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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | 2025 -- S 0511 |
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| 6 | 6 | | ======== |
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| 7 | 7 | | LC001173 |
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| 8 | 8 | | ======== |
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| 9 | 9 | | S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D |
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| 10 | 10 | | IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 11 | 11 | | JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025 |
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| 12 | 12 | | ____________ |
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| 13 | 13 | | |
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| 14 | 14 | | A N A C T |
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| 15 | 15 | | RELATING TO PROPERTY -- RESIDENTIAL LANDLORD AND TENANT ACT |
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| 16 | 16 | | Introduced By: Senators Mack, Murray, Kallman, Gu, Bell, Britto, and Euer |
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| 17 | 17 | | Date Introduced: February 26, 2025 |
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| 18 | 18 | | Referred To: Senate Judiciary |
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| 19 | 19 | | |
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| 20 | 20 | | |
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| 21 | 21 | | It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
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| 22 | 22 | | SECTION 1. Section 34-18-60 of the General Laws in Chapter 34-18 entitled "Residential 1 |
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| 23 | 23 | | Landlord and Tenant Act" is hereby amended to read as follows: 2 |
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| 24 | 24 | | 34-18-60. Sealing and unsealing of court files. 3 |
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| 25 | 25 | | (a) Actions arising under §§ 34-18-35, 34-18-36, and 34-18-38 may be sealed by the court 4 |
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| 26 | 26 | | upon motion by any party or parties filed at least thirty (30) days after the expiration of the appeal 5 |
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| 27 | 27 | | period following the conclusion of the underlying civil action. 6 |
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| 28 | 28 | | (b) In ruling on the motion to seal, the court shall grant the motion and seal the record of 7 |
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| 29 | 29 | | the civil action upon a finding that the underlying civil action was dismissed as a result of a motion 8 |
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| 30 | 30 | | to dismiss, the action was resolved by stipulation and the terms of the stipulation have been satisfied 9 |
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| 31 | 31 | | by the parties, any monetary judgment against the moving party has been satisfied in full, or the 10 |
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| 32 | 32 | | action has been dismissed for lack of prosecution after a five-year (5) period. The court shall also 11 |
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| 33 | 33 | | make a finding that the moving party notified all parties to the underlying civil action of their 12 |
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| 34 | 34 | | motion to seal the record and that motion is the only request made under this section by the moving 13 |
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| 35 | 35 | | party within the previous five (5) years. 14 |
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| 36 | 36 | | (c) Any party to an action arising under §§ 34-18-35, 34-18-36, and 34-18-38 may file a 15 |
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| 37 | 37 | | motion to seal the record of the action upon satisfaction of the requirements set forth in subsections 16 |
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| 38 | 38 | | (a) and (b) of this section. Parties requesting seal of their record under this section are limited to 17 |
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| 39 | 39 | | one request every five (5) years. 18 |
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| 40 | 40 | | |
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| 41 | 41 | | |
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| 42 | 42 | | LC001173 - Page 2 of 3 |
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| 43 | 43 | | SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 1 |
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| 44 | 44 | | ======== |
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| 45 | 45 | | LC001173 |
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| 46 | 46 | | ======== |
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| 47 | 47 | | |
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| 48 | 48 | | |
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| 49 | 49 | | LC001173 - Page 3 of 3 |
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| 50 | 50 | | EXPLANATION |
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| 51 | 51 | | BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL |
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| 52 | 52 | | OF |
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| 53 | 53 | | A N A C T |
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| 54 | 54 | | RELATING TO PROPERTY -- RESIDENTIAL LANDLORD AND TENANT ACT |
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| 55 | 55 | | *** |
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| 56 | 56 | | This act would remove the five (5) year waiting period for filing a motion to seal an eviction 1 |
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| 57 | 57 | | court file. It would also delete the numerical limitation on filing seal requests with the court. 2 |
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| 58 | 58 | | This act would take effect upon passage. 3 |
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| 59 | 59 | | ======== |
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| 60 | 60 | | LC001173 |
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| 61 | 61 | | ======== |
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| 62 | 62 | | |
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