Providence Place Group Limited, Partnership v. State of Rhode Island, acting by and through Division of Taxation

Syllabus

The state sought, by way of certiorari, review of a District Court judgment in favor of the plaintiffs, Providence Place Group Limited, Partnership and Rouse Providence LLC. The state contended that the District Court judge erred by improperly weighing evidence failing to address the issue of assignability or transferability of tax exemptions and failing to construe and apply the tax-exemption provisions of the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation Act, G.L. 1956 chapter 64 of title 42, so as to not violate the nondelegation doctrine of the Rhode Island Constitution. The Supreme Court held that there were no material facts in dispute that were outcome-determinative and that the plaintiffs were entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The Supreme Court determined that the General Assembly clearly and unambiguously indicated that the Providence Place Mall was to remain a project of the Economic Development Corporation post-construction. The Supreme Court further concluded that § 42-64-20(c) exempted the mall from imposition of a real estate conveyance tax and that the delegation of powers to the Economic Development Corporation was constitutionally permissible because the standards accompanying the delegation were clear. The Supreme Court therefore affirmed the judgment of the District Court.