No specific laws identified for this ruling.
he defendants, the Town of Johnston, the Johnston School Department, the Johnston School Committee, and various municipal officials (the town), appealed from the Superior Court's entry of summary judgment in favor of the plaintiffs, Rhode Island American Federation of Teachers/Retired Local 8307 and several retirees of the Johnston School Department (the association) in this declaratory-judgment action involving the annual cost of a life insurance policy made available to retired teachers in Johnston, Rhode Island. On appeal, the town argued that the Superior Court erred in granting the association's motion for summary judgment and denying its cross-motion for summary judgment because, according to the town, the trial justice incorrectly interpreted G.L. 1956 § 16-16-42. The town argued that the cost of life insurance for retired teachers must be that which is in effect at the time the teacher retires, not before the teacher retires. The Supreme Court held that the statute carries no ambiguity thus, in accordance with its plain and ordinary meaning, Johnston's teachers are entitled to retain the insurance coverage in effect at the time of retirement by paying the same annual cost that the retiree paid before retirement, as an active employee. Accordingly, the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the Superior Court granting the association's motion for summary judgment.
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.
The plaintiff, Jane Doe, appealed from a Superior Court judgment dismissing her complaint against the defendants, Brown University and two of its employees. In Superior Court, the plaintiff asserted claims under both the Rhode Island Civil Rights Act (RICRA) and article 1, section 2 of the Rhode Island Constitution. On appeal, the plaintiff argued that the hearing justice erred in determining that her claims under RICRA were precluded by the prior dismissal of the plaintiff's federal Title IX claim. The plaintiff also argued that the hearing justice erred in holding that section 2 of article 1 of the Rhode Island Constitution does not grant the plaintiff a private right of action. The Supreme Court first held that the plaintiff's claims under RICRA were predicated upon the defendants' alleged violations of Title IX, which had already been litigated in federal court. Further, the Supreme Court stated that the resolution of that issue in federal court was essential to the judgment on the merits and, therefore, issue preclusion barred the plaintiff's claim in Superior Court. The Supreme Court also held that the plaintiff's claim that the defendants interfered with her contract with an educational institution was not actionable. Next, the Supreme Court examined the antidiscrimination clause contained in section 2 of article 1 of the Rhode Island Constitution and held that it was not self executing. Further, the Supreme Court held that principles of judicial restraint prevented the Court from creating a private right of action under these circumstances. Accordingly, the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the Superior Court.
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