The Superior Court has dismissed without prejudice a shareholder derivative suit on the grounds that it failed to allege with sufficient particularity that making a pre-suit demand of the board of directors would be futile. The Court also said plaintiff failed to...
Firm News
Asbestos-Superior Court Holds Valve Manufacturer Subject To Jurisdictional Discovery
The Superior Court has held that an asbestos plaintiff who admits she cannot demonstrate general personal jurisdiction over the defendant is entitled to conduct jurisdictional discovery to determine whether there are sufficient facts to establish specific personal...
Superior Court Mostly Denies Motions to Dismiss By 38 Studios Defendants
In a far-ranging and lengthy decision (almost 100 pages), the Superior Court has mostly denied defendants' motions to dismiss the claims against them arising from the guarantees given by the State of Rhode Island for $75 million of bonds issued to finance the...
First Circuit Upholds Finding of Jurisdiction over the Republic of Ukraine Under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act
The First Circuit has upheld a finding by the Massachusetts federal district court that it may assert jurisdiction over the Republic of Ukraine under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act ("FSIA") where the Republic engaged in activity of a commercial nature that had a...
First Circuit Holds That Property Owner Impliedly Consented to Defendants’ Trespass On Its Property
The First Circuit upheld a finding in a bankruptcy adversary proceeding that plaintiff property owners had impliedly consented to a trespass on their property by defendants. However, the Court remanded for a determination of whether the implied consent gave rise to an...
First Circuit Holds Bankruptcy Debtor May Be Subject To Fraud Discharge Exception Through Agency
The First Circuit has held that a bankruptcy debtor may be subject through agency to a discharge exception for money procured through a materially false financial statement. 11 U.S.C. 523(a)(2)(B). Further, the Circuit Court said that reckless indifference to the...
Federal Magistrate Judge Applies Wilton/Brillhart Abstention Doctrine and Recommends Denial of Motion to Stay in Insurance Declaratory Judgment Action
A federal magistrate judge has applied the federal Wilton/Brillhart abstention doctrine under which federal courts can decline to exercise federal jurisdiction in an insurance coverage declaratory judgment action when there is a parallel state court proceeding. After...
Federal Court Supplemental Jurisdiction Over Claims By Third-Party Plaintiffs
The First Circuit has held the federal district court in Rhode Island did not abuse its jurisdiction when it exercised supplemental jurisdiction over claims between non-diverse parties after the claims between diverse parties had been dismissed. The issue arose in a...
Superior Court Finds “Routine” Destruction of Evidence Is Not Spoliation
The Superior Court has held that the "routine" destruction of samples by a testing laboratory is not spoliation that would preclude the admission of the results of tests on the samples. The Court said the destruction of evidence was subject to sanctions only when it...
Superior Court Holds Corporation Entitled To Seek Attorney’s Fees Under Equal Access To Justice Act
The Superior Court has held that a successful litigant in administrative proceedings before the Department of Environmental Management is not required to have a net worth under $500,000 to qualify for an award of attorney's fees under Rhode Island's Equal Access to...