(a) The state of Rhode Island and any political subdivision thereof, including all cities
and towns, shall, subject to the period of limitations set forth in § 9-1-25, hereby be liable in all actions of tort in the same manner as a private individual
or corporation; provided, however, that any recovery in any such action shall not
exceed the monetary limitations thereof set forth in this chapter.
(b) Except as otherwise provided herein, neither the State nor any other public body of
the State of Rhode Island shall have any liability for any claim arising prior to
December 31, 2002, from the failure of a computer, software program, database, network,
information system, firmware, embedded chip, or any other device, whether operated
by or on behalf of the State of Rhode Island or one of its agencies, departments,
divisions, or any public body as defined in § 9-1-31.1(a)(1), to interpret, produce, calculate, generate, or account for a date(s) or time(s)
which date(s) or time(s) is associated with the year 2000 date change. This provision
of this section shall apply without limitation to cities, towns, school committees,
regional school committees, housing authorities, public libraries, sewer district,
water districts, fire districts, agencies, authorities, boards, committees, subcommittees,
councils and commissions. Provided that nothing herein contained shall exempt any
public body from liability:
(1) For acts or omissions not in good faith, or
(2) For any malicious, willful, wanton, reckless or grossly negligent acts or omissions.
Provided that the public entity will only be liable for the proportion of damages
attributable to its own degree of fault, and provided further that any such liability
shall be governed by the monetary limitations of this chapter.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
83
cases (
12 in the last 5 years), 1973–2026 · leading case:
Marrapese v. Rhode Island, 500 F. Supp. 1207 (D.R.I. 1980).
Marrapese v. Rhode Island, 500 F. Supp. 1207 (D.R.I. 1980).
· cites it 39× “G.L. § 9-31-1 does evidence a waiver of Eleventh Amendment immunity in eases in which the alleged constitutional violation arises from activities that are in the nature of tort at common law.”
Andrade v. State, 448 A.2d 1293 (R.I. 1982).
· cites it 28× “1956 (1969 Reenactment) §§ 9-31-1 and 9-31-2, as enacted by P.L. 1970, ch.”
Laird v. Chrysler Corp., 460 A.2d 425 (R.I. 1983).
· cites it 22× “Whether the waiver of sovereign immunity by the State of Rhode Island in its General Laws, Section 9-31-1 constitutes a waiver of its right not to be sued by reason of the [Eleventh] Amendment to the United States Constitution? “2.”
Calhoun v. City of Providence, 390 A.2d 350 (R.I. 1978).
· cites it 12× “1956 (1969 Reenactment) §9-31-1 renders the state liable in tort for damages up to the amount of $50,000.”
Barratt v. Burlingham, 492 A.2d 1219 (R.I. 1985).
· cites it 12× “1956 (1969 Reenactment) § 9-31-1, as enacted by P.L. 1970, ch. 181, § 2, which abrogated the sovereign immunity of the state as well as of all other political subdivisions in Rhode Island.”
Victoria Roach v. State of Rhode Island, 157 A.3d 1042 (R.I. 2017).
· cites it 11× “Through § 9-31-1, the General Assembly further chiseled away at common-law immunity, construing state tort liability in a manner akin to that of a private person or corporation, while also confining potential damages.”
Kaya v. Partington, 681 A.2d 256 (R.I. 1996).
· cites it 7× “) Section 9-31-1. To be sure, as the majority notes, "[a] court need not lie supine in the face of legislative silence or ambiguity.”
Mesolella v. City of Providence, 508 A.2d 661 (R.I. 1986).
· cites it 6× “After a detailed analysis of the history of sovereign immunity and its abrogation, the special master held, and the trial justice concurred, that § 9-31-1 only applies to actions that, prior to the adoption of the Superior Court Rules of Civil Procedure, could have been…”
Graff v. Motta, 695 A.2d 486 (R.I. 1997).
· cites it 8× “Through G.L.1956 § 9-31-1, enacted in 1970, the General Assembly, however, explicitly provided that the State of Rhode Island and any political subdivision thereof could be held “liable in all actions of tort in the same manner as a private individual or corporation.”
Taylor v. United States Dep't of Labor, 440 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2005).
· cites it 6× “Appellants also argue that the State has waived its sovereign immunity under R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-31-1, which waives the State’s immunity “in all actions of tort in the same manner as a private individual or corporation.”
Healey v. Bendick, 628 F. Supp. 681 (D.R.I. 1986).
· cites it 13× “See R.I.Gen.Laws § 9-31-1. 10 But, the claims which Healey asserts against these defendants do not sound in tort.”
Gagnon v. State, 570 A.2d 656 (R.I. 1990).
· cites it 6× “1956 (1985 Reenactment) § 9-31-1, the Legislature has declared that the state will be “liable in all actions of tort in the same manner as a private individual or corporation.”
— R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-31-1(1997) — 1 case
— R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-31-1(a) — 5 cases
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