JHRW, LLC v. Seaport Studios, Inc.

Citations

• 212 A.3d 168

Syllabus

This case stemmed from a decade-long dispute over parking spaces in the Watch Hill section of Westerly. The defendants, Seaport Studios, Inc. and Randall Saunders, an officer of Seaport, appealed from an order of the Superior Court granting summary judgment in favor of the plaintiff, JHRW, LLC, as to count I of the plaintiff's amended complaint seeking a permanent injunction to bar the defendants from parking on JHRW's property. Before the Supreme Court, the defendants argued that the hearing justice erred in not referring the dispute to arbitration and in concluding that the defendants were precluded from asserting any claims or defenses with respect to the right to park on JHRW's property. The Supreme Court first held that the defendants had waived their right to arbitration. Next, the Supreme Court held that the defendants sought to litigate the same dispute over parking rights as was litigated in an earlier action which resulted in a final judgment and that, therefore, the defendants were precluded from relitigating the issue. Accordingly, the Supreme Court affirmed the order of the Superior Court.