ORDER JOHN J. McCONNELL, JR. , Chief District Judge . The matter before the Court is Defendant's Partial Objection (ECF No. 56) to the Report and Recommendation of Magistrate Judge Patricia A. Sullivan (ECF No. 55) (the "R&R"), concerning the Cross-Motions for Summary Judgment (ECF Nos. 32 and 34) in the partition action for 1221 Post Road, Warwick, Rhode Island (the "Real Estate"). The Defendant objects to the R&R claiming that the Magistrate Judge was in error by (1) failing to address...
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION PATRICIA A. SULLIVAN , Magistrate Judge . In 2005, Plaintiffs Kevin G. and Carrie A. Aubee (the "Aubees") borrowed $359,650 secured by a mortgage on their home in Smithfield, Rhode Island. Their mortgage contains Paragraph 22, 1 which provided, among other things, that the mortgagee could accelerate in the event of default, but first the mortgagee must give notice by informing the Aubees of their "right to reinstate after acceleration" and their "right to bring a...
ORDER JOHN J. McCONNELL, JR. , Chief District Judge . Plaintiff Citibank, N.A. as Trustee for American Home Mortgage Assets Trust 2006-6, Mortgage-Backed Pass-Through Certificates Series 2006-3 ("Citibank") and Defendant Katherine Caito have filed Cross-Motions for Summary Judgment, each seeking the Court's determination in their favor on the propriety of a judicial foreclosure. Citibank seeks a judicial order of foreclosure on Ms. Caito's property in Westerly, Rhode Island. ECF No. 21. Ms....
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER JOHN J. MCCONNELL, JR. , Chief United States District Judge . Jane Doe was sexually assaulted by John Doe ("John") in her bedroom during the first night of a study abroad program in Ireland organized by the Rhode Island School of Design ("RISD"). Ms. Doe now sues RISD, asserting negligence (Count I) and premises liability (Count II). ECF No. 19. RISD moves for summary judgment on each count. ECF No. 25. For the reasons stated below, the Court DENIES RISD's Motion for...
OPINION AND ORDER ON SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND ORDER REGARDING MOTIONS TO EXCLUDE CERTAIN EXPERT OPINIONS William E. Smith , District Judge . With trial fast approaching, Defendants seek summary disposition of this case. The Court disagrees that issues presented may be disposed of summarily — although some issues are fairly close calls — and therefore denies Defendants' motion for summary judgment, ECF No. 842. The reasons are explained below. The Court also, for the reasons set forth below,...
ORDER MARY S. McELROY , District Judge . Pro se Plaintiff John Thompson filed a six-count complaint 1 on September 18, 2019 against the City of Pawtucket and Ronald Travers in his official capacity as the City's Zoning Director. Mr. Thompson alleged violations of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution as well as of various provisions of the United States Code. (ECF No. 1). The defendants moved to dismiss the complaint pursuant to Rules 8 and 12(b)(6) of the...
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER JOHN J. McCONNELL, JR. , District Judge . Defendant Harmon Law Offices, P.C. ("Harmon") moves to dismiss the single claim in Count VI that Kenneth Fitch and the Estate of Dianne L. Fitch 1 levels against it for violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ("FDCPA"). ECF No. 42. Because the Court agrees with Harmon that it did not act as a debt collector in representing the mortgagee in the non-judicial foreclosure of the Fitch's property, Harmon's motion is...
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION PATRICIA A. SULLIVAN , Magistrate Judge . Based on an on-board accident during which his arms were seriously injured after being sucked in by the furling of the head sail, Plaintiff Robert B. Saltzman claims that he was a seaman crewing on the vessel and initiated this admiralty action 1 against the sailing yacht and three entities. He sued in rem S/Y Whisper, the vessel on which he was working when the accident happened. As the vessel owner and his employer,...
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION PATRICIA A. SULLIVAN , Magistrate Judge . On April 25, 2019, Plaintiff Rich Buzon, formerly a prisoner at the Adult Correctional Institutions ("ACI"), filed a pro se complaint 1 against seven Rhode Island Department of Corrections ("RIDOC") employees. ECF No. 1. His claims are based on events that occurred inside the ACI. The primary allegation is that, having achieved sobriety despite serious opioid addiction due to the ACI's medically assisted treatment...
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION LINCOLN D. ALMOND , Magistrate Judge . Background On June 5, 2019, Plaintiff filed a pro se Complaint accompanied by an Application to Proceed Without Prepayment of Fees including the $350.00 per case filing fee and $50 administrative fee. (ECF Nos. 1, 2). Plaintiff's Application (ECF No. 2) filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1915 was granted on July 8, 2019. However, to date, Plaintiff has not made any payments toward the filing fee. The Court notes that because he...
