Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly articles from January 2007

Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly archives from January 2007

Commentary: Is benchmarking the master or the servant?(Column)
January 1, 2007... Byline: Edward Poll The idea of benchmarking -- setting up statistical guidelines to identify best management practices -- has long been used in industry, and it can apply as well to law and other professional service firms. For the...

Lawyer to town: open-space fee in Lincoln is 'illegal tax'.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff For the Town of Lincoln, the 10-percent "open-space fee" it had charged developers of subdivisions and property owners for decades was a perfectly acceptable planning tool. The Rhode Island...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules exculpatory clause in mooring contract unenforceable.(Broadley v. Mashpee Neck Marina, Inc.)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Eric T. Berkman A boilerplate "exculpatory clause" in a mooring agreement between a marina and a boat owner absolving the marina of all liability for acts of ordinary or gross negligence was unenforceable, the 1st U.S. Circuit...

U.S. District Court denies 'accidental death' benefits from OUI driving fatality.(Stamp v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., et al.)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Eric T. Berkman A widow whose husband died while driving drunk was not entitled to benefits under an accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) policy provided by her spouse's employer, a U.S. District Court judge has ruled. ...

R.I. Bankruptcy Court seeks comments on rule amendments.(Public notice)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff OFFICE OF THE CLERK UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT DISTRICT OF RHODE ISLAND RE-NOTICE OF PROPOSED LOCAL RULE AMENDMENTS On November 1, 2006 this Court noticed out the below...

R.I. Supreme Court issues January argument calendar.(Rhode Island)(Brief article)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff SUPREME COURT CALENDAR JANUARY 4, 2007 9:00 A.M. In re Proposed Rhode Island Rules of Professional Conduct with Proposed Comments SHOW CAUSE CALENDAR JANUARY 22, 2007 ...

Correction.(Correction notice)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Correction In the Dec. 25 digest of Chreng v. Gonzales (Lawyers Weekly No. 01-392-06; 35 MLW 956), we reported erroneously that the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled that a plaintiff...

R.I. Supreme Court Case Summaries: January 8, 2007.(Rhode Island)(State v. Vashey)(Mills v. Toselli)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Alford plea - Motion to vacate Where a defendant has moved to vacate his Alford plea to second-degree child molestation, claiming that it should be set aside because he was not...

R.I. Superior Court Case Summaries: January 8, 2007.(Rhode Island)(Inge Company, Inc. v. Napolitano )
January 8, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Municipal Contract - Sludge Where a plaintiff company alleges that the defendant city of Providence breached a contract to provide the plaintiff with sludge from the city's sewer treatment...

1st U.S. Circuit Court Of Appeals Case Summaries: January 8, 2007.(Broadley v. Mashpee Neck Marina, Inc.)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Admiralty Marina - Exculpatory clause Where a defendant marina owner was awarded summary judgment in a suit brought by a plaintiff who was injured at the marina, the judgment must be...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: January 8, 2007.(Stamp v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.)(Brief article)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Insurance AD&D benefits - Accident - Drunk driving Where the widow of a man who died while driving drunk seeks accidental death and dismemberment benefits under the employee welfare...

Commentary: Are you unique enough to deserve a raise?(Column)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Edward Poll It's that time of year again when lawyers reassess (and often raise) their billing rates. This annual exercise is hardly beloved by clients, especially after the 2006 news stories that the average profit per partner at...

Commentary: The latest on the IP front, from brick-oven pizzas to toy Hummers.(intellectual property)(Column)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Kirk Teska Schwan's, under the "Red Baron" and "Tony's" brands, began selling "Brick Oven" frozen pizzas, and then, so, too, did Kraft under its "Tombstone" brand. Because a brick-oven pizza is a pizza cooked in a brick oven,...

Commentary: Voluminous treatise on business cases worth the time.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Neil V. McKittrick The second edition of Robert L. Haig's "Business and Commercial Litigation in Federal Courts" is a far-ranging treatise containing much learning for the practicing lawyer. It consists of 96 substantive...

Verdicts & Settlements January 8, 2007: Providence Superior Court awards $250K R.I. Builders Assn.(Rhode Island)(Rhode Island Builders Association v. Rinaldi, et al.)
January 8, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff On Nov. 16, 2005, the plaintiff filed suit against the defendant town's Planning Board and finance director concerning the assessment and collection of open-space fees under the town's land...

