Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly articles from October 2006

Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly archives from October 2006

Sept. 11 attorney: 'I think we're making a difference'.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff No stranger to high-profile cases, attorney Donald Migliori was involved in both the asbestos litigation and the multi-billion-dollar settlement reached between multiple states and the tobacco...

Rhode Island Supreme Court Justice Robert G. Flanders waiting for nomination to appeals court.(Bruce M. Selya resigns)(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Last March, former Rhode Island Supreme Court Justice Robert G. Flanders Jr. got the news he had been recommended for the seat on the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that will be vacant once Bruce...

Kent County Courthouse fixes error in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. quote.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Following the fanfare and excitement of the new Kent County Courthouse opening, a Warwick Beacon reporter on a court tour noticed that a very small, yet important detail was overlooked upon...

Fired worker who had affair with boss fails in shot at suit.(Durelle DeMarkey sues Timothy Join)
October 2, 2006... Byline: Eric T. Berkman A woman whose supervisor fired her after they mutually ended a sexual relationship could not sue the supervisor for sexual harassment or sex discrimination, a special magistrate of the Superior Court has found. ...

Employee who succeeds on 'most' counts entitled to attorneys' fees.(Cady v. IMG Mortgage Co.)
October 2, 2006... Byline: Eric T. Berkman An employee who sued his corporate employers over a dispute under his employment agreement and prevailed on most, but not all counts, was entitled to attorneys' fees pursuant to the agreement, a Superior Court judge...

Supreme Court seeking amicus briefs.(Lynore Horn v. Southern Union Company)(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Supreme Court No. 06-217-M.P. Lynore Horn v. Southern Union Company, et al. AMENDED ORDER Pursuant to Rule 6 of the Rules of Appellate Procedure (RAP), the United States District...

Commissioner of Education Case Summaries: October 2, 2006.(Student H. Doe v. Cranston School Committee)(Gorman v. Jamestown School Committee)(Kinsey v. Providence School Board)
October 2, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Education Residency Where the boundary line between Providence and North Providence runs through the dwelling occupied by a family, the family is entitled, under G.L. Sect. 16-64-1, to...

State Ethics Commission Case Summaries: October 2, 2006.(right of petition)(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Conflict of interest Unopposed school committee candidate Where (1) the petitioner is an unopposed candidate for the Cumberland School Committee and (2) his spouse is an incumbent...

Superior Court Case Summaries: October 2, 2006.(Joint v. DeMarkey)(Cady v. IMC Mortgage Co.)
October 2, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys Fees - Prevailing party Where a jury returned a verdict in favor of a plaintiff in a dispute arising under an employment agreement, the plaintiff should be awarded counsel fees...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: October 2, 2006.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil rights Puerto Rico - Political discrimination Where plaintiffs filed suit challenging their dismissal from their jobs with Puerto Rico's Commercial Development Administration, an...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: October 2, 2006.(Gregory v. Grasso, et al)(Porter v. City of Providence Mayor)(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil practice Interpleader - Default Where a plaintiff has filed an interpleader action, a default judgment should enter against three of the defendants, as these defendants have not...

Workers' Compensation Court Case Summaries: October 2, 2006.(Thibeault v. Comprehensive Community Action, Inc)(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' compensation Fee request Where a trial judge rejected an injured employee's counsel fee request, the judge acted permissibly, as (1) the insurer had offered to pay the precise...

Providence attorney included in "The Best Lawyers in America".(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Sean O. Coffey, an attorney in the Providence office of Burns & Levinson, has been selected for inclusion in "The Best Lawyers in America" in the field of environmental law.

Commentary: Smaller firms shouldn't sell themselves short.
October 2, 2006... Byline: Edward Poll The real definition of marketing is simple: Identify the people most likely to hire you for the work you want to do, communicate with them to let them know who you are, and then develop close relationships with these...

