In a recent Rhode Island Superior Court case, the court once again addressed the question of whether a contractual indemnity clause was "sufficiently specific" to be enforceable. The case arose out of a situation wherein a nursing home had contracted for a landscaping...
PLDO Law Blog
Month: December 2016
RI Superior Court Reverses Zoning Board Decision that Licensed Growing of Medical Marijuana Violated Local Zoning Ordinances
The Rhode Island Superior Court recently reversed a South Kingstown Zoning Board decision after the Board erroneously found that a licensed medical marijuana grow operation constituted "agricultural products manufacturing" and was not allowed in the Town's commercial...
CYBERSECURITY IN 2025 – A SHIFTING LANDSCAPE
The biggest cybersecurity risk that businesses faced years ago was losing access to their data due to a ransomware attack where a hacker would lock up a company’s files and only release them back if a ransom was paid. Wisely, many businesses responded to these threats...
REAL ESTATE TITLE DISPUTES: THE PROCESS OF RECORDING “LIS PENDENS” IN RHODE ISLAND AND MASSACHUSETTS
If you or your business ends up in a dispute over real estate, it is likely that you will encounter a lis pendens. Lis pendens is Latin for “suit pending,” and it means just that, it is a statutorily governed legal tool that is often used to give notice on a...
HIGH STAKES: DRAFTING AND INTERPRETING PAYMENT REJECTIONS UNDER MASSACHUSETTS’ PROMPT PAY ACT
Under the Massachusetts Prompt Pay Act, which governs construction contracts, unless an owner meets the Act's "time and substance" requirements for rejecting a payment application from a contractor (ditto for subcontractors' applications to contractors), that...
RHODE ISLAND SUPREME COURT RULES THAT A PROPERTY’S FORECLOSURE WAS VALID DESPITE PLAINTIFF’S CLAIMS THAT MORTGAGE DOCUMENTS WERE “AMBIGUOUS”
BackgroundA recent case arose out of foreclosure proceedings that were instituted by Wells Fargo Bank (“Wells Fargo” or “defendant”) with respect to property located at 18 High Street in Bristol, Rhode Island. The property’s owner (“plaintiff”) secured the mortgage by...
FDA CONSIDERS RESCHEDULING MARIJUANA: A MILESTONE IN DRUG POLICY REFORM
The landscape of drug policy in the United States is poised for a significant shift as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) undertakes a reassessment of marijuana’s drug scheduling classification. The FDA is conducting a comprehensive review of marijuana’s current...
