(a)  The superior court of this state shall have jurisdiction to prevent and restrain violations of this chapter. In addition to granting prohibitory injunctive and other restraints for a period of time and upon terms and conditions necessary to deter a provider from, and ensure against, the committing of future violations of this chapter, the court may grant injunctive relief reasonably necessary to dissipate the ill effects of the violation. The court may issue appropriate decrees upon consent and stipulation by the parties. The court may also issue restraining orders. Under no circumstances shall the state be required to post bond in any action hereunder.

Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 40-8.2-12

  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
  • Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Person: means any person or individual, natural or otherwise, and includes those person(s) or entities defined by the term "provider. See Rhode Island General Laws 40-8.2-2
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • Provider: means any individual, individual medical vendor, firm, corporation, professional association, partnership, organization, or other legal entity that provides goods or services under the Rhode Island Medicaid program, or the employee of any person or entity who, on his or her own behalf, or on the behalf of his or her employer, knowingly performs any act or is knowingly responsible for an omission prohibited by this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 40-8.2-2
  • United States: include the several states and the territories of the United States. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-8

(b) Attorney general   — Right to injunctive relief. The attorney general may institute proceedings to prevent and restrain violations of this chapter as provided in subsection (a).

(c) Other persons   — Right to injunctive relief. Any person, including the United States, may institute proceedings for injunctive relief, temporary or permanent, as provided in subsection (a) against threatened loss or damage to his or her property or business by a violation of this chapter. A preliminary injunction may be issued upon a showing that the danger of irreparable loss or damage is immediate and, within the court’s discretion, the execution of property bond against damages for an injunction improvidently granted. If the court issues a permanent injunction, the plaintiff shall be awarded reasonable attorney’s fees, filing fees, and reasonable costs of the suit. Reasonable costs for the suit may include, but shall not be limited to, the expenses of discovery and document reproduction.

(d) Civil penalty.  In addition to injunctive relief authorized pursuant to subsection (a), any person who violates this chapter may be liable for a civil penalty in a suit by the attorney general of this state of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each violation.

History of Section.
P.L. 1982, ch. 424, § 1.