Justia Injury Law Opinion Summaries

Plaintiffs - Jazmine Wray and Reginald Green - brought a negligence suit against Defendants - Roy and Antonio Green - as a result of a three-vehicle rear-end collision, claiming that, as a result of the collision, they experienced pain and suffering and incurred medical bills and lost wages. One of the defendants filed a motion for summary judgment. The motion was granted. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the superior court properly granted summary judgment in favor of the defendant, as Plaintiffs failed to present any evidence to prove that the defendant breached his duty of care. View "Wray v. Green" on Justia Law

Landlords filed an eviction action against Tenant. Eventually, the parties settled the eviction action by a stipulation that was signed by the district court judge. Thereafter, Tenant filed a negligence action alleging that Landlords failed to maintain the house free from toxic mold and fungus and that the mold ruined Tenant’s personal property. Landlords filed a motion in limine to prevent Tenant from entering the parties’ stipulation into evidence to prove causation in the negligence action and moved for summary judgment. The hearing justice granted Landlords’ motion in limine, barring the admission of the district court stipulation. The court then granted summary judgment for Defendants, ruling that Tenant could offer no other evidence of causation. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the hearing justice correctly granted the motion in limine, as nothing in the stipulation established that Landlords caused mold to accumulate on Tenant’s personal property; and (2) because Tenant conceded that there was no other evidence on the element of causation, the hearing justice correctly granted Landlords’ motion for summary judgment. View "Curreri v. Saint" on Justia Law

Plaintiff was a school bus driver employed by Durham School Services (Durham), a private bus company. Citing a “Driver Withdrawal” provision from its contract with Durham for transportation of school students, the Town of Johnston School Department formally requested to not have Plaintiff transport students of the Johnston Public Schools. Lomastro was subsequently terminated. Plaintiff filed a complaint against the interim superintendent for the Town of Johnston and the director of facilities and transportation of Johnston public schools (collectively, Defendants), claiming that Defendants intentionally interfered with her contract with her employer. The hearing justice granted summary judgment in favor of Plaintiffs. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Plaintiff failed to provide evidence that the school department invoked its contractual right to withdraw its approval of Plaintiff as a driver without justification, which prevented Plaintiff from establishing a prima facie case of intentional interference with contractual relations. Therefore, the hearing justice did not err in granting summary judgment in favor of Defendants. View "Lomastro v. Iacovelli" on Justia Law

Plaintiff was injured when he fell down the stairs in his residence. Plaintiff filed a negligence action against Defendants, his landlords, alleging that Defendants failed to maintain the premises in a clean and safe condition. After a trial, the jury returned a verdict for Defendants. The superior court entered judgment in accordance with the verdict. Plaintiff appealed, arguing that the trial justice erred by denying his motion to pass the case due to jury prejudice. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the trial justice did not commit reversible error by rejecting Plaintiff’s motion to pass the case due to juror misconduct. View "Roma v. Moreira" on Justia Law

Plaintiff, by and through her mother, filed a complaint against the City of Pawtucket, alleging that she sustained injuries when she received a splinter while playing on a wooden jungle gym at a city park. A hearing justice granted summary judgment in favor of the City, determining that the City was qualified as a landowner that was entitled to immunity under the Recreational Use Statute (RUS) because the playground had been opened to the public for recreational purposes, there was no evidence to suggest that the jungle gym was damaged or dangerous, and the City did not engage in any wanton or malicious conduct. Plaintiff appealed, arguing that an exception to the RUS, R.I. Gen. Laws 32-6-5(a)(1), was applicable to her case. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that there was no genuine issue of material fact as to whether the City had knowledge of either the particular defect at issue int his case or similar injuries, and thus it could not be concluded that the City willfully disregarded a known risk of injury. View "Symonds v. City of Pawtucket" on Justia Law

This action arose from injuries Plaintiff suffered as a result of a fall he took while he was incarcerated at the Adult Correctional Institutions. Plaintiff filed a complaint against the State alleging negligence in failing to reasonably maintain the premises. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the State. Plaintiff subsequently filed a motion for a new trial, which the trial justice denied. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the trial justice had a sufficient basis to find that the jury acted reasonably in rendering its verdict for the State; and (2) Plaintiff’s argument that the State should be held strictly liable for his injuries was barred by the raise-or-waive rule. View "Battle v. State" on Justia Law

Quest Diagnostics, LLC was an independent contractor for Brown University under an agreement that obligated both parties to name the other party as an additional insured under their general liability policies. In 2006, Pauline Hall, a student at Brown University, sought treatment at the university’s health services clinic. A rapid strep test, to be performed by Quest, was ordered. The test, however, was not performed promptly, and the results were not returned to the health clinic. Hall was subsequently diagnosed with toxic shock syndrome, which resulted in permanent injuries. Hall filed suit against Brown and Quest, and Brown filed a cross-claim against Quest. Hall settled her claims with Brown and its insurers, Pinnacle Consortium of Higher Education and Genesis Insurance Company, but the cross-claim was not resolved. Quest subsequently sought a declaratory judgment that it was entitled to a defense from Pinnacle and indemnification from Pinnacle and Genesis. The superior court granted summary judgment in favor of Pinnacle and Genesis. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that, under the facts of this case, Quest was not entitled to defense and indemnification from either insurer. View "Quest Diagnostics, LLC v. Pinnacle Consortium of Higher Educ." on Justia Law

At the college graduation party of Defendants’ son, a guest brought his all-terrain vehicle (ATV) to the party. Plaintiffs’ daughter, Ashley, requested a ride and voluntarily mounted the ATV. The guest crashed the ATV outside the Defendants’ premises. Ashley suffered traumatic brain injuries and died nine days later. Plaintiffs filed an action against Defendants, alleging negligence and wrongful death. The superior court entered judgment in favor of Defendants, concluding that Defendants did not owe a duty of care to Ashley. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Defendants did not owe a duty of care to Ashley under the facts of this case. View "Phelps v. Hebert" on Justia Law

Plaintiffs, Nicholas Long and Julianne Ricci, purchased Dell computers in late 2000. In 2003, Plaintiffs filed this putative class action lawsuit alleging that Dell violated the Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DPTA) and was negligent in charging Plaintiffs sales tax on nontaxable services purchased in conjunction with the computers. The superior court granted summary judgment in favor of Dell. The case remained pending for more than ten years. Here, the Supreme Court (1) affirmed the grant of summary judgment on the negligence count and on the request for injunctive relief by Long; (2) vacated the grant of summary judgment on the DTPA count by Ricci; and (3) affirmed the superior court’s grant of Plaintiffs’ motion to strike the tax administrator’s affirmative defenses. Remanded. View "Long v. Dell, Inc." on Justia Law

Two young men, Brendan O’Connell Roberti and Jason Goffe, were killed in a tragic automobile collision. Plaintiffs, the co-administrators of the estate of Roberti, sued William Walmsley, who was driving the vehicle that collided with the vehicle in which Roberti was a passenger when he was killed. A jury found that Walmsley was negligent and that his negligence was a proximate cause of Roberti’s death. The trial justice, however, granted Walmsley’s motion for judgment as a matter of law, concluding that there was no evidence establishing that Defendant’s operation of his vehicle was a proximate cause of the collision. The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the superior court granting Defendant’s motion for judgment as a matter of law, holding that a reasonable jury could assign liability to Walmsley. View "O'Connell v. Walmsley" on Justia Law