Chariho Regional School District, by and through the Chariho Regional School Committee v. State of Rhode Island

Citations

• 207 A.3d 1007

Syllabus

This appeal stems from a contract dispute between the plaintiff, Chariho Regional School District, and the state defendants, the Rhode Island Department of Education, the Rhode Island Department of Administration, the Rhode Island Council on Elementary and Secondary Education, and former Commissioner of Education Kenneth Wagner. The plaintiff appealed from a May 9, 2017 order of the Superior Court dismissing its amended complaint requesting declaratory and injunctive relief and alleging a breach of contract. Before the Supreme Court, the plaintiff argued that the hearing justice erred by (1) allowing the Westerly School Committee and Narragansett School Committee to intervene in the action and (2) granting the state defendants' motion to dismiss after determining that there had been no breach of the contract based on its plain language and concluding that termination of the contract was the plaintiff's exclusive remedy in the event of a breach. The Supreme Court first held that the plaintiff's challenge to the order allowing intervention by the Westerly and Narragansett school committees was not properly before the Court because there has been no final judgment in the case. Next, the Court held that the hearing justice erred by granting the state defendants' motion to dismiss because an ambiguity existed in the language of the contract. Lastly, the Court held that the language of the remedies provision in the contract did not indicate an intent to provide for termination of the contract as the exclusive remedy. Accordingly, the Supreme Court vacated the order of the Superior Court.