This law firm does not own, sponsor or contribute to any entity to which there is a link on this page. Unless specifically stated, these new reports and the listing or offering of such links shall not constitute or imply that this law firm or any person at this law firm endorses, recommends, prefers, or has any responsibility for the ownership or management of any such entity nor for that the firm has any responsibility for having reviewed or for reviewing the accuracy or usefulness of the content of any such links or sites (including but not limited to any internet websites that are or may be in the future be linked to this page).

And some of that "fine print" stuff we have to include: Please note that these are only summaries of these matters, offered for informational purposes only. Each of these matters had its own particular factual and legal setting and it is possible that they may not reflect current legal developments. Although accurate in their content, they are not intended to constitute legal advice to the reader and your receipt of the information on this page (and this webpage generally) is not intended to create, nor does it create, a lawyer-client relationship between you and the law firm.

 Car Accident - $322,700 Settlement: We are pleased to announce the recent settlement of a tragic car accident case in which our client was the passenger in a jeep that was struck, head-on, by another vehicle that was on the wrong side of the road and driven by someone under the influence of alcohol. Both persons in the other car died of their injuries but our client and his operator survived with serious but not life-threatening injuries. Our client suffered lacerations to his face, cheeks, ear, and head, leaving some permanent but subtle scarring. He also had a fractured right wrist, left knee injury that required arthroscopic surgery and other injuries. His medical bills were approximately $27,000 and he lost several months of employment following the accident. The settlement included payment from the insurer for the car that struck our client’s vehicle and also underinsured motorist benefits paid by the Government Employees Insurance Company which should be complimented for interpreting its policy and obligations in a favorable way toward our client and having participated in good faith mediation helping to resolve the case in a fair manner. Burke v. Callaghan, et al (2 actions). (Posted January 19, 2012)

 New Website Launched: John Reilly & Associates has launched this new website and we are excited about the new design, content and improvements that are coming through the hard work and efforts of our staff and, in particular, Carolyn Reilly. (Posted December 28, 2011)

 Lawsuit Alleges Violation of Civil Rights and Use of Excessive Force upon African-American by Three Officers of the Providence Police Department: In a new lawsuit filed by John Reilly & Associates on behalf of an African-American gentleman, it is alleged that he suffered violations of his civil rights at the hands of the City of Providence and three of its police officers. The scene was captured, in part, on security cameras at the Federal Building and by other witness pictures. The suit claims that our client's rights of free speach under the First Amendment and his rights against being subjected to unwarranted, excessive force were violated. The complaint seeks damages for serious injuries in an unspecified amount and is before the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island (Costa v. Rasch, et al, C.A. No. 11-336L). (Posted August 4, 2011)

 Ferreira Civil Rights and Defamation Case Resolved: Two days after Judge Tauro invited the parties to discuss the settlement if they could "do business around $1.2 million," a confidential settlement agreement was reached in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts in Boston. We cannot disclose the terms of the settlement but our clients feel quite pleased with the outcome. (Ferreira, et al v. Town of Rehoboth, et al, No. 1:08-cv-11667-JLT, July 2009).

 Lola's Tequila Bar & Cantina: We are pleased to have the opportunity to represent the partners who are opening Lola's Tequila Bar & Cantina in Providence, Rhode Island and hope that our friends and clients support and patronize this exciting new Mexican Restaurant. Grand Opening - Thursday, July 28, 2011 - Hope to see everyone there!

