Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly

01/07/2025

A U.S. magistrate judge has ruled in favor of retired attorney James A. Donnelly, who was charged with trespassing by entering a closed shorebird area located on the Moonstone Beach portion of the Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge.

A U.S. magistrate judge has ruled in favor of retired attorney James A. Donnelly, who was charged with trespassing by entering a closed shorebird area located on the Moonstone Beach portion of the Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge. The trespass allegedly took place on Sunday, June 23, 2024. At a...

01/06/2025

Opinion of the Day ⚖️ Where (1) an attorney represented a client in a criminal matter that resulted in convictions on numerous charges, (2) the former client has appealed claiming that the attorney’s representation was ineffective and ... CONTINUE: https://rilawyersweekly.com/blog/2024/12/23/attorneys-confidentiality-ineffective-assistance-claim/

01/06/2025

Business attorneys see challenges ahead from all corners for the federal Corporate Transparency Act, making a national injunction recently issued by a judge in Texas perhaps the first step in the statute’s ultimate demise.

Business attorneys see challenges ahead from all corners for the federal Corporate Transparency Act, making a national injunction recently issued by a judge in Texas perhaps the first step in the statute’s ultimate demise. Practitioners and their clients have spent the past year working to ensure ...

01/03/2025

Opinion of the Day ⚖️ Where a petitioner applied for post-conviction relief contending that his trial counsel was ineffective by failing to introduce mitigating mental health evidence at ... CONTINUE: https://rilawyersweekly.com/blog/2025/01/02/criminal-effectiveness-of-counsel-sentencing-2/

01/03/2025

It’s not every day that a lawyer gets to cite to Marbury v. Madison, the landmark 1803 U.S. Supreme Court decision on constitutional law. For Gerald J. Petros, Roth, et al. v. State, et al. provided the perfect opportunity.

The second of two profiles honoring Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly’s 2024 Lawyers of the Year. The first appeared in the Dec. 16 issue. It’s not every day that a lawyer gets to cite to Marbury v. Madison, the landmark 1803 U.S. Supreme Court decision on constitutional law. For Gerald J. Petros, Rot...

01/02/2025

Opinion of the Day ⚖️ Where an administrative law judge denied an application for benefits under the Social Security Act, a remand is necessary to determine if ... CONTINUE: https://rilawyersweekly.com/blog/2024/12/23/social-services-disability-migraines-3/

12/31/2024

The Ethics Commission has given the go-ahead for a Providence city councilor to accept a grant management job offer from a state vendor that works with the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency.

The Ethics Commission has given the go-ahead for a Providence city councilor to accept a grant management job offer from a state vendor that works with the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency. The petitioner, Shelley Peterson, has served on the Providence City Council since her election to a fo...

12/30/2024

Opinion of the Day ⚖️ Where a petitioner has requested compensation under the wrongful conviction statute, that request should be denied because ... CONTINUE: https://rilawyersweekly.com/blog/2024/12/23/criminal-wrongful-conviction-claim-innocence/

12/30/2024

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Latest Issue Dec. 30, 2024 – this week's issue HTML version (click here) A list of this week's stories can be found by clicking here. For questions or feedback, please contact the web editor. Issue Archives *Note: Mobile users may need to double click on the screen

12/30/2024

A U.S. District Court judge has denied a request by American Express for arbitration of a dispute with merchants over more than $17 million in filing fees.

A U.S. District Court judge has denied a request by American Express for arbitration of a dispute with merchants over more than $17 million in filing fees. After the American Arbitration Association found that Amex owed in excess of $17 million in filing fees related to arbitrations with plaintiff 5...

12/27/2024

Opinion of the Day ⚖️ Where an employee who was granted a six-week leave of absence by her employer to care for her ill mother in India filed a claim for Temporary Caregiver Insurance (TCI) benefits, a decision to deny that claim should be ... CONTINUE: https://rilawyersweekly.com/blog/2024/12/23/unemployment-compensation-temporary-caregiver-benefits/

12/27/2024

An out-of-state manufacturer of a fire suppression system could be sued in Rhode Island for property damage that occurred when the system discharged in Westerly High School’s server room during a renovation project, a U.S. District Court judge has decided.

An out-of-state manufacturer of a fire suppression system could be sued in Rhode Island for property damage that occurred when the system discharged in Westerly High School’s server room during a renovation project, a U.S. District Court judge has decided. Federal Insurance Co., the town’s insur...

12/26/2024

The owner of a nonconforming lot in Warwick should be allowed to construct a deck as a permissible “accessory” rather than an impermissible expansion of the lot, a Superior Court judge has decided.

The owner of a nonconforming lot in Warwick should be allowed to construct a deck as a permissible “accessory” rather than an impermissible expansion of the lot, a Superior Court judge has decided. The Warwick Zoning Board of Appeals issued a building permit for a deck on Joseph R. King’s land...

12/26/2024

Opinion of the Day ⚖️ Where (1) plaintiffs sought declaratory and other relief concerning various actions taken by the town of Foster, the Department of Business Regulation and the town’s zoning board ... CONTINUE: https://rilawyersweekly.com/blog/2024/12/20/jurisdiction-subject-matter-sua-sponte-dismissal/

12/23/2024

Opinion of the Day ⚖️ Where the State Labor Relations Board found that a decision by the Department of Corrections to end a “paid administrative leave” COVID-19 policy ... CONTINUE: https://rilawyersweekly.com/blog/2024/12/20/labor-leave-covid-19/

12/23/2024

2024 Lawyers of the Year: On Oct. 23, a jury awarded $3.1 million to the family of Nathan Bruno, who died by su***de in 2018 at the age of 15. Foley Cerilli attorneys recently spoke to Lawyers Weekly about the case and why the win was important.

The first of two profiles honoring Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly’s 2024 Lawyers of the Year. A second profile will appear in the Dec. 30 issue. On Oct. 23, a jury awarded $3.1 million to the family of Nathan Bruno, who died by su***de in 2018 at the age of 15. The journey to the verdict

12/20/2024

Opinion of the Day ⚖️ Where an administrative law judge denied a plaintiff’s application for disability insurance benefits under the Social Security Act, that decision should be upheld despite ... CONTINUE: https://rilawyersweekly.com/blog/2024/12/20/social-services-disability-22/

12/20/2024

The state could not sue a landlord for alleged violations of the Lead Poisoning Prevention Act in the absence of pending compliance orders or notices of violation from the Rhode Island Department of Health, a Superior Court judge has found.

The state could not sue a landlord for alleged violations of the Lead Poisoning Prevention Act in the absence of pending compliance orders or notices of violation from the Rhode Island Department of Health, a Superior Court judge has found. Attorney General Peter F. Neronha had brought an eight-coun...