Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly articles from March 2004

Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly archives from March 2004

Commentary: The purpose of 'purpose trusts'.
March 1, 2004... Byline: Alexander A. Bove Jr. and Melissa Langa Raise your hand if you remember the three elements of a trust from your law school class on trust law. If you're thinking: a trustee, a corpus and one or more beneficiaries, you would be...

R.I. Superior Court rejects claim over building's leaky tanks.
March 1, 2004... Byline: John O. Cunningham A commercial real-estate purchaser could not bring a lawsuit under the Hazardous Waste Management Act against a defendant who sold a property with leaking underground storage tanks, a Superior Court judge has...

2003 Great White concert tragedy urges R.I. corporate lawyer to put his energies into fire fund.
March 1, 2004... Byline: Jason Scally Jonathan Bell wasn't at The Station nightclub in West Warwick when the Great White concert ended in tragedy on Feb. 20, 2003. In fact, he doesn't even listen to rock music. So what would motivate this corporate...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: March 1, 2004.
March 1, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Excessive Force - Pepper Spray Where (1) an emotionally disturbed man entered a liquor store with an axe and briefly held two employees hostage, (2) police officers, who...

R.I. 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denies 'Non-Specific' suit for false claims.
March 1, 2004... Byline: David L. Yas A hospital worker could not bring a suit against his employer under the False Claims Act based on evidence of improper filing procedure at the hospital -- without proof of actual false claims, the 1st U.S. Circuit...

U.S. Supreme Court Case Summaries: March 1, 2004.
March 1, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Constitutional Due Process - Destruction Of Evidence The Due Process Clause did not require the dismissal of criminal charges against a defendant, where the police, acting in good faith and...

Lawyers reappointed to R.I. Character & Fitness Committee.
March 1, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Supreme Court In re: Committee on Character and Fitness: ORDER In accordance with the provision of Article II, Rule 3 of the Supreme Court rules, Kristen Rodgers, Esq. and Rafael...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: March 1, 2004.
March 1, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Automatic Stay - Medicare Recoupment Where $370,569 in Medicare payments were withheld from a Chapter 11 debtor to adjust for prepetition overpayments, this did not violate the...

R.I. Superior Court Case Summaries: March 1, 2004.
March 1, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Sexual Assault - Force Where a defendant has been charged with multiple counts of first-degree sexual assault, a motion by the defendant for judgment of acquittal should be...

Comments due March 19 for 1st Circuit's proposed changes to Internal Operating Procedures.
March 1, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff OFFICE OF THE CLERK UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT RICHARD CUSHING DONOVAN CLERK JOHN JOSEPH MOAKLEY UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE 1 COURTHOUSE WAY,...

Member reappointed to R.I. Board of Bar Examiners.
March 1, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Supreme Court In re Board of Bar Examiners: ORDER Pursuant to Article II, Rule 5 of the Supreme Court rules, Dennis J. Roberts II, Esq., is hereby reappointed to serve as a member of...

U.S. Court of Appeals rules Mass. residents can't sue window manufacturer for defective windows.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Jason M. Scally Massachusetts residents who claimed they were sold defective windows could not sue the manufacturer of the windows where the manufacturer had already reached a separate class-action settlement with consumers in...

Commentary: On the trail of the conspirators.
March 8, 2004... Byline: David Yas You might have noticed in a recent issue of Lawyers Weekly that when we tallied up the largest jury verdicts of the year, they weren't all that, well, large. Not one million-dollar case in Rhode Island -- a big departure...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules fraudulent debtor can't recover cash in escrow.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Lisa K. Bruno A Chapter 7 debtor who had fraudulently conveyed real estate to his son could not recover funds held in escrow as security for an outstanding claim -- but was required to turn the funds over to a bank that held a lien...

U.S. Supreme Court Case Summaries: March 8, 2004.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Antitrust Postal Service The United States Postal Service is not a "person" for purposes of liability under federal antitrust laws. U.S. Postal Service v. Flamingo Industries (Lawyers...

Roger Williams University Ralph R. Papitto School of Law in Bristol has a decade of achievement.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff The Roger Williams University Ralph R. Papitto School of Law has now been around for 10 years, and what a decade it has been. * RWU grads are practicing in the largest law firms and in a range...

1st U.S. Circuit Court Of Appeals Case Summaries: March 8, 2004.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Suit Against Mayor - Local Rule 311.12 Where plaintiffs filed suit charging the defendant mayor of a Puerto Rico municipality with violating the plaintiffs' constitutional and...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: March 8, 2004.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Stay - Overseas Transport Where plaintiffs filed suit seeking redress for damages which occurred to their yachts while the yachts were being transported by the defendants from...

R.I. Supreme Court Case Summaries: March 8, 2004.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Certiorari - Child Molestation Where a petitioner, convicted of sexual assault and child molestation, filed a petition for a writ of certiorari, he must be denied relief because...

