Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly articles from June 2005

Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly archives from June 2005

R.I. Supreme Court rules spouse can sue hospital despite three-year limit.(O'Sullivan v. Rhode Island Hospital et al.)
June 6, 2005... Byline: Melissa A. Murphy A man could sue a hospital more than three years after the death of his wife upon discovering evidence of negligence in her medical records, the Rhode Island Supreme Court has ruled. A Superior Court judge had...

U.S. District Court judge rules widow cannot add 'new' defendants to lawsuit.
June 6, 2005... Byline: Melissa A. Murphy A woman whose husband died while in police custody could not amend her complaint to name individual police officers once the statute of limitations had expired, a U.S District Court judge has held. The...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules equitable tolling claim can proceed in bias case.
June 6, 2005... Byline: Tony Wright Hotel workers could proceed on an equitable tolling claim in a bias suit against their former employer where the hotel failed to comply with EEOC requirements, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. The...

U.S. Supreme Court Case Summaries: June 6, 2005.
June 6, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Constitutional First Amendment - Statement About Attorney An injunction ordering a client to refrain from making any statements about his former attorney in a public forum is an...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: June 6, 2005.
June 6, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals Rooker- Feldman Doctrine Where an appellant, who unsuccessfully moved to dismiss an unfair labor practices grievance in Puerto Rico, filed a complaint in U.S. District Court...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: June 6, 2005.
June 6, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Limitations - Relation Back Doctrine Where (1) a plaintiff, whose son died in Providence police custody in 2000, filed a civil rights complaint and (2) more than three years...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: June 6, 2005.
June 6, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Deposition - Hospital Where a defendant hospital seeks a protective order to prevent or significantly restrict a deposition in a case brought under the Emergency Medical...

R.I. Supreme Court Case Summaries: June 6, 2005.
June 6, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Conspiracy To Violate Controlled Substances Act Where a defendant contends, and the state concedes, that insufficient evidence was presented at trial to support the defendant's...

Rhode Island Superior Courts Case Summaries: June 6, 2005.
June 6, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Assistant Principal Position Where a defendant union and codefendant teacher (1) contend that the plaintiff school committee acted improperly in appointing a third party to an...

Verdicts & Settlements-June 6, 2005: Half of patient's pancreas is removed by mistake.
June 6, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff $1 Million Settlement The plaintiff underwent a laparoscopic surgical procedure intended to remove his adrenal gland. Instead, the surgeon misidentified the anatomical structures and removed...

Verdicts & Settlements-June 6, 2005: Driver loses control of car, hits woman shoveling snow.
June 6, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff $157,500 Settlement An accident occurred on Dec. 5, 2002 when the plaintiff was shoveling snow in her driveway. The defendant was operating his daughter's vehicle when he apparently lost...

Suit against chief justice had no standing, RI Supreme Court rules.
June 13, 2005... Byline: Melissa A. Murphy A lawsuit alleging that the chief justice of the state Supreme Court automatically vacated his seat when he accepted an appointment to a military review panel should have been dismissed based on a lack of...

Trial software helps Providence attorneys garner $2M verdict.
June 13, 2005... Byline: Lisa K. Bruno Trial lawyers who recently landed a $2 million verdict on behalf of a woman whose knee was crushed when her moped collided against a barrier gate credit the victory in substantial part to effective use of trial...

RI Supreme Court amends mandatory CLE regulations.
June 13, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Supreme Court In re: Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Commission (Amendments to Regulations 4.12, 6.03, and 6.12) ORDER In accordance with Article IV, Rule 3.1(c)(2) of the...

Superior Court Case Summaries: June 13, 2005.
June 13, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Summary Process - Claim Against Surety Where a receiver is seeking to bring a claim against a surety by means of summary process, I find that summary process is an...

U.S. Supreme Court Case Summaries: June 13, 2005.
June 13, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Cruise Ships - ADA Disabled passengers who took cruises on foreign ships embarking from U.S. ports may be able to sue for disability discrimination under the ADA. Spector...

1st U.S. Circuit Court Of Appeals Case Summaries: June 13, 2005.
June 13, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Homestead Exemption - Undervaluing Of Property Where a debtor's request to amend his homestead exemption was denied, that order should be upheld because the bankruptcy judge...

Receiver fails in summary process bid versus surety.
June 13, 2005... Byline: Tony Wright A receiver appointed to collect outstanding accounts and contracts payable for a company could not bring a summary proceeding to collect the funds from a surety of another company that owed the money, a Superior Court...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: June 13, 2005.
June 13, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Jurisdiction Change Of Venue - Publicity Where defendants have filed a motion for change of venue, the motion should be allowed in light of pretrial publicity. "This Court is mindful...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: June 13, 2005.
June 13, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Student Loans - Hardship Where a bankruptcy judge has determined that a debtor's student loan obligations are dischargeable, the judgment must be reversed because the judge's...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: June 13, 2005.
June 13, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Motion To Vacate Judgment Where a defendant has moved to vacate a judgment based on a 1990 settlement agreement, the motion should be denied on the ground that the defendant...

R.I. Supreme Court Case Summaries: June 13, 2005.
June 13, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Amendment - Interest Where an arbitrator amended his award to correct the amount of interest granted to the plaintiff, the arbitrator committed no error and thus a Superior...

Workers' Compensation Court Case Summaries: June 13, 2005.
June 13, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' Compensation Truck Driver - Knee Injury Where a truck driver who suffered a knee injury in 2003 asserts that a judge erred in terminating the driver's workers' compensation...

