Supreme Court of Rhode Island

The Supreme Court affirmed the Family Court’s decision, finding no abuse of discretion in the equitable division of assets and the award of attorneys’ fees, and remanded the case for final judgment.

The Supreme Court affirmed the Superior Court’s grant of post‑conviction relief to Terrel Barros, holding that the newly discovered testimony of Gloria Parajon was admissible under Rule 804(b)(3) and sufficient to warrant a new trial, and remanded the record for further proceedings.

The court vacated the denial of the defendant's motion for a new trial and remanded for a new hearing. Although the trial justice extensively reviewed the circumstantial evidence and found the state's witnesses credible, she did not adequately explain how she personally weighed the evidence or why reasonable minds…

The court held that police lacked an objectively reasonable basis to enter and search the third-floor apartment without a warrant after officers found the reported deceased person on the second floor.

The Court held that the trial justice abused her discretion by admitting testimony and a report recounting statements allegedly made by Pena through an unidentified Spanish interpreter.

The Court affirmed a preliminary injunction restricting excessive noise and intrusive conduct at defendants’ property because the hearing justice properly considered each required factor and did not abuse his discretion.

The court vacated the defendant's convictions because the trial justice did not meaningfully perform the third step of the required equal-protection analysis for the prosecutor's peremptory strike of the sole African-American venireperson.

The Supreme Court affirmed the Family Court’s order requiring Craig to provide Michele one-half of the marital portion of his pension. It held that the Property Settlement Agreement unambiguously covered both the pension and annuity components of Craig’s retirement plan, and that Michele’s claim accrued when Craig…

The Court affirmed the default judgment, holding that defendants' challenge to service of the default-related motions was not preserved because they failed to file the required motion to vacate in the Superior Court.

The Supreme Court of Rhode Island affirmed Juan Rivera's convictions for first-degree murder, conspiracy, and related firearm offenses arising from the 2021 shooting death of Jorge Garcia at Roque's Café in Providence.

The Supreme Court of Rhode Island answered a question certified by the First Circuit, holding that discrimination claims under the Rhode Island Civil Rights Act of 1990 (RICRA) are 'actions of tort' under the State Tort Claims Act (STCA) and therefore fall within the STCA's broad waiver of sovereign immunity.

The Court affirmed summary judgment for MSAA because the businessowners policy expressly excluded bodily injury arising from the use of an automobile, and the plaintiff failed to establish a genuine factual dispute about the policy’s contents.

The Court affirmed dismissal of Rahim Caldwell’s second amended complaint because it did not provide fair notice of a specific constitutional injury or contain a demand for relief.

The Supreme Court affirmed the denial of the defendant's motion to vacate the final divorce judgment. It held that the Family Court's premature entry of the decision pending entry of final judgment and final judgment was a procedural error, not a jurisdictional defect rendering the judgment void.

The Court affirmed the Superior Court's denial of declaratory and injunctive relief, holding that the mortgage expressly authorized MERS, as nominee and holder of legal title, to exercise the statutory power of sale.

The Rhode Island Supreme Court affirmed the trial justice’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Spirit Rent‑A‑Car and Alamo, holding that the plaintiffs were not entitled to uninsured‑motorist coverage under any policy or the rental agreement, and remanded for entry of final judgment.

The Court affirmed the judgment denying declaratory relief because the recorded easement expressly extended to the grantee's successors and assigns, and the plaintiff had actual notice of the easement before purchasing the property.

The Rhode Island Supreme Court reversed the Superior Court’s grant of summary judgment and remanded the case. It held that the self‑executing affidavit could not alone prove the will’s validity where an interested party objected, and that the handwriting expert’s affidavit created a genuine issue of material fact…

The Rhode Island Supreme Court affirmed the Superior Court’s judgment, holding that the five‑year limitation period for accidental disability pension applications is clear and cannot be equitably tolled, and that the plaintiff’s claim for declaratory relief was waived because it was not raised in the trial court.

The Supreme Court of Rhode Island affirmed Nelson Bido’s convictions for aiding and abetting murder and conspiracy to commit robbery. It held that Bido failed to preserve a speedy-trial claim, and that the trial justice acted within his discretion in denying continuances to obtain new counsel and investigate…

The Rhode Island Supreme Court held that the repeal of G.L. 1956 § 17‑5‑2 eliminated the Governor’s authority to order the Secretary of State to place nonbinding referendum questions on the ballot, and it reversed the lower court’s finding of an inherent constitutional power for the Governor to do so.