R.I. Superior Court Case Summaries: March 8, 2004.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment Termination - Employee Of Judiciary Where a plaintiff, who worked as Assistant Administrator for Facilities and Operations in the State's judicial branch, was terminated by the...

Interview with Lynette J. Labinger, newest judge on the Providence Housing Court.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Lynette J. Labinger, Providence Born: 1949; Los Angeles Education: New York University School of Law, 1974; Mt. Holyoke College, 1971 Bar admission: 1975 Professional experience:...

Verdicts & Settlements March 8, 2004: Child injured when 'Big Wheel' rolls into street.
March 8, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff $1.1 Million Settlement This case was a products liability action brought against the defendant, the manufacturer of the "Batman Power Cycle." The Batman Power Cycle was a "Big Wheel"-type...

U.S. Supreme Court Case Summaries: March 15, 2004.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Guilty Plea - Subsequent Conviction Even though a criminal defendant entered a guilty plea without the advice of counsel, it can still be used to enhance the penalties for a...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: March 15, 2004.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Appeals Social Security Administration Ruling Where a plaintiff (1) did not file a complaint challenging a Social Security Administration ruling before expiration of the applicable...

U.S. Court of Appeals rules foreign co. can't avoid request for documents.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Jason M. Scally A foreign corporation facing claims of securities fraud could not avoid a plaintiffs' document production request by seeking protection from a court in its home country, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has...

R.I. Superior Court rules 'buildable" standards can't go into its zoning ordinance.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Lisa K. Bruno A town council could not incorporate new minimum buildable-area standards into its zoning ordinance, a Superior Court judge has ruled. The town had argued that the proposed amendment was a zoning provision that...

R.I. Superior Court Case Summaries: March 15, 2004.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Jurisdiction Personal - 'Headhunter' - Commission Where a plaintiff "executive headhunter" based in Rhode Island has filed suit alleging that the defendant Nevada corporation and...

Workers' Compensation Court Case Summaries: March 15, 2004.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' Compensation Lump Sum Settlement - Lien Where both the Department of Labor and Training and an injured employee have appealed a trial judge's decision in a workers' compensation...

Two appointed, one reappointed for R.I. Disciplinary Board terms.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Supreme Court In Re: Disciplinary Board Appointment Of Member: ORDER In accordance with the provisions of Article III, Rule 4, subsections (a) and (b), it is hereby ordered that: ...

Amendments to the R.I. Workers' Comp Court Rules of Practice.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff (Editor's Note: The amendments are too long for publication and appear on our website, www.rilawyersweekly.com, in the Important Docs section.) Supreme Court In re Proposed Amendments to...

U.S. Supreme Court Case Summaries: March 15, 2004.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Confrontation Clause - Marital Privilege The Confrontation Clause did not permit the state to introduce tape-recorded statements by a defendant's wife where he had exercised his...

R.I. Commissioner of Education Case Summaries: March 15, 2004.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Education Bus Transportation - Daycare Where a school committee has decided not to provide a student afternoon bus transportation to daycare, the school committee's decision is supported...

R.I. State Ethics Commission Case Summaries: March 15, 2004.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Conflict Of Interest Town Council Member - Liquor License Matter Where the petitioner is a Scituate Town Council member, it is our opinion that he is permitted by the State Code of Ethics...

Lawyers warned consumer bankruptcy not easy.
March 15, 2004... Byline: John O. Cunningham Panelists at a recent consumer bankruptcy seminar say that trustees are increasingly scrutinizing disclosure schedules for accuracy and completeness, often finding errors in statements of assets and liabilities....

R.I. Supreme Court amends Rules of Appellate Procedure.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Supreme Court In re Amendments to Rules of Appellate Procedure (Rules 12A(4), 16(c) and 16(d)): ORDER Section 1. Rule 12A, subdivision 4, of the Rules of Appellate Procedure is hereby...

1st U.S. Circuit Court Of Appeals Case Summaries: March 15, 2004.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Discovery - Foreign Defendant Where a U.S. District Court has enjoined a defendant from seeking relief in the Belgian courts from an order requiring the defendant to produce...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: March 15, 2004.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Stay Motion Where defendants in the present case have moved for a stay, I find that their motion must be denied, because it is not adequate reason for granting a stay that a...

R.I. Supreme Court Case Summaries: March 15, 2004.
March 15, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Probation Revocation Where a defendant has appealed a Superior Court judge's decision revoking the defendant's probation, we hold that the appeal cannot succeed, as the judge's...

R.I. attorneys appointed Vice Chair, Chairperson of Disciplinary Board.
March 22, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Supreme Court In Re: Disciplinary Board ORDER In accordance with the provisions of Article III, Rule 4, subsections (a) and (b), it is hereby ordered that: Edward J. Bertozzi Jr....

