ct.(Department of Environmental Management)
February 4, 2008... Byline: Eric T. Berkman Once an alleged polluter settled an enforcement action brought by the Department of Environmental Management and withdrew its request for an administrative hearing, a town that had intervened in the proceeding could...

Carpenter's asbestos suit not time-barred, rules Rhode Island Superior Court.
February 4, 2008... Byline: Thomas E. Egan The widow of a carpenter who claimed to have been harmed by asbestos allegedly contained in construction products could bring suit against the manufacturer of those products, a Superior Court judge has decided. ...

Rhode Island blog case raises issues of privacy, free speech.(custodyscam.blogspot.com)
February 4, 2008... Byline: Noah Schaffer Although the Rhode Island Supreme Court declined to hear a recent appeal involving a controversial blog on "custody scams," the lawyer for the blogger says his client has no plans to disconnect the website. The...

Supreme Court posts argument calendar.(Brief article)
February 4, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff SUPREME COURT HEARING DATES 2008 Term Feb. 6, 7 and 26 March 5, 6, 10, 11 and 31 April 1, 2, 7 and 8 May 7, 8, 13, 14 and 15

R.I. Commissioner of Education Case Summaries: February 4, 2008.(Rhode Island)
February 4, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Education Cessation of use of elementary school Where a plaintiff group of parents has appealed a decision of the defendant Johnston School Committee to cease using the Graniteville School...

R.I. Supreme Court Case Summaries: February 4, 2008.(Rhode Island)
February 4, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative DEM - Town - Intervention Where (1) the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management served a defendant manufacturer with a Notice of Violation (NOV), (2) the...

R.I. State Ethics Commission Case Summaries: February 4, 2008.(Rhode Island)(Brief article)
February 4, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Conflict of interest Request for proposals - Response Where a petitioner is the former Associate Director of the Department of Children, Youth and Families, it is our opinion that he is...

Rhode Island Superior Courts Case Summaries: February 4, 2008.
February 4, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil service PAB - Jurisdiction Where the Rhode Island Personnel Appeal Board ordered the Personnel Administrator to execute his statutory duties and responsibilities to allocate or...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: February 4, 2008.
February 4, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Mortgage - Avoidance Where a Chapter 7 trustee was awarded summary judgment in a mortgage avoidance action, the judgment must be affirmed, as no abuse of discretion on the part...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: February 4, 2008.
February 4, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Admiralty Fishing vessels - Written agreements Where a federal judge found that the defendant vessel owners violated 46 U.S.C. Sect. 10601 by never putting in writing their compensation...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: February 4, 2008.
February 4, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil practice Discovery - Sanctions Where a plaintiff seeks sanctions against a defendant and an attorney representing the defendant, the request should be granted in light of the...

U.S. Supreme Court Case Summaries: February 4, 2008.(Brief article)
February 4, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Tort FTCA - Prison inmate An inmate cannot sue corrections officers over allegedly detained or mishandled goods under the Federal Tort Claims Act because a corrections officer is...

Rhode Island Workers' Compensation Court Case Summaries: February 4, 2008.
February 4, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' compensation Medical bills Where a trial judge found that the respondent employer is only responsible for 50 percent of a doctor's unpaid bill for treating the employee, we...

Rhode Island Lawyers in the News: February 4, 2008.(Chace, Ruttenberg and Freedman, and Tofias)(Brief article)
February 4, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Bret W. Jedele has been elected partner at the Providence law firm of Chace, Ruttenberg & Freedman. Michael F. Corrente has been elected director of the tax group at the Providence office of...

Commentary: Preparing for the 'second season' of a legal career.
February 4, 2008... Byline: Edward Poll According to a recent study by legal management consultant Altman Weil, the closer to retirement a lawyer gets, the more likely he is to oppose mandatory retirement ages. Interviews with a number of aging lawyers...

Commentary: In finding the right word, precision the watchword.
February 4, 2008... Byline: Lisa Healy and Julie Baker Write On is an occasional feature providing guidance for attorneys on writing legal memoranda and briefs. "Did you see a dent in the car?" "Did you see the dent in the car?" These two...

U.S. District Court rules landowners can seek relief from court in pollution case.
February 11, 2008... Byline: Thomas E. Egan Landowners in an environmental contamination case could seek injunctive relief in federal court even where the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management had authority over remediation of the site, a U.S....

Real-estate broker denied finder's fee by Rhode Island Supreme Court.(Richard Santis)
February 11, 2008... Byline: Eric T. Berkman A real-estate broker could not recover a "finder's fee" he claimed a developer orally agreed to pay him in return for his help in facilitating the purchase of a parcel of property, the Rhode Island Supreme Court has...

R.I. Supreme Court Case Summaries: February 11, 2008.(Rhode Island)
February 11, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal New evidence - Ineffective assistance Where (1) a defendant pled nolo contendere to two counts of second-degree child molestation and was sentenced to an aggregate of 20 years in...

