Louis Paolino v. Joseph Ferreira

Syllabus

The plaintiffs, Louis Paolino and Marie Issa, appealed from an amended judgment in favor of the defendants—namely, Joseph Ferreira, the Joseph I. Ferreira Trust, J.F. Realty, LLC, and LKQ Corporation. The plaintiffs contended on appeal that the trial justice erred \in not giving a curative instruction on various misstatements of fact\ that the defendants' counsel purportedly made in his opening statement. They further contended that the trial justice erred in allowing a particular witness for the defendants to testify relative to a certain report which she had not relied upon in forming her initial opinion. The Supreme Court first held that the plaintiffs' appeal would not be dismissed based on the untimeliness of the transmission of the record. It further held that the plaintiffs failed to object to the sufficiency of the curative instruction, thus precluding appellate review of the issue. Lastly, the Court held that the trial justice did not abuse her discretion in allowing the defendants' witness to provide limited testimony relative to a report that the defendants did not disclose that she had relied upon in forming her opinion. Accordingly, the Supreme Court affirmed the amended judgment of the Superior Court.