Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly articles from November 2005

Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly archives from November 2005

Joint venture is first-ever for Defense Counsel of RI, RI Trial Lawyers Assn.(Rhode Island Trial Lawyers Association and the Defense Counsel of Rhode Island)
November 7, 2005... Byline: Tony Wright Every day in Rhode Island courtrooms, fiercely fought battles pit plaintiffs' lawyers against defense attorneys. But outside the courtroom, Rhode Island attorneys say it's important to foster relationships between...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: November 7, 2005.(Feddersen v. Garvey)(copyright infringement)(bankruptcy)
November 7, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Legal malpractice - New Hampshire law - Discovery rule Where the defendants, an attorney and law firm, have been awarded summary judgment in a legal malpractice suit, the judgment...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: November 7, 2005.
November 7, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil practice Dismissal of complaint - Venue Where a U.S. magistrate judge has recommended that the plaintiff's complaint be dismissed, I find that the magistrate judge's recommendation...

R.I. Supreme Court Case Summaries: November 7, 2005.
November 7, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Probation violation - Continuance request Where a defendant has challenged a probation violation finding, we hold that the challenge must fail because the judge (1) acted...

Superior Court Case Summaries: November 7, 2005.(Coventry Fire District v. Rhode Island State Labor Relations Board)
November 7, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Labor Unfair labor practice Where the State Labor Relations Board dismissed the Coventry Fire District's charge alleging that a union committed an unfair labor practice when it refused to...

Human Rights Commission Case Summaries: November 7, 2005.(Martin v. Cardinal Enterprises, Inc)
November 7, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment Sexual harassment - Constructive discharge Where a complainant employee quit her job because of sexual harassment, the respondents should be held liable under G.L. Sect. 28-5-7...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: November 7, 2005.
November 7, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil practice Affidavit - Timeliness Where a plaintiff has submitted an untimely expert's affidavit, it should be struck from consideration at the summary judgment stage of the present...

U.S. magistrate judge rules UPS driver's bias claims not barred by federal law.(United Parcel Service)(Izzi v. United Parcel Service, Inc.,)
November 14, 2005... Byline: Tony Wright A UPS driver diagnosed with diabetes could maintain state law discrimination claims against his employer even where a collective bargaining agreement subject to federal law was involved, a U.S. magistrate judge has...

R.I. Superior Court rules new med-mal trail should be ordered after discovery errors by M.D.(Rhode Island)(Manning v. Bellafiore)
November 14, 2005... Byline: David E. Frank In a hotly contested medical-malpractice case, a new trial should be ordered where a neurologist failed to fully comply with discovery requirements and a defense verdict was against the fair preponderance of the...

Providence lawyer reunites father with abducted son.(Stephen M. Prignano)
November 14, 2005... Byline: Ariana L. Johnson In the first case of its kind to be litigated in Rhode Island, a Providence attorney successfully utilized an international treaty to reunite a father and his abducted son. The plaintiff in the case was a U.S....

U.S. Supreme Court Case Summaries: November 14, 2005.
November 14, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment Pay - Food processing workers Food processing workers must be paid for the time spent walking between changing and production areas, but not for the time spent waiting to...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: November 14, 2005.
November 14, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Admiralty Sinking of vessel - City's liability Where a jury awarded a vessel owner more than $200,000, the award should be affirmed based on evidence supporting the jury's finding that the...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: November 14, 2005.
November 14, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil practice Magistrate judge's report and recommendation Where the plaintiff and the defendant both object to a U.S. magistrate judge's recommendation and report, the objections must be...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: November 14, 2005.
November 14, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Lien - Avoidance Where a debtor moved to avoid a judicial lien, the motion was correctly denied on the ground that the debtor had satisfied the lien at the time he filed the...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: November 14, 2005.
November 14, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil practice Discovery - Settlement agreement - Confidentiality Where a plaintiff, having reached a settlement agreement with a defendant insurer, now requests a protective order with...

R.I. Superior Court Case Summaries: November 14, 2005.
November 14, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Breach allegation Where a plaintiff company has filed a breach of contract suit against a defendant corporation, I conclude that judgment must enter for the defendant in light of...

R.I Workers' Compensation Court Case Summaries: November 14, 2005.
November 14, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' compensation Total incapacity Where a trial judge found a plaintiff entitled to total incapacity benefits, we find the judge's decision supported by evidence that the plaintiff...

Law firms under more pressure to diversify staff.
November 21, 2005... Byline: Natalie White A year after renewed diversity demands by general counsel from around the country, more law firms appear to be taking notice, taking stock and taking action. While it's too early to tell if recent movements such...

R.I. Family Court establishes Family Treatment Drug Court.(Rhode Island)
November 21, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Rhode Island Family Court Administrative Order 2005 - 02 Establishment of the Rhode Island Family Treatment Drug Court in the Counties Pursuant to Rhode Island General Laws...

U.S. Supreme Court Case Summaries: November 21, 2005.(Schaffer v. Weast)(Maryland v. Blake)(Brief Article)
November 21, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Education IEP - Parents' burden The parents of a disabled child bear the burden of proof when they challenge a school's Individualized Education Program for their child. Schaffer v....

