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R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-5.1-13

Civil remedy

Applied in 3 court decisions — leading case Walden v. City of Providence (2010)

Most recently applied in Walden v. City of Providence (February 2010)

P.L. 1969, ch. 55, § 1; P.L. 1974, ch. 121, § 1; P.L. 1979, ch. 239, § 1; P.L. 1999, ch. 167, § 2.

How often courts cite this section

19992000201010
citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

(a) Any person whose wire, electronic, or oral communication is intercepted, disclosed, or used in violation of this chapter shall have a civil cause of action against any person who intercepts, discloses, or uses the communications, and shall be entitled to recover from that person:

(1) Actual damages, but not less than liquidated damages, computed at the rate of one hundred dollars ($100) per day for each day of violation, or one thousand dollars ($1,000), whichever is higher;

(2) Punitive damages; and

(3) Reasonable attorneys’ fees and other litigation disbursements reasonably incurred.

(b) Good faith reliance on a court order issued under this chapter shall constitute a complete defense to any civil or criminal action brought under this section or any other law. Any communications common carrier and its employees shall be deemed to have acted in good faith upon receipt of a certified copy of the court order issued under this chapter and the representations of the attorney general or an assistant attorney general specially designated by the attorney general.

Official source: Rhode Island General Assembly. Reproduced from public-domain Rhode Island statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.