The Superior Court has denied Crane Co.'s summary judgment motion with respect to most claims holding that there are issues of fact as to whether it should be liable for asbestos exposure from replacement gaskets and packing made by other companies but installed in...
Firm News
Personal Injury, Unsworn Statement Insufficient to Defeat Partial Summary Judgment, Duty to Inspect
The federal district court has held that unsworn witness statements are insufficient to defeat a motion for summary judgment. However, an affidavit signed by a witness swearing to the truth of the statements contained in his statement was sufficient. Based on the...
Finance Agreement Gives Maine Court Jurisdiction Over S.C Construction Company
The First Circuit has held the Maine federal district court has specific personal jurisdiction over a South Carolina construction company that purchased supplies from another South Carolina company when the purchases were financed by a Maine company. The Maine...
Superior Court Allows Media to Intervene to Get Access to Documents Covered By Confidentiality Order
In a case that raises several issues of first impression in Rhode Island, the Superior Court has allowed several Media Entities-the Associated Press, the Providence Journal, the New York Times and the National Catholic Reporter-to intervene in a civil lawsuit to seek...
Law School, ABA Task Force of the Future of Legal Education
On February 27, 2013, our partner Tom Lyons was interviewed on WPRI's "Executive Suite" about law schools and the ABA Task Force on the Future of Legal Education. A link to the show's tape is below. Tom's segment starts about 15 minutes into the tape. The first...
Collections-award of costs under Fair Debt Collections Practices Act
The Supreme Court has held that a federal district court can award costs to a prevailing defendant that was sued for alleged violations of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act even if the district court does not find plaintiff sued in bad faith. The Court said...
Asbestos-Superior Court denies motions to dismiss filed by customers of boat builder
The Superior Court has denied motions to dismiss asbestos claims made against six customers of a commercial boat builder where plaintiff's decedent worked. Plaintiff argued the customers could be liable for failing to warn the plaintiff of the dangers of asbestos...
Checks-statute of limitations for conversion
Chief Judge Lisi of Rhode Island federal district court has held under Rhode Island law that neither the "discovery rule" nor the doctrine of "continuing tort" applies to stay or extend the three year statute of limitations for conversion of negotiable instruments. ...
Asbestos-government contractor removal, denial of remand
The federal district court of Rhode Island has denied a motion to remand an asbestos case that was removed based on the "government contractor" defense. The court said removal was proper when the "defendant identifies facts which, viewed in the light most favorable...
Commercial litigation-projections are not actionable representations
The Superior Court has granted summary judgment for a commercial creditor that funded the creation of a medical imaging center. The court held that various projections in a business plan prepared by the creditor for the defendants did not constitute actionable...