Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly articles from October 2004

Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly archives from October 2004

Rhode Island Supreme Court Year In Review: October 4, 2004.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff This is the second of a three-part series reviewing Rhode Island Supreme Court decisions issued between Sept. 1, 2003 and Aug. 31, 2004. Application For Post-Conviction Relief - Immigration...

Rhode Island Superior Court Case Summaries: October 4, 2004.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Zoning Perimeter Buffer - Subdivision Where a zoning board has instructed a planning commission to approve a residential subdivision project subject to certain conditions, a remand must be...

Rhode Island lawyer Richard A. Skolnik dies at 69.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Richard A. Skolnik, a lawyer who specialized in labor issues and taught labor law at Rhode Island College in Providence, died at the age of 69. Skolnik was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. He attended...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: October 4, 2004.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Sentencing - 'Aggravated Felony' Where (1) the defendant was convicted of simple assault in New Hampshire state court for punching a man in the face and sentenced to 12 months of...

Commentary: Where is your estate planning practice heading?
October 4, 2004... Byline: Ralph A. Gigliotti "The only constant is change," wrote Greek philosopher Heraclitus. That expression accurately describes the business environment for tax professionals who know the rigorous effort required to keep abreast of the...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: October 4, 2004.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Jurisdiction Diversity - 'Amount In Controversy' Threshold Where (1) a Rhode Island plaintiff sued a Massachusetts defendant in Rhode Island Superior Court seeking a declaratory judgment...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Court Case Summaries: October 4, 2004.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Dismissal - Abandonment Of Suit Where a defendant seeks to have a plaintiff's complaint dismissed with prejudice, that request should be denied as too harsh a penalty for...

Rhode Island Workers' Compensation Court Case Summaries: October 4, 2004.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' Compensation Specific Compensation - Loss Of Use Where an employee (1) was awarded specific compensation for a 2 percent loss of use to his right upper extremity and (2) later...

U.S. magistrate judge rules plaintiff may still sue after missed court date.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Tony Wright A pro se plaintiff's failure to attend a pretrial conference should not warrant a dismissal of his complaint with prejudice even when the plaintiff left the country before receiving a decision on his motion for...

U.S. District Court judge rules R.I. 'low-value' case won't be removed to U.S. District Court.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Jason M. Scally A salesperson sued in state court by his former employer could not use the value of his counterclaims to meet the "amount in controversy" required to remove the case to federal court, a U.S. District Court judge has...

Rhode Island attorney Victoria M. Almeida is elected vice chair of R.I. Services Council.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Victoria M. Almeida, a partner in the litigation and health care practice group at Adler, Pollock & Sheehan, was elected vice chair of the Rhode Island Health Services Council, which serves as the...

Rhode Island Supreme Court Year In Review: October 11, 2004.
October 11, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff This is the third of a three-part series reviewing the Rhode Island Supreme Court decisions issued between Sept. 1, 2003 and Aug. 31, 2004. This part of the series looks at the decisions of the...

Rhode Island State Ethics Commission Court Case Summary: October 11, 2004.
October 11, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Conflict Of Interest Water Resources Board - Director Of Water Administration's Designeee Where a petitioner is currently sitting on the Rhode Island Water Resources Board as the designee...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: October 11, 2004.
October 11, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Constitutional First Amendment - Puerto Rico Regulation Where (1) a plaintiff nonprofit association and several coplaintiff private schools filed a complaint alleging that a regulation of...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Court Case Summaries: October 11, 2004.
October 11, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Rights Suit Against Special Magistrate - Judicial Immunity Where a plaintiff has filed a number of civil rights claims against a defendant Superior Court special magistrate, I find...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: October 11, 2004.
October 11, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Usury - State RICO Violation Where evidence indicates that an appellant estate executor and co-appellant estate residuary beneficiary charged more than 21 percent interest on a...

U.S.magistrate judge rules state magistrate judge can't be sued for conspiracy.
October 11, 2004... Byline: Tony Wright A former criminal defendant could not bring a suit against a state magistrate judge who presided over his bail and probation violation hearings, even where he alleged a conspiracy, a U.S. magistrate judge has...

U.S. District Court judge rules executor and beneficiary are liable for 'bad' loan.
October 11, 2004... Byline: Jason M. Scally An executor and beneficiary of a decedent's estate may be held individually liable for usury and RICO violations by a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge where they charged more than 21 percent interest on a loan from the...

