Proposed Legislation Threatens to Stir up Shorelines
Published in Providence Business News (May 29-June 4, 2006) The simmering battle between public and private rights to the Rhode Island shoreline may once again erupt if legislation pending in…
Here’s A Challenge for the Free Market: The Water Closet
Published in Providence Business News (September 27-October 3, 1999) If you spent at least part of your summer vacation lamenting the many stupid things Congress has done over the years,…
Developing New Wetlands Makes Sense
Published in Providence Business News (April 20, 1992) Although most people knowledgeable about wetlands agree wetlands should be preserved and protected, these same experts disagree whether wetlands should be created…
Client Service
CLIENT SERVICES In many ways, we have tried to reinvent the traditional law firm. Because one of our important goals is to provide personalized client attention, we actively limit our…
The Precise Boundary of Waterfront Property May Not Be What You Think
Many prospective purchasers of waterfront property expect that they will own all the land up to the water. Some may; others may not. The reason is that the precise boundary…
Land Use Tax Policy – How Unfair is Fair?
“This is a case of fundamental unfairness masquerading as rational tax policy” “This is a case which plumbs the depths of how unfair a government can be to taxpayers and…
Are Property Owners Liable for an Oil Release on Their Property Even if it Occurred Before They Owned the Property?
Rhode Island’s penchant for strict liability for releases of environmental contaminants appears to be getting even stricter. A recent Superior Court decision just held that a property owner who owned…
Rhode Island and Massachusetts Issues on the Siting of Potentially Hazardous Facilities Will Get National Attention
An American Bar Association Webinar will bring to a national audience Rhode Island’s and Massachusetts’ experience with the proposed development of a LNG facility as part of a discussion of…
A Real Estate Developer’s Worst Nightmare Gets Even Worse
To all those developers rushing off to federal court to sue because state regulations preventing development have “taken” your property without just compensation—NOT SO FAST! And to all those…