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ARTICLE · 01 JUNE 2013

Jarndyce v. Jarndyce – Construction Version

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The fictional case forming the center of Charles Dickens’ novel Bleak House lasted for generations, and now Rhode Island has its own version.

United StatesReal Estate and Construction
Duane Morris
Duane Morris
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The fictional case forming the center of Charles Dickens' novel Bleak House lasted for generations, and now Rhode Island has its own version.  On April 25, 2013, the Rhode Island Supreme Court issued a decision in a lawsuit started on February 19, 1991, concerning construction work performed in 1990.  The plaintiff claimed the lawsuit had been "in a coma," to which the RI high court said "it is time to take this case off life support."

Piccoli & Sons, Inc. was a second-tier site subcontractor claiming to be owed almost $400,000 for the project in question.  After filing suit, Piccoli went out of business, and a receiver was appointed who pursued the lawsuit for a while.  Then the case went dormant for many years. 

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