Court listens as debate on conduct rules continues.(Rhode Island Supreme Court)(rules of professional conduct)
January 15, 2007... Byline: Noah Schaffer More than four years since it was first raised, the issue of client confidentiality remains a controversial subject that divides the Rhode Island bar. At a recent Rhode Island Supreme Court hearing on proposed...

1st Circuit Court of Appeals says employee may sue over military discrimination.(Velazquez-Garcia v. Horizon Lines of Puerto Rico, Inc., Lawyers Weekly No. 01-001-07)(Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994)
January 15, 2007... Byline: Eric T. Berkman A terminated employee could sue his employer for discriminatory treatment based on his military service without showing that the employer's stated reason for firing him was a pretext for bias, the 1st U.S. Circuit...

Rhode Island Supreme Court says specific performance awarded despite late closing.(Bucklin v. Morelli, executrix, Lawyers Weekly No. 60-001-07)
January 15, 2007... Byline: Eric T. Berkman A buyer of real property was entitled to specific performance of a purchase and sale agreement after the closing did not occur on the set date due to the seller's apparent attempts to clear liens on the property,...

R.I. Bankruptcy Court changes phone numbers.(Brief article)
January 15, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff United States Bankruptcy Court District of Rhode Island Notice Regarding Change in Court's Phone Number Effective January 16, 2007 The United States Bankruptcy Court for the...

R.I. Supreme Court Case Summaries: January 15, 2007.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Negligence Legal malpractice claim - Summary judgment Where (1) a plaintiff's medical malpractice action was dismissed for failure to secure an expert witness, (2) the plaintiff...

State Ethics Commission Case Summaries: January 15, 2007.(In Re: McIntyre, Bruce W.)(Brief article)
January 15, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Conflict of interest Legal counsel - Physician license verification project Where the petitioner is employed as Deputy Chief Legal Counsel by the Department of Health, Division of Legal...

Superior Court Case Summaries: January 15, 2007.(Houghton, et al. v. Contractors' Registration Board of the State of Rhode Island)(Design Fabricators, Inc. v. Sixty, Inc., et al.)(Aubin v. Gifford, et al.)
January 15, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Contractors' Registration Board - Notice Where, following a hearing at which the appellant contractor failed to appear, the Rhode Island Contractors' Registration Board...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: January 15, 2007.(In Re: Lazarus, Christine H. (Lawyers Weekly No. 01-003-07))(Vives, et al. v. Fajardo, et al.)(Velazquez-Garcia v. Horizon Lines of Puerto Rico, Inc.)
January 15, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Mortgage - Refinancing - Perfection Where a judge found that a lender's refinancing mortgage did not constitute a preferential transfer, this ruling must be reversed in light of...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: Janaury 15, 2007.(Rutkowski v. Providence College (Lawyers Weekly No. 54-124-06))(Brief article)
January 15, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Evidence Expert witness report - Treating physician Where a plaintiff in a personal injury case wishes to submit expert testimony from his treating physician, the plaintiff should not be...

U.S. Supreme Court Case Summaries: January 15, 2007.(Burton v. Waddington (Lawyers USA No. 9934930))(United States v. Resendiz-Ponce (Lawyers USA No. 9934931))(MedImmune, Inc. v. Genetech (Lawyers USA No. 9934929))(Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996)
January 15, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Sentencing - 'Blakely' - Retroactivity The U.S. Supreme Court will not decide whether its 2004 decision in Blakely v. Washington, 124 S. Ct. 2531 -- which held that a jury must...

Workers' Compensation Court Case Summaries: January 15, 2007.(Garrity v. Town of Warren)
January 15, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' compensation Police dispatcher Where a plaintiff police dispatcher sought workers' compensation benefits, arguing that stress experienced on the job caused a sleep disorder...

Eight Partridge, Snow & Hahn attorneys listed in "The Best Lawyers in America" 2007.(Normand G. Benoit, Eugene G. Bernardo II, John M. Boehnert, David M. Gilden, Howard Merten, James H. Hahn, John J. Partridge and Steven E. Snow)(Brief article)
January 15, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Normand G. Benoit, Eugene G. Bernardo II, John M. Boehnert, David M. Gilden, Howard Merten, James H. Hahn, John J. Partridge and Steven E. Snow, all of Partridge, Snow & Hahn in Providence, are...

Commentary: The use of credit cards redux.(Column)
January 15, 2007... Byline: Edward Poll More than a year ago in this column, I wrote about using credit cards for payment of earned legal fees. Massachusetts bar counsel subsequently critiqued my approach by referring to payments for legal fees not yet...

