Rhode Island Litigation Blog
What to do when a customer refuses to pay you
When you work for a small business, most of your customers will pay you for your services on time. Yet a small subset of your clientele will either delay payment or try evading it altogether. While their debts may seem insubstantial, they can have a significant effect...
Supreme Court case focuses on federal LGBTQ protections
Since 2013, the federal government has treated LGBTQ-related workplace discrimination as sex discrimination. However, some fear those protections could end after the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on Oct. 8 over the firings of gay men and a transgender woman. The...
Your Rights at Protests and Counter-Protests
These days, many people are interested in protesting. Yet it often seems as if the government would prefer citizens to express their grievances in a less disruptive way. Over the course of U.S. history, municipalities and police forces have tried many methods for...
R.I. Supreme Court Substantially Limits Scope of Expert Discovery
The Rhode Island Supreme Court has significantly limited the scope of expert discovery in Superior Court. Cashman Equipment Corp, Inc. v. Cardi Corp., Inc., No. 2014-284-M.P., slip op. (R.I. June 3, 2016). This case was a construction dispute in which the plaintiff...
R.I. Supreme Court Holds Defendant Forfeited Personal Jurisdiction Defense
The Rhode Island Supreme Court has held that a defendant forfeited his personal jurisdiction defense asserted in his answer by participating in extensive discovery and court-annexed arbitration before moving to dismiss on the eve of trial. Pullar v. Cappelli, No....
R.I. Superior Court denies tile supplier’s summary judgment motion
Superior Court Presiding Justice Gibney, who manages Rhode Island's state court asbestos docket, has issued a decision denying a summary judgment motion filed by an alleged supplier of floor and ceiling tiles to which plaintiff's decedent was exposed. Pisano v. Alfa...
Rhode Island Asbestos Litigation and Waiver or Forfeiture of a Personal Jurisdiction Defense
In a pair of recent decisions in two different cases, Presiding Justice Gibney of the Rhode Island Supreme Court has granted and denied motions to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction by the same asbestos defendant based on whether the defendant had forfeited its...
Rhode Island Federal District Court Addresses Whether Documents Must Be Produced in Native Format
In a wide-ranging memorandum and order on several discovery motions, Magistrate Judge Sullivan addressed, inter alia, whether parties in a commercial dispute must produce documents in their "native" electronic format in addition to the PDF form in which they were...
First Circuit Holds in Products Liability Case that Plaintiff’s Expert Need Not Test Alternative Design
The First Circuit Court of Appeal has held that Daubert does not require that an expert actually test an alternative design for a product before he can testify that it is safer than the defendant's design. Quilez-Velar v. Ox Bodies, Inc. 823 F.3d 712 (1st Cir. 2016)....
First Circuit Clarifies Standards of Proof for Sex Discrimination and Sexual Harassment Claims
The First Circuit Court of Appeals has issued a comprehensive opinion clarifying many legal issues in sex discrimination claims, including (1) whether a plaintiff can prove discrimination by circumstantial evidence alone; (2) whether a reduction of job...