R.I. State Ethics Commission Case Summaries: February 11, 2008.(Rhode Island )
February 11, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Conflict of interest Former DHS employee - Position as social worker Where the petitioner is a former Senior Medical Care Specialist for the Department of Human Services, it is our opinion...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: February 11, 2008.
February 11, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Motion to compel - Purchase Order Agreement Where (1) a plaintiff filed suit in Maine federal district court against the defendant, alleging various contract and tort claims...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: February 11, 2008.
February 11, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys ERISA Where a defendant employer has been awarded a judgment in its favor after a bench trial in an ERISA case, the defendant should be granted $101,000 in counsel fees pursuant...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: February 11, 2008.
February 11, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil practice Discovery - Corporate predecessor Where plaintiffs have filed a motion to compel, seeking historical information about the operations of the defendant corporation's...

Warwick office of Partridge, Snow & Hahn promotes Nicolas.(Lorrie A. Nicolas)(Brief article)
February 11, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Lorrie A. Nicolas has been promoted to paralegal supervisor at the Warwick office of Partridge, Snow & Hahn.

Lieberman of Vetter & White in Providence honored.(George E. Lieberman)(Brief article)
February 11, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff George E. Lieberman of Vetter & White in Providence has been recognized in the field of commercial litigation in "The Best Lawyers in America" for 2007.

Commentary: An update on improving 'the score'.
February 11, 2008... Byline: Edward Poll I wrote recently that building and maintaining a good relationship with your banker is a crucial strategy for beating the credit crunch. Relationships are important, but bankers also value numbers, and the most...

Commentary: With personal plan, lawyer can map path toward goals.
February 11, 2008... Byline: Jay T. Wager Seller's Market offers practitioners information about marketing their skills and services as attorneys. The start of a new year is an opportune time to set goals personally and professionally. As with many...

Commentary: Plan for success with an off-site meeting.
February 11, 2008... Byline: Deborah C. Scaringi We all know the routine. The conference room is booked and the attendees have been invited. They arrive armed with coffee cup in one hand and BlackBerry in the other, their minds on other things. Let's face...

Rejected offer during trial in Providence results in mega-verdict for injured worker.
February 11, 2008... Byline: Noah Schaffer A worker's 55-foot fall from a bridge he was renovating has resulted in one of the largest worksite-negligence verdicts in Rhode Island history -- due, in part, to an unwavering plaintiff's lawyer and his client. ...

Commentary: The FMLA: after 15 years, more important than ever.(Family & Medical Leave Act of 1993)
February 18, 2008... Byline: Nina Joan Kimball Fifteen years ago, on Feb. 5, 1993, Congress enacted the Family & Medical Leave Act, 29 U.S.C. Sect. 2601 et seq., the first bill that President Bill Clinton signed into law. Over the years, the FMLA has...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules employer could be liable for boss who stared at secretary.
February 18, 2008... Byline: Julia Reischel A secretary who alleged that a supervisor repeatedly stared at her breasts could sue her employer for sexual harassment, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. The employer argued that because the...

R.I. Superior Court rules abutting town can challenge zoning change.(Rhode Island)
February 18, 2008... Byline: Thomas E. Egan The town of Richmond had standing to challenge a zoning amendment enacted by neighboring Charlestown, a Superior Court judge has ruled. The landowner that successfully requested the zoning amendment argued that...

Charges against 'gap kids' dismissed in R.I. Superior Court.(Rhode Island)
February 18, 2008... Byline: Eric T. Berkman The Family Court retained original jurisdiction of cases involving 17-year-old "gap kids" charged with criminal offenses during a four-month period last year when an amendment was in effect purporting to confer...

R.I. District Court Case Summaries: February 18, 2008.(Rhode Island)
February 18, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Motor vehicles Breath test - Registration plate - Insurance Where a petitioner has challenged the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal's finding that he refused to submit to a breath analysis...

R.I. Supreme Court Case Summaries: February 18, 2008.(Rhode Island)
February 18, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Banks and banking Sale of real property - Accord and satisfaction Where a plaintiff has brought suit charging the defendant credit union with fraud in connection with a sale of land, a...

R.I. State Ethics Commission Case Summaries: February 18, 2008.(Rhode Island)
February 18, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Conflict of interest Town assessment clerk - Sale of real estate Where the petitioner is an assessment clerk for the Middletown Tax Assessor's Office, it is our opinion that she is...

R.I. Superior Court Case Summaries: February 18, 2008.(Rhode Island)
February 18, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Jurisdiction Products liability action Where the defendants have moved to dismiss a number of consolidated products liability actions on the ground of forum non conveniens, the motion must...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: February 18, 2008.
February 18, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Severance - Inconsistent statement Where a jury convicted a defendant of drug offenses and of being a felon in possession of a firearm, his appeal must fail, as there was no...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: February 18, 2008.
February 18, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Trespass Where a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge issued rulings regarding trespass claims, the judgment must be vacated and the matter remanded because the judge misapplied state...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: February 18, 2008.(Brief article)
February 18, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Social services SSI - Waiver Where an applicant for Supplemental Security Income benefits seeks review of an order denying his application, the appeal must fail, as (1) the plaintiff...

