Among the advantages to using a non-retained expert in commercial litigation are three that are particularly worth mentioning: the client will not have to pay the fees and expenses of an outside expert (which can be substantial, in some cases); the in-house expert may...
Firm News
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 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...
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...
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...
Strauss Factor Obtains Summary Judgment for Gun Owner on Due Process Grounds
In a suit we brought as cooperating attorneys for the Rhode Island affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, Strauss Factor has obtained summary judgment for the owner of firearms seized by a local police department because the defendants failed to provide the...
Debtor May Not Discharge Fraudulent Conveyance Liability in Bankruptcy
Resolving a split among the lower courts, the United States Supreme Court has held that a provision of the Bankruptcy Code that prohibits debtors from discharging debts "obtained by...false pretenses, a false representation, or actual fraud," can include transactions...