Gallop v. Adult Correctional Institutions

The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the superior court and remanded this case to the superior court with directions to hear and decide Plaintiff’s motion to amend his complaint upon the merits, holding that the trial justice erred in failing to address Plaintiff’s motion to file a second amended complaint.Plaintiff, an inmate, filed an amended civil complaint alleging negligence on the part of State defendants. Before trial, the trial justice sua sponte raised the issue of the civil death statute in light of Plaintiff’s sentences of life imprisonment. Defendants then filed a motion to dismiss the case under R.I. Gen. Laws 13-6-1, arguing that Plaintiff was deemed civilly dead, and therefore, his civil rights were effectively terminated. Plaintiff then filed a motion for leave to file a second amended complaint seeking to add a claim for violations of Plaintiff’s constitutional rights under color of law. The trial justice granted Defendants’ motion to dismiss based on the civil death statute and did not address Plaintiff’s motion for leave to file a second amended complaint. The Supreme Court held that the trial justice accurately dismissed the case but should have addressed Plaintiff’s second amended complaint before granting Defendants’ motion to dismiss. View "Gallop v. Adult Correctional Institutions" on Justia Law