Gloria Nerney v. Town of Smithfield

Syllabus

The plaintiff, Gloria Nerney, appealed from a March 17, 2020 judgment of the Providence County Superior Court dismissing her amended complaint, in which she sought a writ of mandamus directing the defendant, the Town of Smithfield, to remove certain trees and plants that were planted by certain non-defendant neighbors on a municipally owned right of way. On appeal, the plaintiff averred that the hearing justice erred in determining that she did not satisfy the criteria for the issuance of a writ of mandamus. The Supreme Court held that the hearing justice did not err in granting the Town's motion to dismiss since the decision as to how to deal with the matters at issue falls within the discretionary authority of the Town, thereby making relief in the form of a writ of mandamus unavailable. Accordingly, the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the Superior Court.