Justia Rhode Island Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

This lawsuit arose from a dispute over an alleged commercial lease agreement between Plaintiffs, owners of certain property, and Defendants, who Plaintiffs claimed breached the terms of the lease. The superior court granted summary judgment in favor of Defendants, finding no genuine issues of material fact. The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the superior court, holding that genuine issues of material fact existed in connection with two factual issues, and because of the fact-intensive nature of both of these inquiries, the case was not suitable for summary judgment and should, instead, have been resolved after a trial on the merits. View "Albert J. Branch Revocable Trust v. Interstate Battery Center" on Justia Law

Plaintiff filed a two-count declaratory judgment action seeking adjudication regarding its use of a roadway over Defendant’s abutting property. The trial justice issued a decision in favor of Plaintiff, concluding that Plaintiff had an easement or right-of-way over this roadway and that its use of the right-of-way was not limited to a specific use. Defendant appealed, arguing that the proposed use of the right-of-way by Plaintiff was an unreasonable extension of the use intended by the parties when the easement was originally created. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the trial justice was not clearly wrong when she concluded that there was no restriction on the use of the right-of-way. View "Plainfield Pike Development, LLC. v. Victor Anthony Properties, Inc." on Justia Law

Plaintiff, the grandnephew of the decedent, filed this action against Defendant, the decedent’s sister and the beneficiary of an Amica Insurance Company annuity policy created by the decedent. The complaint alleged forgery, fraud, manipulation, false pretenses, and misrepresentation. The trial court entered judgment in favor of Defendant. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the trial justice did not misapply the law to the evidence; (2) the trial justice did not overlook or misconceive material evidence pertaining to the beneficiary-change forms; (3) the trial justice did not err in failing to take judicial notice of the findings made by another superior court justice after a hearing on Plaintiff’s request for a preliminary injunction; (4) the was no error on the part of the superior court in refusing to shift the burden of proof to prove absence of mistake; and (5) the trial justice did not err in finding that Defendant was forthright and credible. View "Quillen v. Macera" on Justia Law

After Wells Fargo foreclosed upon Plaintiff’s home, Plaintiff filed an amended complaint against Wells Fargo, asserting six causes of action. The superior court granted Wells Fargo’s motion for judgment as a matter of law on all six counts. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Plaintiff’s claim that Wells Fargo breached federal guidelines regarding loan modification review and improperly foreclosed on her home while her loan modification request was pending was not properly preserved for appeal; (2) Wells Fargo did not breach the covenant of good faith and fair dealing; and (3) the superior court justice did not err in finding that Plaintiff failed to meet the burden of proof on her claim that her reliance on the federal regulations should not have estopped Wells Fargo from foreclosing on the property. View "Miller v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A." on Justia Law

Plaintiff filed a complaint against Defendant alleging that she was injured after falling through a defective stair and that Defendant was negligent in that he had breached his duty to keep the premises in a safe and reasonable manner. The hearing justice granted summary judgment for Defendant, finding that Plaintiff had failed to provide any competent evidence that would tend to show that Defendant was negligent. The Supreme court affirmed, holding that no genuine issues of material fact existed and that the hearing justice properly granted summary judgment in favor of Defendant on Plaintiff’s complaint. View "Cooley v. Kelly" on Justia Law

Defendant owned a property on Arnold Street. Defendant executed a note in favor of Ameriquest Mortgage Company secured by a mortgage on the Arnold Street property. Plaintiff asserted that Ameriquest assigned the Arnold Street mortgage to Deutsche Bank. Plaintiff later commended this litigation seeking a declaratory judgment that the Arnold Street mortgage was a valid, perfected first-priority mortgage on the Arnold Street property and that full payment or satisfaction had not been received on the Arnold Street note. The motion justice granted summary judgment for Plaintiff. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) contrary to Defendant’s contention, there was not a genuine dispute of material fact with respect to whether the Arnold Street note was endorsed; and (2) the Arnold street mortgage was validly assigned to Plaintiff. View "Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. v. McDonough" on Justia Law

Some four years after Plaintiff suffered a casualty loss to his property, Plaintiff sued Nationwide Mutual Fire Insurance Company (Defendant), which insured the property pursuant to a policy that it had issued to Plaintiff, alleging breach of contract and bad faith. Defendant moved for judgment on the pleadings, arguing that the claim must fail because Plaintiff did not fully comply with the provisions of the policy and because Plaintiff brought suit more than two years after the date of loss, in contravention of the terms of the insurance contract. The hearing justice granted Defendant’s motion for judgment on the pleadings. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that because Plaintiff failed to adhere to the two-year limitation provision, Plaintiff was not entitled to relief. View "Chase v. Nationwide Mutual Fire Insurance Co." on Justia Law

Appellant was found guilty of two counts of felony assault with a dangerous weapon, conspiracy to commit assault with a dangerous weapon, and other offenses. Appellant filed a pro se application for postconviction relief, arguing that he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel. The trial justice denied postconviction relief. On appeal, Appellant argued that deficiencies on the part of trial counsel prejudiced him in his trial and conviction. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Appellant failed to meet his burden of establishing ineffective assistance of counsel entitling him to postconviction relief. View "Chum v. State" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s conviction on five counts of first-degree child molestation rendered after a jury trial. After denying Defendant’s motion for a new trial, the trial justice sentenced Defendant to five concurrent life sentences. The Supreme Court held (1) in dealing with Defendant’s motion for a new trial, the trial justice did not commit clear error or overlook or misconceive material and relevant evidence relating to a critical issue in the case; and (2) Defendant’s “constitutional right to present a full and fair defense” was not denied when the trial justice minimally limited Defendant’s cross-examination of two witnesses. View "State v. Ogoffa" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the superior court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Dr. David Coppe (Defendant) in this medical malpractice action. Plaintiffs alleged that Defendant breached the standard of care for treatment of a cellulitis ulcer, which required right foot bone amputation. The hearing justice granted summary judgment for Defendant after precluding Plaintiffs from relying on expert witness testimony in the case. The Supreme Court held (1) any challenge to the ruling precluding Plaintiffs’ proposed expert witness was waived; (2) Plaintiffs were permitted to argue the facts of their case, and the grant of summary judgment was not in error; and (3) there was no evidence that the hearing justice was biased against Plaintiffs. View "Bartlett v. Coppe" on Justia Law