Rhode Island Superior Court Case Summaries: October 11, 2004.
October 11, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Counsel Fees - Former Ethics Commission Members Where plaintiff former members of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission prevailed in a suit in which they sought to recover money...

Workers' Compensation Court Case Summaries: October 11, 2004.
October 11, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' Compensation Back And Hip Complaints - Causation Where a trial judge denied an employee workers' compensation benefits for back and hip problems, the judge acted permissibly based...

Rhode Island academic-turned-litigator joins supreme court.
October 18, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Born: Jan. 30, 1940; Providence Education: Boston College Law School, 1975; University of Connecticut, Ph.D., 1971; University of Rhode Island, M.A., 1966; University of Louvain, Belgium, B.A.,...

Commentary: Effective use of damages experts in business and real state litigation.
October 18, 2004... Byline: Karl J. Schulze Business litigation today rarely progresses without the use of a variety of experts, whether as a proactive or reactive measure. Categories of experts include those who possess specialized technical knowledge...

Commentary: The lawyering profession is not all about the money.
October 18, 2004... Byline: David Yas Actor Tom Cruise, in his first meaningful dramatic role as a leading man (and by "meaningful," I mean "one where he did not co-star with Shelly Long") played confused college-bound youth Joel Goodsen in "Risky Business."...

R.I. Superior Court judge barrs auto buyer from class-action lawsuit.
October 18, 2004... Byline: Jason M. Scally A consumer could not bring a class-action lawsuit against a manufacturer that failed to install security systems in trucks as advertised, a Superior Court judge has ruled. The consumer sought to certify both a...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Court Case Summary: October 18, 2004.
October 18, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Habeas Corpus Second Petition - 1st Circuit Authorization Where a petitioner convicted of sexual molestation has filed a second petition for habeas corpus relief, the petition must be...

U.S. District Court judge decides Rhode Island police cannot search lobby without a warrant.
October 18, 2004... Byline: John O. Cunningham A criminal defendant should be entitled to suppress tangible evidence and incriminating statements obtained by police as a result of a warrantless entry into the common area of his apartment building, a U.S....

Rhode Island Superior Court Case Summaries: October 18, 2004.
October 18, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil Practice Class Certification - Deceptive Trade Practices Act Where a plaintiff (1) has filed suit under the Rhode Island Deceptive Practices Act after finding that a truck he...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: October 18, 2004.
October 18, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Constitutional Free Speech - Abortion - 'Buffer Zone' Where plaintiffs filed suit challenging a Massachusetts statute regulating speech and activities within a buffer zone around health...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: October 18, 2004.
October 18, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Jurisdiction Removal - Employment Discrimination Where (1) a plaintiff filed an employment discrimination suit in Superior Court and (2) after amending her complaint so as to substitute...

R.I. Human Right Commission awards woman $75K in sex-bias suit.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Lisa K. Bruno An employee who was terminated after she stopped having sexual relations with her supervisor should be entitled to back wages and $75,000 in pain and suffering damages from the supervisor and her employer, the Rhode...

Rhode Island judge approves fraud suit against trustees and other shareholders.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Jason M. Scally A shareholder in a business trust could sue the trustees and other shareholders individually for the actions they took in reducing the value of her shares after she left the business, a Superior Court judge has...

R.I. Superior Court rules insurance company liable despite policy lapse.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Tony Wright An insurance company should be required to provide coverage on property damaged by fire -- even though the policy had lapsed -- when it failed to give the property owner notice of the cancellation, a Superior Court...

Human Rights Commission Court Case Summaries: October 25, 2004.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment Sexual Discrimination - Termination - Harassment - Pain And Suffering Where a complainant was subjected to sexual harassment and was terminated because of her gender, the...

Rhode Island Superior Court Case Summaries: October 25, 2004.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Contract Employee Leasing - Workers' Compensation Where a plaintiff, which had a contract with a defendant employee leasing company, seeks to hold the defendant liable for not obtaining...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: October 25, 2004.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Automatic Stay - Complaints In State Forums Where postpetition complaints were lodged against a Chapter 13 debtor in Massachusetts Superior Court and with the Massachusetts...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: October 25, 2004.
October 25, 2004... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Habeas Corpus Successive Petition - 1st Circuit Permission Where a petitioner has moved to reopen his recently dismissed 28 U.S.C. Sect. 2255 petition, the request must be denied in light...