Cheryl A. Sola v. Chelsea Leighton

Summary

The Rhode Island Supreme Court affirmed the Superior Court’s summary judgment dismissing the plaintiff’s defamation claim as time‑barred. It held that the John Doe filing did not toll the limitations period because the plaintiff knew Detective Caruolo’s identity, that the cause of action accrued on the date the defamatory statements were published, not when the plaintiff was fired, and that there was no fraudulent concealment to toll the limitations. The court reviewed the summary‑judgment decision de novo and remanded the parties to the Superior Court.