Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly articles from May 2004

Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly archives from May 2004

R.I. Supreme Court rules contractor is not covered under subcontractor's insurance policy.
May 3, 2004... Byline: John O. Cunningham An indemnification provision in a construction contract did not entitle a general contractor to the protection of a subcontractor's insurance policy as an "additional insured" in defending a personal injury...

Rhode Island lawyer seeks exception to $100K statutory cap.
May 3, 2004... Byline: Jason Scally CASBY HARRISON III, Providence Born: Nov. 20, 1956; Fort Riley, Kan. Education: Antioch School of Law, 1982; University of Dayton, 1979 Bar admission: 1984 Professional experience: Harrison Law...

Rhode Island Workers' Compensation Court Case Summaries: May 3, 2004.
May 3, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' Compensation Jurisdiction - Dissolved Corporation Where a petitioner has appealed from an order dismissing his application for workers' compensation benefits, the appeal must fail...

R.I. Superior Court judge rules company claiming computer theft may bring suit.
May 3, 2004... Byline: Tony Wright A company that claimed its confidential computer files were obtained by a competitor could sue for damages upon a showing that the files were obtained intentionally and without authorization, a Superior Court judge has...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: May 3, 2004.
May 3, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Federal Aviation Act - Private Right Of Action Where a plaintiff sued a defendant airline, claiming that the defendant had defaulted on certain contractual obligations to him...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Court Case Summaries: May 3, 2004.
May 3, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Inmate's Suit - Service Of Process Where a plaintiff prison inmate has filed claims against defendant prison officials for their alleged violation of his Eighth and Fourteenth...

Rhode Island Supreme Court Case Summaries: May 3, 2004.
May 3, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Felony Assault Where a defendant has appealed his felony assault conviction, we hold that the appeal must fail because the trial judge (1) framed adequate jury instructions on...

Rhode Island Superior Court Case Summaries: May 3, 2004.
May 3, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Commercial Assignment Of Account Receivable - Setoff - Promissory Note Where a plaintiff, having been assigned a defunct company's assets including a $113,237.67 account receivable, has...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: May 3, 2004.
May 3, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Commercial FCRA - Credit Report Where a defendant store has been charged under the Fair Credit Reporting Act with furnishing inaccurate information to a credit reporting agency, the...

U.S. Supreme Court Case Summaries: May 3, 2004.
May 3, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Commercial Truth In Lending Act A credit card company that (1) imposed an "over-limit" fee on a cardholder who exceeded her credit limit but (2) did not include the fee in calculating her...

Rhode Island Supreme Court Case Summaries: May 10, 2004.
May 10, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Fraud Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act - Limitations Where a plaintiff, seeking to collect a debt arising from the sale of a boat, filed suit in 2001 alleging that the debtor's conveyance...

Rhode Island Superior Court Case Summaries: May 10, 2004.
May 10, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Real Property Purchase Agreement - Specific Performance Where a plaintiff has moved for specific performance of a land sale agreement under which the defendant was to convey to the...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: May 10, 2004.
May 10, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Police Officer - Stop Of Vehicle Where a jury returned a verdict in favor of a plaintiff on a claim that a defendant police officer engaged in an unlawful stop of the...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: May 10, 2004.
May 10, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Sovereign Immunity - PA And PLO Where (1) the plaintiff estate of an American citizen killed in Israel filed suit under the Antiterrorism Act of 1991 against the defendant...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Court Case Summaries: May 10, 2004.
May 10, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Motion To Dismiss - Motion For Sanctions Where the defendants have moved to dismiss the plaintiff's complaint, I find that the motion should be granted because (1) the...

R.I. Supreme Court denies creditor's challenge of defective conveyance time in a deed.
May 10, 2004... Byline: John O. Cunningham A creditor could not challenge the validity of a debtor's transfer of property to his girlfriend solely because of a defective acknowledgment in her deed, the Rhode Island Supreme Court has ruled. The...

Rhode Island District Court Case Summaries: May 10, 2004.
May 10, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Motor Vehicles Chemical Test - Speeding Where a motorist has been found guilty of (1) refusal to submit to a chemical test, (2) speeding and (3) "violation of laned roadways," the finding...

Verdicts & Settlements May 10, 2004: R.I. jury awards $250K for a head-on collision.
May 10, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff $250,000 Settlement This case was the result of a head-on collision where the defendant driver was allegedly driving on the wrong side of the road. The 65-year-old plaintiff lost 1.75...