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: November 21, 2005.(United States v. Mercedes)(Arturet-Velez v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company)
November 21, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Automatic stay - Foreclosure Where an appellee realty corporation foreclosed on the appellants' house while their Chapter 13 petition dismissal was on appeal, this did not...

State Ethics Commission Case Summaries: November 21, 2005.
November 21, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Conflict of interest Planning board member - Affordable housing Where the petitioner is (1) a member of the Hopkinton Planning Board and (2) a member and chairman of the board of trustees...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: November 21, 2005.(Gray, et al. v. Derderian)
November 21, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Insurance Inspections - Fire Where the plaintiffs, victims of a nightclub fire, have filed suit alleging negligent inspections by the defendant insurance company and two codefendant...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: November 21, 2005.(United States v. Lombardi)(Rollins v. State)(Addison v. Barnhart)
November 21, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Supervised release - Restitution Where a defendant has violated the terms of his supervised release by not providing financial statements to the U.S. Probation Office and by...

R.I. Supreme Court Case Summaries: November 21, 2005.
November 21, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Appeal to State Housing Appeals Board - Standing Where the State Housing Appeals Board dismissed, for lack of standing, a plaintiff's appeal of a zoning board decision...

Superior Court Case Summaries: November 21, 2005.
November 21, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Labor Family home day-care providers Where the State Labor Relations Board has ruled that 1,300 family home day-care providers are state employees and has ordered that an election be held...

Commissioner of Education Case Summaries: November 21, 2005.
November 21, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Education Therapy - Home services Where a due process hearing has been scheduled concerning a request for speech/language therapy and occupational therapy, an interim order requiring the...

U.S. District Court judge rules victims' suit against fire marshal, state not allowed.(Gray v. Derderian)
November 28, 2005... Byline: Ariana L. Johnson Victims of the 2003 Station nightclub fire could not sue the State of Rhode Island and its fire marshal for alleged negligence in enforcing fire codes and other safety regulations, where the complaint contained no...

1st Circuit rules claim by fired workers on FMLA leave is barred.(Family and Medical Leave Act)(Colburn v. Parker Hannifin/Nichols Portland Division)
November 28, 2005... Byline: Tony Wright A machine operator terminated from his job while on FMLA leave could not maintain a retaliation suit against his employer where he did not show a pretextual reason for the firing, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals...

Interview with attorney representing R.I. Subcontractors Assn. about Mechanic's Lien Law.(Interview)
November 28, 2005... Byline: Ariana Johnson Thanks to a Senate advisory panel chaired by Providence attorney Girard R. Visconti, the oft-criticized Mechanic's Lien Law may finally undergo a much-needed overhaul. Appointed at the request of Senate President...

Rhode Island Lawyers in the News: November 28, 2005.
November 28, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Honors E. Jerome Batty, Stephen J. Carlotti, Neil F. Castaldo, Michael J. Connolly, Margaret D. Farrell, Robert G. Flanders Jr., William R. Grimm, Richard L.E. Jocelyn, Gerald J. Petros, David...

Rhode Island Family Court establishes Permanency Hearings for wayward/delinquent cases.(Department of Children, Youth and Families)(Brief Article)
November 28, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff RHODE ISLAND FAMILY COURT ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 2005-03 RE: PERMANENCY HEARINGS FOR WAYWARD/DELINQUENT CASES In accordance with R.I.G.Laws 40-11.12.1 et al., in all...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: November 28, 2005.(The Mercy Hospital Inc. v. Massachusetts Nurses Association)(United States v. Isler)(United States v. Fox)
November 28, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Reinstatement - Public policy - Nurse Where an arbitrator ordered the reinstatement of a nurse, that order was properly confirmed in U.S. District Court, as the employer failed...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: November 28, 2005.(Gray v. Derderian)
November 28, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Negligence Nightclub fire - State fire marshal - Town defendants Where the plaintiff victims of a nightclub fire seek to hold the defendant state and codefendant fire marshal liable for...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: November 28, 2005.(United States v. O'Malley )(Brief Article)
November 28, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Supervised release Where a defendant has violated the terms of his supervised release by using marijuana, gambling, failing to submit a monthly report, leaving his employment...

Rhode Island Superior Court Case Summaries: November 28, 2005.(Spicuzza v. Pare)(Alden v. Quintel)(Nogueira v. Tiverton Zoning Board of Review )
November 28, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative State Police Academy - Injury to recruit - Pension Where a plaintiff was injured while a recruit at the State Police Academy, he is entitled to a disability pension but not...

R.I. Workers' Compensation Court Case Summaries: November 28, 2005.(Gorman v. New Durham Steel )(Brief Article)
November 28, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' compensation Partial incapacity Where an administrative judge found that a defendant steel subcontractor was the plaintiff's employer and that the plaintiff had suffered a...

R.I. State Ethics Commission Case Summaries: November 28, 2005.(Re: Thibaudeau, Charles A., Jr.)(Re: Fontaine, David A.)(Re: DiOrio, Alfred W.)
November 28, 2005... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Conflict of interest Planning board member - Property adjacent to that of in-law Where the petitioner is a member of the Warren Planning Board, it is our opinion that he is prohibited by...