Verdicts & Settlements January 15, 2007: Developer, DOT dispute value of land.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff $4.1 million judgment The plaintiff real estate developer and landowner filed a petition for taking and severance damages against the Rhode Island Department of Transportation. The DOT, as...

Business advice by in-house counsel is not privileged, rules Superior Court judge.(Case overview)
January 22, 2007... Byline: Noah Schaffer Non-legal business advice offered by a corporation's in-house counsel was not protected by the attorney-client privilege, a Superior Court judge has ruled in a case of first impression. The corporate defendants...

No constructive approval of master plan after board fails to issue written ruling.(New England Development, LLC v. Berg)
January 22, 2007... Byline: Eric T. Berkman A planning board's failure to issue a written decision on a shopping-center developer's master plan within the time frame required by state law did not result in constructive approval of the plan, the Rhode Island...

E-discovery rules signal new era in federal practice.
January 22, 2007... Byline: Barbara Rabinovitz Lawyers who practice in the federal courts are cautiously eyeing major rule changes dealing with electronic discovery, with some warning that the new amendments signal a seismic shift in federal court practice....

R.I. Supreme Court: Law Day on May 2.(Rhode Island)(Brief article)
January 22, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff SUPREME COURT No. 2007-01 EXECUTIVE ORDER In accordance with the authority granted to the Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court pursuant to Section 8-15-2 of the General...

R.I. Supreme Court Case Summaries: January 22, 2007.(Rhode Island)(State v. Imbruglia )
January 22, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal First-degree robbery Where a defendant has appealed his conviction for first-degree robbery, we hold that the appeal must be rejected as without merit. We conclude (1) that...

Superior Court Case Summaries: January 22, 2007.(Lombardi v. PSW, Inc.)(Bank Rhode Island v. Mixitforme, Inc.)
January 22, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Fee application - Receivership Where (1) an attorney who represented a receivership in a contingent fee lawsuit has filed a fee application and (2) some creditors now seek an...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: January 22, 2007.
January 22, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Taxes - Concurrent jurisdiction Where debtors sought to reopen their Chapter 7 case for a determination of their income tax obligations to the IRS and the Massachusetts...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: January 22, 2007.(United States v. Robinson )
January 22, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Security interest - Avoidance Where a bankruptcy judge permitted a Chapter 11 trustee to avoid an unrecorded, unperfected security interest, the judge committed no legal or...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: January 22, 2007.(United States v. Urciuoli)
January 22, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Discovery - Dismissal Where defendants have moved to dismiss the indictment against them on the basis of alleged "discovery abuses" by the prosecutors and government agents under...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: January 22, 2007.(The Hanover Insurance Group v. Rosciti)
January 22, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil practice Motion to dismiss - 'Necessary party' Where (1) a plaintiff has filed suit against two defendants who signed an indemnity agreement and (2) those defendants have moved for...

U.S. Supreme Court Case Summaries: January 22, 2007.(Gonzales v. Duenas-Alvarez )(Brief article)
January 22, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Immigration 'Theft offense' - INA The term "theft offense" in the Immigration and Nationality Act includes the crime of aiding and abetting a theft offense, and an alien convicted as an...

Commentary: Questions to ask in assuring success for 2007.
January 22, 2007... Byline: Edward Poll How do you measure success? This is the question asked by one marketing consultant at the beginning of the new year. It is a great question and the answer depends on your definition of "success." No matter what...

Commentary: How to...shift the firm's tech budget away from investments in hard/software.(Interview)
January 22, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff How To offers advice on a variety of subjects related to the management of a law practice. This week, Boston attorney John H. Chu of the firm of Chu, Ring & Hazel explains to Lawyers Weekly's Noah...

USDC's new chief judge eager to work with, hear from bar.(United States District Court)(Mary M. Lisi )(Interview)
January 29, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Thirteen years almost to the day since she was nominated for a federal judgeship by then-President Bill Clinton, on Jan. 27, 1994, U.S. District Court Judge Mary M. Lisi is now chief of that court....

Commentary: Protecting a law firm's internal attorney-client privilege.(Column)
January 29, 2007... Byline: Richard M. Zielinski Your firm represents a long-time client in a business transaction. In the course of the representation, an associate working on the matter becomes concerned about the ethical propriety of some action taken by...