 More Deception Unearthed in Johnston: Based on newly discovered information we have filed a new lawsuit in the Providence County Superior Court alleging that about three (3) decades ago a hidden, illegal sewer line was installed (without permits) - under a protected wetlands area and intermittent stream - and secretly tied into our client's private sewer line. This apparently saved the builder lots of money since it was much easier to do this than to construct the line under municipal streets that had significant amounts of ledge which would have required expensive blasting. As a result it has caused excessive use of our client's sewer line and pump station and periodic back-ups into residences in our client's buildings that went unexplained for years. Since this was a clandestine act there are few records, raising environmental concerns about the quality of the installation and its effect on the wetlands and the Pocasset River. Some present day Town officials may have lacked knowledge of this situation but there is a written easement for the illegal line that is in the name of a former prominent Town official (now deceased). As discovery moves forward we will try to unearth the complete truth and it will be interesting to see just how much "old time" Johnston politics may have played a role in this case. Johnston Equities Associates v. Town of Johnston, et al (Providence Superior Court docket C.A. 11-3983) (July 13, 2011).

 Business Dispute Settlement: We have recovered $300,000 for a commercial landlord in a case litigated in federal court. Click here for the case description. (May 31, 2011)

 Another Significant Settlement Reached on "Courthouse Steps": A wonderful gentleman not far from retirement age died in a tragic automobile accident in nearby Massachusetts in the fall of 2006. Both drivers were from Rhode Island and planning to return to Rhode Island after work. The responsible party's insurance company did not offer enough to resolve the case, arguing that Massachusetts law should be applied. So John Reilly & Associates took it to court. The case was reached for a jury trial in the Providence County Superior Court in mid-March, 2011. The trial judge eventually ruled that Rhode Island law would be used. This was much better for our clients than Massachusetts law and led the insurance company to reconsider its position and nearly double its settlement offer rather than go to trial. A mid to upper 6-figure settlement was reached, subject to approval by the Probate Court. We are confident that approval will be given and will provide further details in the Cases section of this website once that takes place. (March, 2011)
Update: Probate approval has been obtained. Click here for the case description. (May 31, 2011)

 See John Reilly Interview on TV-10: John Reilly was recently interviewed by the I-Team of NBC TV-10. See the video here (click on News, then Videos, and then Rehoboth Investigation).

 John Reilly & Associates is pleased to announce that Attorney Eric S. Brainsky has joined our practice. Please see Eric's information on our Biographies page.

 The Whiskey Republic: We are pleased to have the opportunity to represent the partners who lauched The Whiskey Republic in Providence, Rhode Island and hope that our friends and clients support and patronize this exciting new club. (March, 2011)

 John Reilly & Associates is pleased to announce that it has been selected for inclusion in the 2011 edition of the Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers, a distinction for which only about 5% of all law firms in the United States qualify. We thank all those who have allowed us to be of service to them and who have made this prestigious award possible*. (January, 2011).

*Note: “CV”, “BV” and “AV” are registered certification marks of Reed Elsvier Properties, Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies.

 John Reilly & Associates is assisting the family of Konstantin Salikhov, a Brown University graduate student from Kazan, Russia, who has been missing in August, 2011. Anyone having information about Konstantin is urged to contact us. Our thanks to all who have expressed concern and are assisting.

 Workplace Accident - One Million Dollar Settlement: Our client was hired as an independent subcontractor to perform roofing work for a general contractor on a new home being constructed in Block Island, Rhode Island. The general contractor insisted upon using his own staging and scaffolding on the job but our client was allowed to use his own roof jacks. At the end of a long workday, our client lowered himself to the scaffolding erected by the general contractor and eventually tried to lower himself (holding onto the scaffolding) to reenter the unfinished house through a rough window opening. As he started to lower himself, the scaffolding tilted and our client fell more than 20 feet onto the ground and a pile of shingles. His fall caused numerous, severe injuries including a jaw broken in several places, lost teeth, fractures of his lower extremity, a concussion and nerve damage. Nobody else saw him fall, so when the general contractor called the 9-1-1 emergency system he stated that our client (his roofer) had "fallen off the roof". As so often happens (especially when someone's jaw is broken in so many places that he could hardly talk), that initial "history" was repeated by the rescue squad, air transport, and at hospital emergency rooms. Additionally, for some unknown reason the general contractor gave an elaborate (but false) story about finding evidence that our client had indeed fallen from the roof of the house. The general contractor also removed the staging the day after the accident (legally called "spoliation") and later used different, much safer staging to complete the work (legally called "subsequent remedial measures"). Our client has never been able to work since the accident. Through photographic evidence, deposition testimony and lots of hard work, we were able to demonstrate the actual reason for our client's fall and injuries and recover the entire amount available under the general contractor's insurance policy - ONE MILLION DOLLARS - through settlement before it got to trial. Laraway v. Seaside Enterprises, Inc., et al, Washington County Superior Court docket no. WC09-0315). (Posted in November, 2010)