Rhode Island Superior Court Decisions: June 20, 2005.
June 20, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Restaurant Sale Where a plaintiff is seeking specific performance of a contract through which, she contends, the defendants sold her a restaurant, I hold that her specific...

RI Supreme Court finds that worker who was harassed can sue for gender bias.
June 20, 2005... Byline: Melissa A. Murphy A worker could sue her employer for gender-based bias, but not for disability discrimination where her depression rendered her unqualified for the job, the Rhode Island Supreme Court has found. The defendant...

RI Supreme Court says contractor may arbitrate despite mechanic's lien.(Newman et al. v. Valleywood Associates Inc.)
June 20, 2005... Byline: Tony Wright A contractor hired to build a house for a couple could arbitrate a dispute even where it had filed a notice of intention to claim a mechanic's lien, the Rhode Island Supreme Court has ruled. The plaintiff homeowners...

Rhode Island attorneys think civility in the legal profession is dropping.(Panel Discussion)
June 20, 2005... Byline: Lisa K. Bruno Civility in the legal profession is on the decline, Rhode Island attorneys report, due in large part to clients who seek out an "attack dog" when they need to hire a lawyer. However, panelists at the Rhode Island...

U.S. Supreme Court Decisions: June 20, 2005.
June 20, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Habeas Corpus Inconsistent Theories Of Guilt Despite the state's use of alternative, inconsistent theories of a defendant's guilt, the constitutional requirements of a guilty plea were met...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: June 20, 2005.
June 20, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Bequest - Chapter 11 Where (1) a woman died in 1998 leaving a third of the residue of her estate to the Boston Regional Medical Center and (2) the BRMC filed a Chapter 11...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: June 20, 2005.
June 20, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Jurisdiction Tortious Interference Where a plaintiff has asserted a "species of tortious interference claim" against the defendants in each of the counts of her complaint, only a state law...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Court Case Summaries: June 20, 2005.
June 20, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Suit By Inmate Where corrections department defendants have moved to dismiss a suit filed against them by a plaintiff inmate, I find that their motion should be allowed...

R.I. Supreme Court Decisions: June 20, 2005.
June 20, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Mechanic's Lien Where a judge refused to grant a defendant's petition to arbitrate a contract dispute because the defendant had failed to release its mechanic's lien on the...

R.I. District Court Case Summaries: June 20, 2005.
June 20, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Unemployment Compensation Leaving Work To Start Car - Poor Judgment Where an employee (1) noted that there was a line of people waiting to punch out, (2) left the employer's premises to...

Commentary: Killing Justice: The Judiciary Under Siege.(Rhode Island Supreme Court Chief Justice Frank J. Williams' address )
June 20, 2005... Byline: R.I. Chief Justice Frank J. Williams Following is the text of Rhode Island Supreme Court Chief Justice Frank J. Williams' address at the Rhode Island Bar Association's annual meeting on June 10. The judicial branch is a citadel...

Despite mail mixup, claim by creditors is dismissed by Bankruptcy Appellate Panel.
June 27, 2005... Byline: Jason M. Scally A claim by creditors against a debtor in bankruptcy was properly dismissed where the creditors missed the filing deadline even though notice of the deadline was improperly sent to the creditors' pre-bankruptcy...

U.S. District Court judge rules insurance co. may seek relief in federal court.
June 27, 2005... Byline: Tony Wright An insurance company could proceed with a declaratory judgment action in federal court even though a tort claim against its policyholder for the same injury that prompted the action was pending in state court, a U.S....

Rhode Island Bar Assn. leader pledges year of 'celebrating' lawyers.(Philip M. Weinstein)(Interview)
June 27, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff At the Rhode Island Bar Association's annual meeting, Philip M. Weinstein sports a blue rosette with the word "King" scripted across it. The title assigned to the organization's newly installed...

U.S. Supreme Court Case Summary: June 27, 2005.
June 27, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Commercial Commerce Clause - Trucking The federal Single State Registration System statute does not preempt Michigan's $100 registration fee on trucks engaged in interstate commerce. ...

1st U.S. Circuit Court Of Appeals Case Summaries: June 27, 2005.
June 27, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Felon In Possession Of Firearm - Cross- Examination Of Defense Witness Where a defendant has appealed his conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm and the sentence...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: June 27, 2005.
June 27, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Motion To Correct Sentencing Where a defendant has filed a motion nunc pro tunc to correct an alleged error in his sentencing, I find that he has acted improperly in filing the...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: June 27, 2005.
June 27, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Chapter 13 - Creditors - Late Filing Of Claim Where a bankruptcy judge denied a motion by creditors to allow late filing of their proof of claim in a Chapter 13 case, a remand...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: June 27, 2005.
June 27, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Inmate - Prison Litigation Reform Act Where a plaintiff prison inmate has filed a civil rights action against defendant corrections department officials, I find that the...

R.I. Supreme Court Case Summaries: June 27, 2005.
June 27, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Municipal Breachway - Ban On Swimming Where a defendant was convicted of swimming in a Westerly breachway in violation of a town ordinance, the conviction should be affirmed, as the...

Superior Court Case Summaries: June 27, 2005.
June 27, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Physical Therapist - Unprofessional Conduct Where the Department of Health found that a physical therapist engaged in unprofessional conduct (with regard to treatment...

Commissioner of Education Case Summaries: June 27, 2005.
June 27, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Education Graduation - Marijuana Where a student was suspended from school in October for marijuana possession, she should be permitted to participate in her graduation ceremony but is...

State Ethics Commission Case Summaries: June 27, 2005.
June 27, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Conflict Of Interest Board Of Canvassers - Spouse - City Council Where the petitioner, a candidate for appointment to the Providence Board of Canvassers, is married to a member of the City...