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DRAFT FOR ATTORNEY REVIEW — NOT FINAL

Hoffman v. Davenport-Metcalf, 851 A.2d 1083 (2004)

Citation
Hoffman v. Davenport-Metcalf, 851 A.2d 1083 (2004)
Parent Document
Hoffman v. Davenport-Metcalf, 851 A.2d 1083 (2004)
Jurisdiction
Rhode Island (state)
Effective Date
2004-06-21

Other Sections in This Document (104)

Full Text

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I, concur in the decision of the Court to affirm the judgment of the Superior Court. But I would do so without reaching the *1093 question of whether the anti-SLAPP statute bars the causes of action stated in this complaint. It is well settled that courts should decide cases "on the narrowest legal grounds available." Shamloo v. Mississippi State Board of Trustees of Institutions of Higher Learning, 620 F.2d 516, 524 (5th Cir.1980); United States v. Rias, 524 F.2d 118, 120 n. 2 (5th Cir.1975). "It is the duty of the court to resolve the dispute before it on whatever ground may properly conclude or dispose of the litigation, and not engage unnecessarily in exercises in the derivation of abstract law." State v. St. Peter, 132 Vt. 266, 315 A.2d 254, 255 (1974).