 Check Your Guns at the Door: Unfortunately, we have for the first time in any case had to demand in some Rehoboth cases that during any further depositions or court proceedings we be assured that no parties or other witnesses bring any weapons to any such proceedings. If necessary we will seek a court order to protect everyone from potential harm. From an Editorial in the Attleboro Sun Chronicle, July 17, 2010:

A date worth remembering this week, especially in Rehoboth, is Feb. 7, 2008.

That's when Charles Lee Thornton went on a shooting rampage at a Kirkwood, Mo., city council meeting that left six people dead, including Thornton, and two others wounded.

Shootings at public meetings are not everyday occurrences. The Kirkwood incident is recorded because it was aberrent, not common. Ditto for the reason the San Francisco City Hall shootings of Harvey Milk and George Moscone are well remembered. Same for Amy Bishop's alleged shooting of three professors, at a college faculty meeting, of all places.

But when Rehoboth Police Chief Stephen Enos (inset) made a "request" that anyone carrying a gun leave this week's selectmen's meeting, he could easily make an it-can-happen-here argument. Indeed, a lot of things have been happening in Rehoboth that some thought never would. If anyone could be happy about the goings-on regarding the cable access corporation, a 10-year-old subdivision case, and now guns at Town Hall, it's Wrentham Town Hall. Finally, a public-officials-behaving-badly case that trumps the men's room altercation between two former selectmen.

A town bylaw prohibiting the carrying of firearms in public buildings would be welcome, if it's necessary. Former selectman Christopher Morra might disagree. One of two citizens suspected of toting a piece to town hall Monday, he was quick to cite Second Amendment rights. A majority of Rehoboth residents, we suspect, would be very unhappy if their town joined the likes of Washington, D.C., and Chicago in costly federal right-to-carry disputes. Not to mention the obvious question: What purpose does a gun serve at a public meeting?

Note: Order entered by U.S.District Court in Boston on Friday, September 17, 2010:

Magistrate Judge Leo T. Sorokin: ELECTRONIC ORDER entered; The Court hereby orders that: No party, witness, lawyer or other attendee at any depositions or case-related events in this case shall possess a firearm during such events.

Update: The witness we are talking about has just been appointed to the Town's Conservation Commission by a bare majority vote. And we believe that those who voted for him knew of his lack of knowledge, but apparently value his loyalty more than anything else.

 Federal Judge Agrees With Our Appeal and Changes Long Standing Procedure in Rhode Island Cases Claiming "Bad Faith" by Insurance Companies: In a ruling issued on Friday, February 5, 2010, Judge William Smith of the United States Disctrict Court for the District of Rhode Island ruled that the long-standing Rhode Island practice of automatically stopping discovery in insurance "bad faith" cases until after the underlying "contract" claims are resolved should no longer be the practice in cases brought before the federal court. His thoughtful ruling sets forth guidelines for determining how this issue should be handled in the future and makes reference to the many federal courts througout the country that have adopted this new approach to one extent or another. We will post a copy of this important ruling on our blog and continue fighting for the rights of our clients to be free from unsavory conduct by insurers. The decision was issued in the matter of Carol Wolf v. GEICO General Insurance Company which is filed under case or docket number 1:08-cv-00436-S-DLM. (Posted, February 5, 2010). Read the full text (PDF) of the order.