Cold Case Files does profile on Rhode Island murderer.(A&E Television Networks aires "The Deadly Stroll" )(Brief article)
October 2, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Jeffrey Mailhot was on television again recently; thankfully, only as part of a historical retrospective. On Saturday, Sept. 23, A&E Network's Cold Case Files aired a profile on Mailhot -- the man...

Commentary: Dialed the wrong number?(Paul P. McKay convicted of crime due to misdialling on his cell phone)
October 9, 2006... Byline: David Yas Cell phones are either going to save the world or absolutely destroy us all. Yes, cell phones allow us to dial up friends from ski lifts and order boxes of Crunch 'N' Munch from Fenway Park box seats. But...

U.S. District Court judge rules town can regulate group's door-to-door solicitation activities.(Ernest C. Torres )
October 9, 2006... Byline: Noah Schaffer A town could require door-to-door solicitors to register in advance and to cease their activities by 7 p.m., a U.S. District Court judge has found. Arguing that its First Amendment rights were being violated, the...

1st Circuit rules 'late' judicial review by employer bars challenge of decision.(United States. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit)
October 9, 2006... Byline: Eric T. Berkman An employer that failed to seek timely judicial review of either an arbitrator's ruling or the arbitrator's subsequent "clarification" of the ruling could not later challenge enforcement of the ruling, the 1st U.S....

Providence County Superior Court jury returns $2.1M verdict for car crash victim.
October 9, 2006... Byline: Noah Schaffer On the eve of trial, plaintiff's lawyer Mark W. Dana of Providence received a $550,000 settlement offer on behalf of his client, a 42-year-old father of two whose leg was crushed in a pickup truck accident. Dana...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Rhode Island adopts interim rules.
October 9, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF RHODE ISLAND In re: ADOPTION OF AMENDED INTERIM BANKRUPTCY RULE 1007 AND INTERIM LOCAL RULES BANKRUPTCY GENERAL ORDER No. 06-004 ...

Rhode Island State Ethics Commission Case Summaries: October 9, 2006.(Brief article)
October 9, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Conflict of interest State employee - Carcieri for Governor Committee Where the petitioner is employed as Director of Municipal and External Affairs in the Office of the Governor, it is our...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: October 9, 2006.
October 9, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Arbitration Alteration of award - Forfeited challenge Where (1) a union filed suit in district court to enforce an Aug. 16, 2004 arbitration award and (2) the employer argued that the...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: October 9, 2006.
October 9, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil rights Statute of limitations - Certified question Where (1) the defendants in a suit filed under the Rhode Island Civil Rights Act have moved for summary judgment on limitations...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: October 9, 2006.
October 9, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil practice Discovery order noncompliance - Dismissal Where a prisoner, who filed a complaint against a number of corrections employees, has failed to comply with discovery requests and...

Rhode Island Lawyers in the News: October 9, 2006.(David C. Morganelli joins Partridge, Snow and Hahn)(Mark Iacono joins Correira and Associates)(John E. Bulman from Little, Medeiros, Kinder, Bulman and Whitney is honored)(Brief article)
October 9, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff David C. Morganelli has joined Partridge, Snow & Hahn in Providence as of counsel. Mark Iacono has joined Correira and Associates in Providence as a senior associate. He focuses his practice on...

Honors.(Jorge Elorza from Roger Williams University School of Law is honored)(John E. Bulman from Little, Medeiros, Kinder, Bulman and Whitney is honored)(Brief article)
October 9, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Roger Williams University School of Law Professor Jorge Elorza has been presented the "Beyond the Call of Duty Award" by the Childhood Lead Action Project for his efforts on behalf of the children...

Commentary: Is everybody in your law office on the team?(Column)
October 9, 2006... Byline: Edward Poll I firmly believe that running a law firm in a businesslike way improves the professionalism of the practice of law. A law firm run as a business will approach client service more efficiently -- returning phone calls...

