Supreme Court of Rhode Island
The Shelter Harbor Conservation Society, Inc. v. Charles A. Rogers
June 17, 20112011 R.I. LEXIS 84
Summary
The Rhode Island Supreme Court affirmed the Superior Court’s grant of summary judgment to the Rogerses, holding that the plat map unambiguously shows three separate 10,000‑square‑foot lots that are exempt from the town’s merger provision and that the trial justice properly exercised discretion in staying the plaintiff’s depositions. The Court applied a de novo standard to the summary‑judgment determination and an abuse‑of‑discretion standard to the discovery stay. Justice Robinson dissented, arguing that the map is ambiguous and that summary judgment was improperly granted.