Judgment favoring city upheld in Moreau case.

Byline: Barry Bridges

Affirming a trial judge's ruling in favor of Central Falls' insurer with regard to allegations made by several plaintiffs against former Mayor Charles D. Moreau, the Rhode Island Supreme Court has brought closure to what it called a "sad and scandal-plagued chapter" in the city's history.

Four former city employees its former police chief, a librarian, and two other library staffers filed the suit against Moreau and the city in 2007, alleging defamation, invasion of privacy, and infliction of emotional distress. In 2013, after Central Falls declared bankruptcy, the city's insurer, The Rhode Island Interlocal Risk Management Trust, was substituted as the sole defendant through a consent order.

The Supreme Court upheld Superior Court Judge Sarah Taft-Carter's grant of summary judgment in favor of the trust on all counts. In light of the plaintiffs' previous action in federal court, the court concluded that some of the claims were barred by res judicata.

As to several of the remaining claims, however, the court faulted the plaintiffs for making "blanket objections" to the defendants' motions for summary judgment without calling attention to specific evidence raising issues of material fact.

"In their papers to this court, plaintiffs aver that 'there are numerous facts alleged and denied by the Trust which demand adjudication,' but they do not direct our attention to what those facts might be," Justice Gilbert V. Indeglia wrote on the court's behalf.

As to the defamation claim in particular, Indeglia said that while "the plaintiffs did call the hearing justice's attention to certain discovery materials, we fail to see how placing fourteen volumes of depositions and fifty-one newspaper articles in front of the court, without pointing to how these documents created factual issues regarding the elements of defamation, satisfied the plaintiffs' burden for purposes of overcoming summary judgment."

The 21-page decision is Shannahan, et al. v. Moreau, et al., Lawyers Weekly No. 60-018-19. The full text of the ruling can be found here.

Appellate counsel for the plaintiffs was Philip E. Irons of Cumberland. Representing the defendants were Patrick K. Cunningham, Marc DeSisto, Michael A. DeSisto and Elizabeth M. Noonan, all of Providence. None of the lawyers responded to requests for comments.

Tense relationships

In 2003, Moreau ran for mayor in Central Falls against incumbent Lee Matthews. The plaintiffs were supportive of...