The Rhode Island Supreme Court has held an attorney is entitled to collect a contingency fee under a contract with his client when he has "substantially performed" his duties and only "minor and relatively unimportant" matters remain at the time the client discharges...
Firm News
Collections-federal court adopts “continuous violation” theory for FDCPA violation
The Rhode Island federal district court has adopted the "continuous violation" theory to find that an entire alleged series of phone calls falls within the 1 year statute of limtations under the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act to make a claim that such calls...
Collections-federal court says collections claim governed by R.I. statute of limitations
The federal district court of Rhode Island has dismissed Fair Debt Collection Practices Act claims against a law firm holding that the Rhode Island 10 year statute of limitations applied to debt claims filed in Rhode Island under an "interest-weighting" approach. The...
The Future of Legal Education
Our partner Tom Lyons has been named to the American Bar Association's Task Force on the Future of Legal Education. The Task Force held a hearing and meeting during the ABA's recent mid-year meeting in Dallas. Here is a link to a New York Times article about the...
Personal Jurisdiction over out-of-state law firm
The federal district court in Rhode Island has found a Texas law firm subject to personal jurisdiction in Rhode Island where it agreed to represent a Rhode Island resident on Federal Tort Claims Act claims against the Veteran's Administration arising from alleged...
Spoliation-Superior Court excludes expert as sanction
The Superior Court has barred a defendant in a motor vehicle accident case from presenting the testimony of its accident reconstruction expert because of the defendant's spoliation of evidence. If the sanction is upheld on appeal it will be the first time a Rhode...
Subrogation-The R.I. Supreme Court rejects application of “anti-subrogation” rule
The Rhode Island Supreme Court rejected the application of the "anti-subrogation" rule where Nationwide, the insurer of a home, brought a subrogation claim against D.F. Pepper Construction, a corporation owned by the homeowner. Pepper, the homeowner, was operating a...