Commentary: Courts weigh in on Coach purses, Freedom Fries and printer cartridges.(International Stamp Art Inc. v. United States. Postal Service)(ConAgra Inc. v. Unitherm Food Systems Inc.)
October 9, 2006... Byline: Kirk Teska It can be a hectic time in a trial after the close of evidence and then again after a jury verdict. Still, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a patent and antitrust case, recently reiterated the importance of the federal rules...

Commentary: With humor and bite, fictional 'Anonymous Lawyer' is real deal.(Book review)
October 9, 2006... Byline: Gerald M. Moody "Anonymous Lawyer" By Jeremy Blachman Henry Holt & Co., 2006 288 pages; $25 I am a lawyer. I enjoy practicing law, and I enjoy other lawyers. However, I am not usually interested in books by or...

R.I. Human Rights Commission rules denial of coaching job is violation of disability laws.
October 16, 2006... Byline: Eric T. Berkman A school committee that denied a part-time softball coach's position to a district employee because he refused to undergo a pre-employment physical violated state and federal disability law, the Rhode Island Human...

Recent decision illustrates confusion in new bankruptcy law in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in R.I.(Rhode Island )(Law overview)
October 16, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Attorneys call a recent decision out of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Rhode Island an example of how judges have to grapple with confusing and seemingly contradictory language found in the revamped...

Development in North Smithfield can proceed despite 'late' start date.(Michael A. Silverstein ruled against Becker, et al. v. Joyal, et al.)
October 16, 2006... Byline: Noah Schaffer A real-estate development can proceed despite the fact that construction did not commence within 18 months of a special use permit being issued, a Superior Court judge has decided. The plaintiffs, who were...

R.I. Human Rights Commission Case Summaries: October 16, 2006.
October 16, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Employment Disability - Unlawful employment query - Medical examination Where a complainant was denied a coaching position because he declined to undergo an unlawful medical examination...

R.I. Superior Court Case Summaries: October 16, 2006.
October 16, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Administrative Fine - Sewer authority Where the defendant Warwick Sewer Authority fined a plaintiff $314,581.28, a remand is necessary because there is no evidence in the record as to what...

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Case Summaries: October 16, 2006.
October 16, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Bankruptcy Homestead - Simultaneous filing Where a Chapter 7 Trustee has objected to a declaration of homestead that was filed simultaneously with the debtor's bankruptcy petition, the...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: October 16, 2006.
October 16, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Insurance Mutual mistake - Vehicle lease Where an insurance company, which settled a civil suit for $5 million on behalf of its policyholder which had leased a vehicle involved in an...

U.S. Magistrate Judges Case Summaries: October 16, 2006.
October 16, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Prisons Retaliation - Transfer Where a plaintiff has filed suit charging the defendant Rhode Island prison officials with retaliating against him for exercising his First Amendment rights,...

R.I. Workers' Compensation Court Case Summaries: October 16, 2006.(Rhode Island)(Seale v. Oakland Grove Health Center )(Brief article)
October 16, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Workers' compensation Extent of injuries - Duration of incapacity Where an employee has appealed a judge's decision which granted her partial disability benefits for the period of Nov. 13,...

How to ...(manage office parties)
October 16, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff End-of-the-year holidays are a festive time. Many law firms host a party to celebrate the season, reward employees for another year's hard work and set the stage for what they hope will be a...

Coach's Corner.
October 16, 2006... Byline: Edward Poll Purchasing new computers and software, or even subscribing to a database research service, can have a significant return on investment. Many larger law firms establish formal budgets for their technology purchases....

Lacking depth, Patterson's latest still thrills.(Judge and Jury by James Patterson)(Book review)
October 16, 2006... Byline: Matt Harper-Nixon "Judge and Jury"By James PattersonLittle Brown & Co.419 pages; $27.99 James Patterson's "Judge and Jury" is another entry into the category of crime thrillers. While it is a failure as a serious examination...

Greenville attorney has chance to see 1899 Rhode Island bar exam.(F. Monroe Allen)
October 23, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Ask most lawyers and they would probably say they never want to see another bar exam again. But even the most shell-shocked attorney might admit that a 107-year-old exam from Rhode Island...