The castigating of Cully is proud moment for lawyers.(Cully Stimson)
January 29, 2007... Byline: David Yas A high-level official of the Bush administration recently took a vicious swipe at lawyers who dared to represent Guantanamo Bay detainees. But what started out as a frustrating moment for attorneys turned out to be a...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court rules debtor must file Chapter 7 form after conversion.
January 29, 2007... Byline: David E. Frank A debtor whose case was converted to Chapter 7 was required to file a means test form even though the case was originally filed under Chapter 13, a U.S Bankruptcy Court judge has found. The debtor argued that the...

Rhode Island Supreme Court rules acceptance of rent defeats eviction action.
January 29, 2007... Byline: Eric T. Berkman A housing authority that continued to accept rent from a tenant after notifying her it was seeking to terminate her rental agreement -- and failed to reserve its rights when accepting the rent -- was precluded from...

R.I. Supreme Court Case Summaries: January 29, 2007.(Rhode Island)(Reise v. State )
January 29, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Drunk driving - New evidence - Medical condition Where a defendant, having pled nolo contendere to two counts of driving while intoxicated, death resulting, and three counts of...

R.I. Supreme Court Ethics Advisory Panel Case Summaries: January 29, 2007.(Rhode Island)(Brief article)
January 29, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Out-of-state attorney - 'Of counsel' Where a law firm wishes to list a South Carolina immigration attorney as "of counsel" on the firm's letterhead, this would be permissible...

R.I. State Ethics Commission Case Summaries: January 29, 2007.(Rhode Island)(Brief article)
January 29, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Conflict of interest Town council member - Appointments to Homestead Advisory Committee Where the petitioner is a member of the Narragansett Town Council, it is our opinion that he is...

R.I. Superior Court Case Summaries: January 29, 2007.(Rhode Island)(Colbea Enterprises, L.L.C. v. Alliance Energy Corporation, et al.)
January 29, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Zoning Dimensional variances - Gas station expansion Where the Warwick zoning board granted a plaintiff dimensional variances permitting the defendant to expand its gas station/convenience...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: January 29, 2007.
January 29, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Stay - Reconsideration Where debtors moved for reconsideration of a bankruptcy court order lifting the automatic stay, a decision denying that motion must be vacated, as it was...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: January 29, 2007.(United States v. Leahy )
January 29, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Breach of trust - Diversity jurisdiction Where a bankruptcy decision has been appealed by a party against whom damages in the amount of $3 million have been assessed, the...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: January 29, 2007.(Foley, et al. v. Loeb, et al. v. Brown)(Keselica v. Carcieri)
January 29, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil practice Deposition - Protective order Where evidence indicates that requiring a defendant to travel from Connecticut or New York to Rhode Island for a deposition is reasonable, this...

U.S. Supreme Court Case Summaries: January 29, 2007.(Cunningham v. California)(Osborn v. Haley)(Jones v. Bock )
January 29, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Sentencing - California statute California's determinate sentencing statute violates the Sixth Amendment because it allows judges, and not juries, to make factual findings that...

Workers' Compensation Court Case Summaries: January 29, 2007.(Catterall v. Cardi Corporation )(Brief article)
January 29, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' compensation Continuing partial disability Where a trial judge ordered an employee's weekly workers' compensation benefits discontinued as of Nov. 17, 2004, we hold that the...

McKay joins Rudnick, Berlack, Israels in Providence.(Kenneth K. McKay IV and Scott F. Bielecki )(Brief article)
January 29, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Kenneth K. McKay IV, the former chief of staff to Gov. Donald L. Carcieri, has joined Brown, Rudnick, Berlack, Israels in Providence in the government law and strategies group. Scott F....

Edwards, Angell, Palmer & Dodge in Providence names two as new partners.(Thomas Jefferson IV and Roger A. Peters II)(Brief article)
January 29, 2007... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Thomas Jefferson IV and Roger A. Peters II have been named partners at Edwards, Angell, Palmer & Dodge in Providence. Jefferson is a member of the corporate practice group and Peters is a member of...

Looking at law firms through the windows of an Airstream.
January 29, 2007... Byline: Edward Poll Often the best lessons in life are those that we never anticipate. I've been reminded of that in recent months as my wife and I decided to purchase, refurbish, register and take trips in a vintage Airstream trailer. The...

A primer on communicating a law firm's message.(Beyond the Brief: Communication Strategies for Lawyers and Legal Marketers)(Book review)
January 29, 2007... Byline: Jack E. Rossin "Beyond the Brief: Communication Strategies for Lawyers and Legal Marketers" By Stephanie Solakian Goldstein Thomson West Legalworks, 2006 214 pages; $49.99 * * * Business books should come...