Fallout from the city of Cranston’s 2012 redistricting plan, which included 3,433 prison inmates in one voting ward’s population count, evolved into a legal fight that ultimately reached the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Last month, in Davidson, et al. v. City of Cranston, Rhode Island, a 1st Circuit panel reversed U.S. District Court...
Every agency today owns valuable intellectual property (IP) which should be protected. Unfortunately, the day-to-day rigors of running a successful business typically push IP protection to the bottom of the to-do list. But if you are selling or buying an agency, IP protection issues quickly become part of the due diligence review process. For sellers,...
Appraisal award upheld: Union Mutual Fire Insurance Company v. Anthony and Susan Pate, PC2013-1620 (Rhode Island Superior Court, August 2, 2016). This case involves the resolution of a coverage and damages dispute under a homeowners policy pursuant to the appraisal process provided in the policy in accordance with R.I. Gen. Laws § 27-5-3. In 2003,...
As we enter the fourth quarter of 2016, it makes sense to look ahead at what is in store for commercial real estate in 2017. There are several factors that will impact the market in New England, and although surprises can always occur, I believe the outlook is generally positive. First, it appears that the...
One of the first pieces of advice I offer my clients is to resist giving away equity in their company. Oftentimes, however, clients have already granted or promised shares of stock in their corporation (or membership interests in their LLC) to an early benefactor who provided something of value to the company, an employee who...
An assisted living center being sued over a slip-and-fall accident on an icy walkway was entitled to contractual indemnity based on an indemnification clause in its winter-services contract with a landscaping company, a Superior Court judge has determined. The plaintiff, Rebecca Marie Lougee, filed the underlying suit against Benchmark Assisted Living after she fell on...
With the dog days of summer fading into rear view and Rhode Islanders heading back to work, it’s a good time to take stock of what the Rhode Island General Assembly did earlier this summer to stimulate Rhode Island’s commercial real estate market. Several pieces of enacted legislation, summarized below, will encourage the use of...
A law firm that jettisoned a longtime client in order to hire lawyers representing a party suing that client violated the “hot potato doctrine,” a U.S. District Court judge has determined. The judge found that the doctrine, which bars attorneys from dropping one client in favor of another with adverse interests, disqualified Greenberg Traurig, along...
In the past, we have written about the impact of social and technological trends on the Rhode Island market and economy which eventually influence the law. Indeed, regardless of the form of law—statutory or judicial—neither is immune from these winds of change. In neighboring Massachusetts, a legal development in its workers’ compensation law may make...
As seen in Providence Business News, June 17, 2016. Crossing your fingers and hoping you are not hit with a cyber attack is not the best line of defense for any business. Recent government enforcement actions, particularly in the financial-services industry, make it clear that hackers are not the only eyes scanning your security protocols and safeguards....
