No specific laws identified for this ruling.
The Rhode Island Supreme Court vacated the Superior Court's judgment in favor of a former police officer, holding that he must comply with statutory provisions requiring independent medical exams and pension adjustments based on gainful employment to continue receiving his accidental disability pension.
These consolidated cases came before the Supreme Court on an appeal and a petition for the issuance of a writ of certiorari for review of a November 5, 2015 bench decision in Providence County Superior Court in favor of the plaintiff, John R. Grasso. The defendants, Governor Gina Raimondo, Frank Karpinski, the Employees' Retirement System of Rhode Island, and the State of Rhode Island, contended before the Supreme Court that the trial justice erred in determining that Mr. Grasso need not comply with G.L. 1956 §§ 45-21-23 and 45-21-24 in order to continue receiving his accidental disability pension because, in his view, those sections were not applicable to his pension. The Supreme Court held that Mr. Grasso was indeed required to comply with §§ 45-21-23 and 45-21-24 and, as such, could be required to undergo independent medical examinations and disclose information with respect to gainful employment as conditions of his accidental disability pension under G.L. 1956 § 45-21.2-10. Accordingly, the Supreme Court vacated the decision of the Superior Court.
This summary was generated to explain the ruling in plain English and is not legal advice.
The plaintiff, Clifton Peasley (plaintiff or Peasley), appealed the Superior Court's dismissal of his action for declaratory relief, which sought, inter alia, a decree that he was entitled to back pay. The Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal pursuant to the election of remedies doctrine. In this respect, it was undisputed that before commencing the action for declaratory relief, the plaintiff had filed a grievance seeking back pay, which proceeding remained pending in arbitration. Peasley's efforts to compare the provisions of the Teachers' Tenure Act with the landmark antidiscrimination protections discussed in Weeks v. 735 Putnam Pike Operations, LLC, 85 A.3d 1147 (R.I. 2014), was unavailing. The judgment of the Superior Court was affirmed.
Court rulings like this one are useful, but every situation is different. Take 2 minutes to see which laws may protect you — it's free, private, and no account is required to start.
This ruling information is sourced from public court records via CourtListener.com. It is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.