R.I. lawyer discusses Bess Eaton Sale wrapping up in a record two months after co. filing Chapter 11.
May 10, 2004... Byline: Lisa K. Bruno ALLAN M. SHINE, Providence Born: Oct. 16, 1936; Worcester, Mass. Education: Columbia University Law School, 1961; Columbia College, 1958 Bar admission: 1961 Professional experience: Winograd, Shine &...

U.S. District Court judge rules Web cannot be basis for jurisdiction in Rhode Island.
May 10, 2004... Byline: Jason M. Scally An out-of-state company could not be sued in Rhode Island, even though it operated a website that included the state's name as an option on the drop-down shipping menu, a U.S. District Court judge has ruled. ...

U.S. Supreme Court Case Summaries: May 10, 2004.
May 10, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Fees - Equal Access To Justice Act A timely filed attorney fee application under the Equal Access to Justice Act may be amended to correct the prevailing party's failure to...

Rhode Island Superior Court Case Summaries: May 17 2004.
May 17, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Specific Performance - Good Faith And Fair Dealing Where a plaintiff seeks specific performance of an agreement calling for the defendant to sell a telecommunications tower to the...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: May 17, 2004.
May 17, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Request For Injunction - Mootness Where a plaintiff student (1) filed a civil rights complaint against a defendant school and a number of codefendants after she was ordered...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: May 17, 2004.
May 17, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Conflict Of Interest Roney Amendment - Mootness - Ripeness Where a plaintiff has filed suit challenging the constitutionality of the Roney Amendment, G.L. Sect. 36-14-12(d), which...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: May 17, 2004.
May 17, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Discovery - Interrogatories Where a defendant has moved to dismiss a complaint because of the plaintiff's failure to comply with court orders to respond to the defendant's...

U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals approves bias case without specific facts.
May 17, 2004... Byline: Lisa K. Bruno Government employees who filed a political-discrimination complaint did not have to set forth specific facts showing they could make out a prima facie case, but needed only to give notice of the claim and the grounds...

R.I. District Court judge rules that couple will get credit for out-of-state business tax.
May 17, 2004... Byline: John O. Cunningham A married couple should have been entitled to take a credit on their 1999 Rhode Island income tax return for business profits taxes paid in New Hampshire upon the sale of their second home, a District Court judge...

Rhode Island court announces registration fee changes.
May 17, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Supreme Court - In re Amendment to Article IV, Rule 1: of the Supreme Court Rules: (Registration Fee Changes): O R D E R Article IV, Rule 1 of the Supreme Court Rules is hereby amended...

Rhode Island Human Rights Commission Case Summaries: May 17, 2004.
May 17, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Discrimination - Rental Agent Where a rental agency refused to offer an apartment to an interracial couple, the agency should be held liable for discrimination and be ordered...

Rhode Island District Court Case Summaries: May 17, 2004.
May 17, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Motor Vehicles Failure To Submit To Chemical Test Where the Appellate Panel of the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal has found a motorist liable for failure to submit to a chemical test and...

Rhode Island's new Workers' Compensation Court chief promotes user-friendly court.
May 17, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff JUDGE GEORGE E. HEALY - Workers' Compensation Court Born: July 5, 1950 Education: Suffolk University Law School, 1976; Northeastern University, 1973 Judicial appointment: 1991, by Gov....

Rhode Island Supreme Court Case Summaries: May 17, 2004.
May 17, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Sanction - Judicial Misconduct Claim Where (1) an attorney, who represented the defendant in a premises liability action, moved for a new trial on the ground of judicial...

Rhode Island Superior Court Case Summaries: May 24, 2004.
May 24, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Jurisdiction Forum Selection Clause - Choice Of Law Where a defendant has moved to dismiss a product liability complaint filed by the plaintiff, the motion should be allowed pursuant to a...

Rhode Island Commissioner of Education Case Summaries: May 24, 2004.
May 24, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Education Due Process Hearing - Interim Order Where a special-education student seeks an interim order directing his return to high school placement, the request must be denied pending an...

Rhode Island State Ethics Commission Case Summaries: May 24, 2004.
May 24, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Conflict Of Interest Senator - School Nurse Where a state senator's wife is employed as a registered nurse in the North Providence school system, he may, without committing an ethical...