Rhode Island Lawyers in the News: February 18, 2008.(Sullivan, Signore, Whitehead & DeLuca law firm)(Brief article)
February 18, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Paul V. Sullivan, Glen R. Whitehead, Steven J. DeLuca and Lawrence J. Signore have formed Sullivan, Signore, Whitehead & DeLuca in Providence.

Commentary: It's better to work with a 'Net.
February 18, 2008... Byline: Edward Poll How should small law firms and solos "entice" prospects into using their services? From the smaller firm's perspective, the number of contacts that you make, the number of people you talk to, will have the biggest...

Bar may be spared bumps in ride through recession.(Interview)
February 18, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff The prospect of a recession is sending some shudders down the collective spine of the legal community. This week, Lawyers Weekly reporter Julia Reischel speaks with Les Altenberg, president of...

Commentary: The 'flee clause': a siren song of asset protection trusts.
February 25, 2008... Byline: Alexander A. Bove Jr. and Melissa Langa Asset protection trusts are, obviously, designed to protect one's assets. As such, they are adorned with every protective feature the creative legal mind can imagine, including, for example,...

U.S. magistrate judge finds city solicitor's letter to fire chief not privileged.
February 25, 2008... Byline: Eric T. Berkman The city of Providence, embroiled in a civil suit over the allegedly unlawful recording of employee telephone calls, could not assert the attorney-client privilege over a document three years after producing it in...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules trustree personally liable to profit-plan participant.
February 25, 2008... Byline: Thomas E. Egan A trustee of a profit-sharing plan was liable in her individual capacity under a default judgment obtained by a plan participant, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. The trustee argued that she was...

Catholic nun and lawyer brings unique perspective to ethics panel in R.I.(Deborah H. Cerullo )(Rhode Island)(Interview)
February 25, 2008... Byline: Barbara Rabinovitz In one of his newest appointees to the state Ethics Commission, Gov. Donald L. Carcieri has someone grounded in two distinctly different places: the bar and the church. A lawyer licensed to practice in Rhode...

U.S Bankruptcy Court, District of R.I. amends three local rules.(Rhode Island)
February 25, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff OFFICE OF THE CLERK U.S. BANKRUPTCY COURT DISTRICT OF RHODE ISLAND NOTICE OF ADOPTION Amendment of Local Rules Effective Feb. 15, 2008 Local Bankruptcy Rule 2016-1 (amended)...

R.I. District Court Case Summaries: February 25, 2008.(Rhode Island)
February 25, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Motor vehicles Chemical test - Refusal - Sworn police report Where a Magistrate dismissed a "Refusal to Submit to Chemical Test" charge because no sworn report by the officer involved had...

R.I. Supreme Court Case Summaries: February 25, 2008.(Rhode Island)
February 25, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals Mootness Where the state has appealed a Superior Court judgment holding (1) that the state was not an intended third-party beneficiary under a medical malpractice policy issued by...

R.I. State Ethics Commission Case Summaries: February 25, 2008.(Rhode Island)(Case overview)
February 25, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Conflict of interest Rule of Necessity Where conflicts of interest preclude the Smithfield Zoning Board from achieving a necessary quorum of five active members, the board may utilize the...

R.I. Superior Court Case Summaries: February 25, 2008.(Rhode Island)
February 25, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Real property Demolition - Notice Where plaintiff landowners have challenged the legality of the defendant city's demolition of a structure on their land, I hold that the demolition was...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: February 25, 2008.
February 25, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil practice Default judgment - Trustee Where a plaintiff obtained a default judgment against the defendant trustee of a profit-sharing plan, the defendant is personally liable to the...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: February 25, 2008.(Case overview)
February 25, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Admiralty Fatal shipyard accident - 'Borrowed servant' doctrine Where (1) a defendant staffing company sent a codefendant shipbuilder to work at a facility in Rhode Island, (2) while...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: February 25, 2008.
February 25, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Evidence Attorney-client privilege Where the defendant city of Providence has filed a motion in limine to limit the testimony of a former assistant city solicitor concerning a letter he...

R.I. Workers' Compensation Court Case Summaries: February 25, 2008.(Rhode Island)(Brief article)
February 25, 2008... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' compensation Sexual harassment allegations Where a petitioner sought workers' compensation benefits as of March 6, 2006, and continuing due to alleged severe stress/occupational...

Commentary: Is loyalty cheap?(Rules of Professional Conduct)
February 25, 2008... Byline: Edward Poll The foundation of any lawyer's life and practice is the relationship with the client. Without clients there is no reason to be a lawyer. Lawyers don't just practice law, they serve clients. One brief story brings...

Commentary: Price of your policy pivots on many factors.(professional liability insurance)
February 25, 2008... Byline: William C. Saturley and Joseph S. Callanan Risk-Free Business is an occasional feature intended as a guide for lawyers on the topic of professional liability insurance. When you apply for professional liability insurance, the...