Marcia Sallum Glassie v. Paul Doucette, in his capacity as of the Estate of Donelson C. Glassie, Jr.

Citations

• 159 A.3d 88
• 2017 WL 1946265
• 2017 R.I. LEXIS 54

Syllabus

The plaintiff, Marcia Sallum Glassie, and the defendant, Paul Doucette, the Executor of the Estate of Donelson C. Glassie, Jr., cross-appealed from a Superior Court judgment awarding the plaintiff the sum of $2,000,000 under the provisions of the last Will and Testament of Donelson C. Glassie, Jr. (testator), less $437,861.59 in life insurance proceeds the plaintiff had received upon the testator's death. In addition, the defendant also appealed from the trial justice's award of attorney's fees to the plaintiff, and the plaintiff appealed from the trial justice's denial of prejudgment interest. After reviewing the record, the Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the Superior Court, concluding that there was ambiguity in the will and that res judicata and collateral estoppel did not apply to the claims. In addition, the Supreme Court also held that the trial justice erred in linking the life insurance policy to the $2,000,000 bequest and in awarding attorney's fees. Further, the Court found no error in the trial justice's finding that prejudgment interest was inapplicable to the plaintiff's claim. The Supreme Court, therefore, remanded the matter for further proceedings and returned the record to the Superior Court.