Supreme Court shoots down lawsuit
Man shot in stomach six years ago sued landowners, who were not present a time of accidental shooting
The state Supreme Court has upheld an earlier court’s ruling which denied a man damages after he was accidentally shot in the stomach six years ago in Warren.
Adam Correia was accidentally shot in the stomach on August 7, 2011, when a friend’s .45 caliber handgun accidentally discharged while the two were shooting at a Warren property owned by John and Theresa Bettencourt.
Mr. Correia, who was shot by his friend Edward Alexander, subsequently sued Mr. Alexander and the Bettencourts, who were not present at the time of the shooting.
He claimed Mr. Alexander was negligent, that the Betencourts failed to control Mr. Alexander, were negligent, failed to exercise reasonable care and failed to supervise Mr. Alexander. The case was heard in Rhode Island Superior Court.
In early 2016, the Bettencourts filed a motion for summary judgment, asking the hearing justice to dismiss Mr. Correia’s claims as they had no ability or duty to oversee Mr. Alexander’s actions, as they were not present at the time. On June 9, 2016, the Bettencourts’ bid for summary judgement was approved.
Mr. Correia filed an appeal with the state Supreme Court two weeks later, but Supreme Court justices, in a ruling released this week, dismissed the appeal and affirmed the decision of the Supreme Court denying Mr. Correia damages.
