1112 Charles, L.P. v. Fornel Entertainment, Inc.

Citations

• 159 A.3d 619
• 2017 WL 1843877
• 2017 R.I. LEXIS 51

Syllabus

The plaintiff, 1112 Charles, L.P., appealed to the Supreme Court following the grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendants, Fornel Entertainment, Inc. and its president, Anthony Lancellotta. The matter involved a parking lease between Fornel, the owner of property at 1113 Charles Street in North Providence, Rhode Island, and the then-owner of property across the street at 1112 Charles Street. The plaintiff, as current owner of the 1112 Charles Street property, brought suit against the defendants to void the lease and alleged, in part, that Lancellotta fraudulently procured the lease. A Superior Court justice granted the defendants' summary-judgment motion on the ground that the plaintiff was not in privity of contract with the defendants because it was not a party to the original lease or any of its subsequent amendments. Therefore, the justice held that the plaintiff lacked standing to challenge the lease. On appeal, the plaintiff asserted that an attornment agreement executed by the defendants and a prior owner of the 1112 Charles Street property created privity of contract. The Supreme Court affirmed the Superior Court's judgment and rejected the plaintiff's unsupported contention that the attornment agreement created privity of contract between it and the defendants. Without privity of contract, the Court concluded, the plaintiff lacked standing to challenge the lease. Accordingly, the grant of summary judgment was appropriate.