Peter A. O'Rourke v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company

Syllabus

The plaintiff, Peter A. O'Rourke, filed a petition for writ of certiorari seeking review of a Superior Court order granting a motion filed by the defendant, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, to discharge a jury after the plaintiff had rested at trial. Before this Court, the plaintiff argued that based on this Court's precedent, the determination of whether the particular use of a non-owned automobile constitutes a \regular use\ within the meaning of an insurance policy providing uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage is a question of fact to be resolved by the factfinder. Further, the plaintiff contended that the trial justice violated the law of the case doctrine by disregarding the hearing justice's earlier decision denying the defendant's motion for summary judgment on identical grounds. After careful consideration, the Supreme Court held that the trial justice erred in dismissing the jury, quashing the order and remanding the case to the Superior Court for a new trial.