Golf is life-long passion for Providence atty. Mark Iacono.(Correira and Associates)
October 23, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff A lot of lawyers play golf -- but maybe not as much (or as well) as Providence attorney Mark Iacono. But his love for the links doesn't necessarily mean he's not getting any work done, as the...

Coming Attractions: Legal ramifications of RI's same-sex couples.(Rhode Island )(Brief article)
October 23, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff "Legal ramifications for Rhode Island's same-sex couples who legally marry" Sponsor: RIBA's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Committee Monday, Nov. 20, 4 - 5 p.m. RIBA, 115...

Compensatory damages reduction was in error.(Bisbal-Ramos v. City of Mayaguez)(employment termination case)(Case overview)
October 23, 2006... Byline: David E. Frank A federal trial judge committed error by reducing a jury award of compensatory damages where the plaintiff in the case was not given the opportunity either to accept the lowered amount or request a new trial, the 1st...

1st Circuit finds drug dealer's 60-month sentence improper.
October 23, 2006... Byline: Eric T. Berkman A man convicted on federal drug charges should have received a mandatory minimum 10-year sentence where the lower court judge found, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the defendant's offense involved more...

Gay marriage advocates encouraged by Mass. case.
October 23, 2006... Byline: Barbara Rabinovitz The recent marriage of two Rhode Island women in Massachusetts is prompting questions about whether the Ocean State might follow its neighbor's lead in permitting gay marriage by way of a court ruling. But...

Clarification.(Correction notice)
October 23, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Last week's page 1 story, "Development can proceed despite 'late' start date," should have noted that defendant Bucci Development Inc. (in Becker, et al. v. Joyal, et al.) was represented by...

2006-2007 hearing dates issued by court.
October 23, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff SUPREME COURT HEARING DATES 2006-2007 Term September 25 and 26 October 3, 4, 10, 30 & 31 November 1, 8, and 9 December 4, 5, 11, 12, and 13 January 29 and 30February 27...

State Ethics Commission Case Summaries: October 23, 2006.
October 23, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Conflict of interest Zoning board - Counsel Where the petitioner, a member of the Smithfield zoning board, is represented by an attorney in an ongoing matter in Superior Court, the...

Superior Court Case Summaries: October 23, 2006.
October 23, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Jury and jurors Questionnaires - Media access Where a newspaper has petitioned for access to questionnaires filled out by the jury venire in a criminal proceeding arising out of a deadly...

1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Case Summaries: October 23, 2006.
October 23, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Criminal Mandatory minimum sentence - Amount of cocaine Where a defendant was convicted of drug offenses, he should have been given a mandatory minimum 10-year sentence based on the...

U.S. District Court Case Summaries: October 23, 2006.
October 23, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Retirement ERISA - Disability Where a plaintiff alleges that the defendant insurance company violated ERISA by denying her application for long-term disability benefits, the defendant must...

Commentary: Continuing training, education essential for attorneys.
October 23, 2006... Byline: Edward Poll Quite some time ago, I saw a statistic showing that plumbers get more training than lawyers do. They purportedly must receive 40 hours per year in order to keep their licenses. Training related to job skill is, in...

Judicial conferences announced by Rhode Island Supreme Court.
October 30, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff SUPREME COURT No. 2006-06 EXECUTIVE ORDER Pursuant to the authority granted to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court under Section 8-15-2 of the General Laws of the State of Rhode...

R.I. Supreme Court Case Summaries: October 30, 2006.(Rhode Island)
October 30, 2006... Byline: Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly Staff Civil practice Dismissal - Appeal Where (1) this court rejected a defendant insurance company's appeal and (2) a Superior Court judge later allowed the insurance company's request for...

Commentary: Make sure you can defend your fee structure.(Column)
October 30, 2006... Byline: Edward Poll Recently, a regular reader of this column called me. He has an estate planning practice and offers flat fees that are non-refundable. In one instance, a client requested an estate plan; he completed the documents and...