Paul R. Boisse v. Joseph R. Miller, Jr. d/b/a Joseph Miller Construction

Syllabus

The defendants appealed from a Superior Court judgment arising from their sale of real property with improvements that encroached upon an adjacent lot. The trial justice found that the defendants were liable for the plaintiffs' damages arising from that sale and that defendant Joseph Miller's insurer was not liable for his intentional acts. The defendants asserted that the insurer's liability in a separate and unrelated matter should have been accounted for in determining its liability in this matter the defendants also raised issues with an amended pleading, trial events as reflected on the docket, language used in the judgment, and defendant Lynne Miller's counsel's lack of communication with her regarding trial outcomes. The Supreme Court concluded that the issues raised by the defendants regarding the insurer's liability in another action, the amended pleading, and the language in the judgment were all precluded for review by the Court according to the raise-or-waive rule. The Supreme Court addressed the defendants' concerns about the events as reflected in the docket, concluding that those events were ordinary trial practice and procedure. The Court declined to review the defendants' issue with counsel, as it was not properly before the Court, having not first been raised in the trial court. Accordingly, the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the Superior Court.