Rhode Island Workers' Compensation Court Case Summaries: May 24, 2004.
May 24, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' Compensation Return Of Incapacity Where an employee has appealed an adverse decision in a workers' compensation case, we decide that the appeal cannot succeed because the employee...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: May 24, 2004.
May 24, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Antitrust Vertical Restraint Of Trade Where a plaintiff filed an antitrust case alleging a vertical restraint of trade, a judgment for the defendant must be affirmed on the ground that...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Court Case Summaries: May 24, 2004.
May 24, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Supervised Release - Violation Of Terms Where a defendant, while on supervised release, (1) tested positive for cocaine, (2) failed to submit monthly supervision reports for four...

U.S. Supreme Court Case Summaries: May 24, 2004.
May 24, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Interest Rate A debtor should pay a "prime-plus" interest rate for collateral that he or she keeps after declaring bankruptcy. Till, et ux. v. SCS Credit Corporation...

Rhode Island lawyers square off on med-mal reforms.
May 24, 2004... Byline: John O. Cunningham Rhode Island lawyers are gearing up for a legislative battle as the state's General Assembly considers at least four different proposals for medical-malpractice reforms -- including one by Gov. Donald L. Carcieri...

U.S. Court of Appeals rules clothing retailer can't bring antitrust suit against manufacturer.
May 24, 2004... Byline: Lisa K. Bruno A clothing retailer that lost a distribution relationship with a manufacturer could not bring an antitrust suit claiming that a competing retailer's complaints allegedly led to the loss of the business relationship,...

R.I. Superior Court judge rules buyer can't sue manufacturer over a defective product.
May 24, 2004... Byline: Jason M. Scally A Rhode Island company that claimed it bought a defective product could not sue the manufacturer in state court where the contract contained a forum selection clause mandating a specific venue in North Carolina, a...

Rhode Island Supreme Court Case Summaries: May 24, 2004.
May 24, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Summary Judgment - Failure To Appear At Hearing Where a defendant hospital has been awarded summary judgment with respect to a plaintiff's employment discrimination claim,...

R.I. bankruptcy appellate panel denies private school tuition payments from couple's Chapter 13 plan.
May 31, 2004... Byline: David L. Yas A married couple could not include private school tuition payments for their child in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy plan, a bankruptcy appellate panel has found. The couple requested a specific private religious school...

Rhode Island attorney Don E. Wineberg gears up to battle Blue Cross Blue Shields.
May 31, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff DON E. WINEBERG, Providence Born: Jan. 7, 1958; Chicago Education: Washington and Lee University School of Law, 1985; Brown University, 1980 Bar admission: 1985 Professional...

U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judge upholds fees for copyright infringement.
May 31, 2004... Byline: Tony Wright A judge was authorized to award counsel fees to successful defendants in a copyright infringement case that included various state-law claims -- including the portion attributed to computer-assisted research, the 1st...

U.S. Supreme Court Case Summaries: May 31, 2004.
May 31, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Habeas Corpus Execution - Civil Rights Claim A capital prisoner challenging the procedures to be used for his execution can base his 8th Amendment claim on Sect. 1983 instead of pursuing a...

Rhode Island Supreme Court Case Summaries: May 31, 2004.
May 31, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Pro Se Defendant - Prosecutorial Misconduct Where a defendant has appealed his first-degree murder conviction, the appeal must fail because the defendant has not proven his claims...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: May 31, 2004.
May 31, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Emotional Distress - Contempt - IRS Where Chapter 7 debtors were awarded emotional distress damages based on a finding that the IRS violated the discharge injunction provisions...

Rhode Island Workers' Compensation Court Case Summaries: May 31, 2004.
May 31, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' Compensation Back Injury - Preexisting Condition Where a judge denied an application for workers' compensation benefits, the judgment should be affirmed because the judge committed...

Rhode Island Superior Court Case Summaries: May 31, 2004.
May 31, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration State Employees - Clerical Work Where an arbitrator ruled on a grievance concerning a decision by two state agencies to contract with temporary employees to do clerical work...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: May 31, 2004.
May 31, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Fees And Costs - Computer Research - Prevailing Party In Copyright Case Where defendants, having prevailed in a suit in which the plaintiffs asserted copyright infringement and...