Soares v. Nationwide Mut. Fire Ins. Co.
| Decision Date | 19 March 1997 |
| Docket Number | No. 95-679-A,95-679-A |
| Citation | 692 A.2d 701 |
| Parties | Silvana SOARES and Manuel Soares v. NATIONWIDE MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY, Alias John Doe. ppeal. |
| Court | Rhode Island Supreme Court |
John T. Longo, Stephen C. Mackie, Providence.
John M. Boland, Providence.
This matter came before the Supreme Court on March 7, 1997 pursuant to an order that directed the plaintiffs, Manuel A. Soares and Silvana Soares, to show cause why the issues raised in this appeal should not be summarily decided. The plaintiffs have appealed from a judgment entered following a jury verdict for the defendant, Nationwide Mutual Fire Insurance Company. After reviewing the memoranda of the parties and after hearing the arguments of counsel, we are of the opinion that cause has not been shown, and therefore the appeal will be decided at this time.
The plaintiffs, who are husband and wife, filed a claim with the defendant insurance company for a burglary that allegedly took place on October 30, 1990, at their home in Smithfield, Rhode Island. The defendant denied the claim. On October 30, 1991, plaintiffs filed a complaint in Superior Court alleging that defendant wrongfully denied their claim. The defendant claimed that plaintiffs violated the fraud and concealment clause of the policy and committed fraud, misrepresentation, and false swearing. After a trial, the jury answered special interrogatories and concluded that plaintiffs did not prove that a loss had occurred at their home.
The plaintiffs have raised three issues on appeal. First, plaintiffs contended that the trial justice erred in limiting the testimony of Silvana Soares (Silvana), a native of Iraq, by not allowing her to testify about the cultural heritage of Iraq toward gold. Silvana, however, did testify at trial that she and her husband owned a great deal of gold because she "like[d] to buy gold to save it; something we do in my country." She also testified, In light of Silvana's testimony about why she and her husband owned a great deal of gold jewelry, her allegation of having been precluded from testifying about her cultural affinity toward gold is without merit.
The plaintiffs next contended that the trial justice erred in allowing defendant to introduce evidence of the past criminal record of Manuel Soares (Manuel). In 1976, Manuel pleaded guilty to filing a false police report and pleaded nolo...
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