R.I. Superior Court Case Summaries: March 22, 2004.
March 22, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Non- Compete Agreement - Restaurant Where plaintiffs have filed suit alleging that the defendant's operation of a restaurant is in violation of the non-compete provision contained...

U.S. Court of Appals rules debtor co. in Chapter 11 bankruptcy may collect money owed on leases.
March 22, 2004... Byline: Lisa K. Bruno A debtor company in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, acting as a debtor-in-possession, could collect money it was owed on computer leases, even though it never "cured" its own default on the leases, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules employees not owed for 'prep time' hours.
March 22, 2004... Byline: Jason M. Scally Hourly-wage employees at a food processing plant should not be entitled to compensation for time spent changing into and out of protective equipment, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. In granting...

R.I. Supreme Court rules neighbor can't plant trees that obscure view.
March 22, 2004... Byline: David L. Yas A defendant found to have planted trees on his property in order to block his neighbor's view could be ordered by a judge to trim or remove the trees, the Rhode Island Supreme Court has ruled. The defendant argued...

1st U.S. Circuit Court Of Appeals Case Summaries: March 22, 2004.
March 22, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Medicaid Regulation - Pharmacies Where a U.S. District Court judge granted a plaintiff's request for a preliminary injunction to prevent the defendant commonwealth of...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: March 22, 2004.
March 22, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Compromise - Pre- Petition Claim Where (1) prior to the present bankruptcy proceedings, a debtor was involved in divorce proceedings with his wife, (2) the U.S. Bankruptcy Court...

R.I. Supreme Court Case Summaries: March 22, 2004.
March 22, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Constitutional Fishing Restriction Where a Superior Court judge declared unconstitutional a state statute banning the use of SCUBA gear to harvest shellfish at four specified ponds, that...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: March 29, 2004.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Dismissal Of Chapter 13 Case - Moot Appeal Where a debtor has appealed a U.S. Bankruptcy Court order dismissing her Chapter 13 case with prejudice, the appeal must be dismissed...

R.I. Supreme Court Case Summaries: March 29, 2004.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Banks And Banking Survivorship - In- Laws Where a judge ruled that a defendant did not have a right of survivorship over her brother-in-law's bank funds upon his death, we find this...

Lawyers' quick action discovers culprit behind defamatory e-mail case.
March 29, 2004... Byline: John O. Cunningham Two local lawyers recently discovered the culprit behind a defamatory e-mail through aggressive prosecution of a "suit to preserve evidence" along with effective use of the right investigative specialist. ...

1st U.S. Circuit Court Of Appeals Case Summaries: March 29, 2004.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Motion To Compel - Failure To Appeal - Reconsideration Where a defendant filed a motion for reconsideration of a prior order denying a motion to compel arbitration, the...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: March 29, 2004.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Auto Loan - Debtor's Surrender, Redemption Or Reaffirmation Where a U.S. Bankruptcy Court entered an order denying a credit union's motion to compel a Chapter 7 debtor to choose...

Rhode Island Supreme Court rules victim of attack can recover punitive damages.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Lisa K. Bruno A plaintiff who was the victim of a physical attack and a home invasion could recover punitive damages -- even though he did not present any evidence of the defendant's financial condition, the Rhode Island Supreme...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: March 29, 2004.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Social Services Disability Benefits Case - Request For Remand Where the parties in a social security disability benefits case have agreed that a remand is in order, I will recommend that...

R.I. Superior Court Case Summaries: March 29, 2004.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Constitutional Double Jeopardy Where the defendant (1) was indicted and tried in Bronx County, New York for the crime of second-degree murder of a certain individual and (2) was later...

U.S Court of Appeals rules three-year limit for civil rights lawsuit.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Jason M. Scally A female employee's claim of gender discrimination could be brought under the Rhode Island Civil Rights Act more than a year after the incidents in question, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. The...

Rhode Island Workers' Compensation Court Case Summaries: March 29, 2004.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' Compensation Motion To Claim Appeal Out Of Time Where an employee has appealed a trial judge's denial of her motion to claim an appeal out of time and motion to proceed in forma...

R.I. Workers' Compensation Court Case Summaries: March 29, 2004.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' Compensation Request To Discontinue Workers' Compensation Benefits - Accidental Disability Benefits Where an employee requested that her workers' compensation benefits be...

R.I. State Ethics Commission Case Summaries: March 29, 2004.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Conflict Of Interest Fire District Board - Husband's Employment As Firefighter Where the petitioner, a member of the Tiogue Fire District Board, is married to a firefighter employed by the...

Qualifications, fee schedule for R.I. Family Court Bar advocates.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff EXECUTIVE ORDER FAMILY COURT INDIGENT COUNSEL Pursuant to the authority vested in me by G. L. 1956 (1985 Reenactment) Sect. 8-15-2, and in order to provide competent representation,...