Rahim Caldwell v. Jason Anthony ( 2022 )

Supreme Court
No. 2021-268-Appeal.
(PC 19-9870)
Rahim Caldwell :
v. :
Jason Anthony et al. :
ORDER
The plaintiff, Rahim Caldwell, appeals pro se from a Superior Court judgment
dismissing the matter “on the merits” in favor of the defendants, Jason Anthony and
Frederick Ghio. This case came before the Supreme Court pursuant to an order
directing the parties to appear and show cause why the issues raised in this appeal
should not be summarily decided. After considering the parties’ written and oral
submissions and reviewing the record, we conclude that cause has not been shown
and that this case may be decided without further briefing or argument. For the
reasons set forth herein, we affirm the judgment of the Superior Court.
The plaintiff filed a complaint in Providence County Superior Court on
September 30, 2019, which was subsequently amended on December 4, 2019. The
amended complaint named Anthony, the Rhode Island College (RIC) director of
admissions, and Ghio, the former RIC director of campus security and chief of
police, as defendants. It raised thirty-six counts stemming from the revocation of
plaintiff’s admission to RIC. The plaintiff alleged that defendants “perpetrated
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violations of his Rhode Island state constitutional rights, his United States * * *
constitutional rights under the due process clause of the fourteenth amendment,
[RIC] student bill of rights, Academic integrity board, including Student conduct
board, When [sic] both Jason Anthony and Frederick Ghio made decisions that
caused irreparable harm or injury to plaintiff’s educational benefits at [RIC]
including his liberty and property interests at [RIC].”
The defendants filed a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the
Superior Court Rules of Civil Procedure and for an award of attorneys’ fees, to which
plaintiff filed an objection. On July 13, 2021, and October 7, 2021, hearings on the
motion to dismiss were held before a justice of the Superior Court. The plaintiff has
not provided this Court with a transcript of those hearings.
On October 8, 2021, the hearing justice entered an order granting defendants’
motion to dismiss. The order dismissed all claims against Anthony, based on “res
judicata on account of proceedings in the matter of PC-2018-4590.”1 As to Ghio,
the order dismissed all counts for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be
granted. A separate order denying defendants’ motion for attorneys’ fees and a
separate final judgment in favor of defendants were entered on the same day. On
October 26, 2021, plaintiff filed a timely notice of appeal.
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The plaintiff has filed two other cases in Superior Court against one or both of the
defendants: PC 18-4590 and PC 18-7908. The former was prematurely appealed to
this Court and therefore was dismissed in May 2019.
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On appeal, plaintiff fails to articulate any claim of error by the hearing justice,
nor does he articulate with any specificity why the dismissal should be vacated.
“This Court ‘deems an issue waived when a party simply states an issue for appellate
review, without a meaningful discussion thereof.’” Palange v. Palange, 243 A.3d
783, 785 (R.I. 2021) (mem.) (quoting Broccoli v. Manning, 208 A.3d 1146, 1149
(R.I. 2019)). We “will not search the record to substantiate that which a party
alleges.” Id. (quoting Giammarco v. Giammarco, 151 A.3d 1220, 1222 (R.I. 2017)).
The plaintiff has additionally failed to provide this Court with a transcript.
There is, therefore, no way for this Court to determine what objections the plaintiff
may have made or what claims have been preserved for appeal. Article I, Rule 11(a)
of the Supreme Court Rules of Appellate Procedure requires an appellant to transmit
to the Supreme Court “the record on appeal, including the transcript necessary for
the determination of the appeal, * * * within sixty (60) days after the filing of the
notice of appeal[.]” (Emphasis added.) Although “pro se litigants are often granted
greater latitude by [a] court[,]” they are not exempt from our rules. Terzian v.
Lombardi, 180 A.3d 555, 558 (R.I. 2018) (brackets omitted) (quoting Jacksonbay
Builders, Inc. v. Azarmi, 869 A.2d 580, 585 (R.I. 2005)). The plaintiff’s “failure to
provide this Court with a sufficient transcript precludes a meaningful review and
leaves us no alternative but to deny the appeal and uphold the [hearing] justice’s
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findings.” Palange, 243 A.3d at 784 (brackets and deletion omitted) (quoting Calise
v. Curtin, 900 A.2d 1164, 1169 (R.I. 2006)).
Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the Superior Court. The record may
be returned to the Superior Court.
Entered as an Order of this Court this 20th day of December, 2022.
By Order,
/s/ Debra A. Saunders, Clerk
____________________________
Clerk
Justice Long did not participate.
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND
SUPREME COURT – CLERK’S OFFICE
Licht Judicial Complex
250 Benefit Street
Providence, RI 02903
ORDER COVER SHEET
Title of Case Rahim Caldwell v. Jason Anthony et al.
No. 2021-268-Appeal.
Case Number
(PC 19-9870)
Date Order Filed December 20, 2022
Suttell, C.J., Goldberg, Robinson, Lynch Prata, and
Justices
Long, JJ.
Source of Appeal Providence County Superior Court
Judicial Officer from Lower Court Associate Justice Melissa E. Darigan
For Plaintiff:
Rahim Caldwell, Pro Se
Attorney(s) on Appeal
For Defendants:
Jeffrey S. Michaelson, Esq.
SU-CMS-02B (revised November 2022)