The First Circuit has affirmed the dismissal of Section 1981 claims by a Kmart customer who alleged that a store clerk had made racial comments during a layaway transaction but failed to allege the comments interfered with or harmed the transaction. Plaintiff, an...
Firm News
Federal Court Holds Corporate Dissolution Statute of Repose Does Not Apply to Corporation That Kept Doing Business After Corporate Certificate Was Revoked
Rhode Island's federal District Court has held that the statute of repose that bars claims brought against a corporation more than two years after it is dissolved does not apply to a corporation that continued to do business after its certificate of incorporation was...
First Circuit Affirms Dismissal of 93A Claim for Lack of Plausible Causation Allegation
The First Circuit has affirmed the dismissal of 93A claims against doctors, a clinic and the publisher of a case report the doctors wrote. Plaintiffs alleged that the case report fraudulently misstated the facts of a childbirth, that the case report was introduced as...
Bankruptcy Appellate Panel Upholds Conversion of Chap. 13 Case Based on Bad Faith
The Bankruptcy Appellate Panel for the First Circuit has upheld a bankruptcy court's decision to convert a Chapter 13 case to a Chapter 7 case based on the debtor's bad faith in failing to disclose two pending personal injury claims. The debtor is a licensed attorney....
Superior Court Remands Zoning Board Decision Because Member Was Biased
The Superior Court has determined that a zoning board violated the Due Process Clause because one of its members who cast the deciding vote had determined how he was going to vote before the hearing and he was business partners with one of the remonstrants. Appellant...
Asbestos-Superior Court Denies Motion for Reconsideration Based on “Bare Metal” Defense
In the latest ruling in a fiercely-litigated asbestos case, the Superior Court has issued a decision denying Crane Co.'s motion for reconsideration of its summary judgment motion based on its "bare metal" defense. The "bare metal" defense is one in which the defendant...
Federal Court Finds Plaintiffs’ Motion to Compel Production of ESI Fails Rule 26 Proportionality Test
Rhode Island's federal district court has held that plaintiffs have failed to meet the "proportionality" test included in Rule 26 to compel defendants to search backup tapes for emails they may contain. The court said the relatively high cost of the search compared to...
Superior Court Denies Motion for Stay Pending Cert Petition
The Superior Court has denied defendant's motion to stay the case while it petitions the Supreme Court to issue a writ of certiorari. Defendant requested the stay while it sought Supreme Court review of the Superior Court's decision vacating a dismissal for lack of...
First Circuit Holds That Municipal Ordinances Prohibiting Tobacco Discount Coupons And Restricting Sale Of Flavored Tobacco Products Do Not Violate First Amendment And Are Not Preempted
The First Circuit has held that two ordinances promulgated by the City of Providence regulating the sales of tobacco products do not violate the First Amendment and are not preempted by federal or state laws. One ordinance restricts the City's tobacco retailers from...
Receipt of Royalty Payments In Rhode Island Not Sufficient For Personal Jurisdiction
The federal district court has accepted a magistrate judge's recommendation that a complaint alleging tortious interference with contract and advantageous business relations be dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction where plaintiff could not establish either...