The Supreme Court of Rhode Island reversed the first-degree felony-murder convictions of Gahlil Oliveira and Victor St. Hill, holding that the predicate in G.L. 1956 § 11-23-1 — 'manufacture, sale, delivery, or other distribution of a controlled substance' — denotes transfer of drugs to another, not receipt from…

The court held that the plaintiff had statutory standing to challenge the town council's allegedly inadequate notice under the Open Meetings Act and that the later properly noticed revote did not moot the controversy because monetary remedies remained available.

The court affirmed Hallenbeck's manslaughter conviction and sentence after concluding that his preserved challenges to the jury instructions, judgment of acquittal, new-trial ruling, evidentiary rulings, and sentence lacked merit or were not properly before the court.

The Rhode Island Supreme Court granted certiorari, held that the doctrine of res judicata bars the respondent's discrimination claim, found no applicable exception, quashed the Superior Court's denial of summary judgment, and remanded for entry of judgment in favor of the State.

The court affirmed the defendant's convictions for three counts of first-degree sexual assault and two counts of second-degree sexual assault. It held that the victim was competent to testify, several evidentiary rulings were within or outside the trial court's discretion but any errors were harmless, and unpreserved…

The Rhode Island Supreme Court quashed the District Court’s judgment and remanded for entry of judgment in favor of the Foster‑Glocester Regional School Committee. It held that the complaint was not moot, that the arbitration award was a final judgment for collateral‑estoppel purposes, and that the Board’s refusal to…

The Rhode Island Supreme Court granted certiorari, quashed the district court's order awarding $48,100 in attorney's fees, and remanded for a recalculation based on 15 percent of the five days of unemployment benefits that were at issue before the Board, rejecting the per‑claimant $50 minimum.

The court granted certiorari and quashed the Superior Court judgment affirming the denial of a dimensional variance for the petitioners’ landlocked lot. It held that the zoning board failed to make the required findings and that the lower court improperly evaluated the proposed use rather than the nature and extent of…

The court held that Wilkinson’s achievement of classified full status created a vested property interest in his state employment that the 1994 statutory amendments did not retroactively eliminate.

The Supreme Court of Rhode Island affirmed the convictions of Gahil Oliveira, Jason Ferrell, Pedro Sanders, and Robert McKinney for the revenge killing of John Carpenter and related assault and conspiracy counts.

The court held that the default judgments established only the town's liability on the well-pleaded allegations and could not award relief beyond those allegations or the governing law.

The court granted certiorari and quashed the Superior Court judgment affirming dimensional variances for two New Shoreham lots. It held that the applicants failed to establish, and the zoning board failed to explain, that no reasonable alternative existed for making a legally permitted use of the property without the…

The Supreme Court of Rhode Island reversed the Superior Court’s judgment for Bowen Court Associates, holding that DEPCO’s assumption of RICCU’s assets was free of any recoupment defense and that the recoupment claim is not a real defense under the DEPCO statute. The court interpreted G.L.

The Supreme Court denied and dismissed both certiorari petitions and quashed the writs. It held that the Department of Health director was not required to defer specially to the Health Services Council's advisory recommendation, but that the department could not approve a substantially identical second…

The court affirmed the Superior Court's summary judgments resolving disputes over a condemnation award, contractual cost sharing, ownership of Parcel 9, retroactive property-tax reassessments, and the proposed condemnation of Parcel 9, subject to a modification concerning payment allocation.

The court denied the town's petition for certiorari, quashed the writ, and affirmed the Superior Court's judgment reversing approval of the subdivision. It held that the Development Review Act requires the planning board, rather than the town council acting as platting board, to control land-development and…

The Supreme Court of Rhode Island affirmed Jeffrey Bettencourt’s convictions for driving to endanger resulting in death and denied his motions for a new trial and sentence review.

The Supreme Court of Rhode Island affirmed judgment as a matter of law for Koch on the Swerdlicks' privacy, defamation, false-light, and emotional-distress claims. The court held that photographing and reporting publicly visible activity did not invade a protected private area or disclose private facts, that the…

The court affirmed the Superior Court's judgment upholding the Commission's finding that the Center for Behavioral Health unlawfully terminated Judy Barros because of her pregnancy.