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION PATRICIA A. SULLIVAN , Magistrate Judge . Pending before the Court is Plaintiff Frank Teixeira's motion (ECF No. 3) for order directing issuance of notice and restraining suits, which is supported by his Verified Complaint (ECF No. 1) for exoneration from or limitation of liability pursuant to the Limitation of Shipowner's Liability Act of 1851, 46 U.S.C. 30501-30512 and Fed. R. Civ. P. Supp. F, as well as Local Admiralty Rule F(1). He seeks exoneration from...
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION LINCOLN D. ALMOND , Magistrate Judge . Before the Court is the State of Rhode Island's Motion to Dismiss the 28 U.S.C. 2254 Petition filed by Charles Newton ("Petitioner"). (ECF No. 5). The State seeks dismissal of the Petition on the ground that it is time-barred under 28 U.S.C. 2244(d)(1), the applicable statute of limitations. The State also claims that Petitioner did not fully exhaust his state court remedies under 28 U.S.C. 2254(b)(1)(A). Petitioner has...
ORDER JOHN J. McCONNELL, JR. , Chief District Judge . Magistrate Judge Patricia A. Sullivan has been expertly and wisely managing this litigation from its inception. This matter involves on-going businesses and individuals' livelihood. The Magistrate Judge entered a Report and Recommendation (ECF No. 124) ("R&R") recommending that on an interim basis, while the parties and the Court work through this business dispute, the Court order Custom Built Inc. and Custom Built Windows Manufacturing,...
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION PATRICIA A. SULLIVAN , Magistrate Judge . This matter has been referred to me pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 636(b)(1)(B) and 18 U.S.C. 3401(i) for proposed findings of fact concerning whether Defendant Robert Evans is in violation of the terms of his supervised release and, if so, for recommended disposition. In compliance with that directive and in accordance with 18 U.S.C. 3583(e) and Fed. R. Crim. P. 32.1, on May 16, 2019, Defendant appeared initially on the...
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION PATRICIA A. SULLIVAN , Magistrate Judge . In 2014, Plaintiff Nadine E. Lima, a long-time East Providence elementary school principal, sued the East Providence School Department and its then-Superintendent, Kim Mercer, alleging that, as an African American, she had been denied promotion due to race discrimination and due to East Providence's failure to comply with the contractual requirement that it have an affirmative action officer and an affirmative action...
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION PATRICIA A. SULLIVAN , Magistrate Judge . Now pending before the Court is the motion of pro se prisoner Plaintiff Victor A. Tavares for preliminary injunction. ECF No. 33. I. BACKGROUND Relying on the unadorned averments in his verified Second Amended Complaint 1 ("SAC") (ECF No. 24), Plaintiff asks the Court to order that Defendants, various officials of the Rhode Island Department of Corrections ("RIDOC"), must refrain from or engage in certain conduct as...
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION PATRICIA A. SULLIVAN , Magistrate Judge . Now pending before the Court is the motion of pro se prisoner Plaintiff Victor A. Tavares for summary judgment. ECF No. 62. The motion is misplaced and mistimed. Plaintiff challenges Defendants' failure to support their "defenses" with facts; he presents no facts, disputed or undisputed, and he sets out no legal argument. What he has missed is that judgment under Fed. R. Civ. P. 56 is reserved for circumstances where the...
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION PATRICIA A. SULLIVAN , Magistrate Judge . Now pending before the Court are a twinned 1 set of motions to dismiss the Second Amended Complaint 2 ("SAC") of Plaintiff Victor A. Tavares, a pro se prisoner incarcerated at Rhode Island's Adult Correctional Institutions ("ACI"). ECF Nos. 47, 53. Defendants, all officials of Rhode Island Department of Corrections ("RIDOC"), sued individually and in their official capacities, contend that Plaintiff's pleading fails to...
ORDER ON PENDING MOTIONS IN LIMINE WILLIAM E. SMITH , District Judge . Plaintiffs' Omnibus Motion in Limine , ECF No. 1301, is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART, as follows: 1 • Plaintiffs' Motion in Limine No. 2 is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART. It is GRANTED to the extent that Defendants attempt to have the jury decide a legal issue. It is DENIED to the extent Plaintiffs attempt to hide their identities. The Court intends to explain to the jury the identity of the parties and...
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER Mary S. McElroy , United States District Judge . This matter comes before the Court on a Motion for Summary Judgment filed by defendant Johnson & Wales University ("JWU"), in a lawsuit claiming jurisdiction under both the diversity clause of 28 U.S.C. 1332 and the federal question clause of 28 U.S.C. 1331. For the reasons that follow, I grant the Motion with respect to Counts IV (discrimination in education on the basis of gender, in violation of Title IX, 20 U.S.C....
