TRIAL LITIGATION AND APPEALS

Probate Litigation 
and
Probate Appeals

---

Rhode Island Unemployment Appeals

---

State Appeals
and Federal
Appellate Matters

---

Constitutional Claims and
​Civil Rights

---

Rhode Island Appellate Lawyer 
Matthew L. Fabisch

State and Federal Appeals

Court Appeals - Attorney Fabisch has a passion for appellate litigation. Appellate lawyers argue questions of law before the state and federal appellate courts. In short, appellate lawyers fix mistakes. Before forming Fabisch Law, L.L.C. to specialize primarily in appellate and constitutional litigation, Attorney Fabisch served as Appellate Counsel, on brief and in conference, before the Rhode Island Supreme Court, for some of the country's largest insurers, the City of Providence, the Ocean State Policy Research Institute, and others. If you recently lost a decision in the Municipal Courts, Probate Courts, District Courts, Superior Courts, Family Courts or Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal, you may have a right to seek review by the Rhode Island Supreme Court. However, you must act quickly, generally, notices of appeal from the Superior Court must be filed within twenty days or you will permanently lose the right to appeal. Depending on the nature of your matter, notices of appeal from the District Court can be due to be filed as soon as two days after an adverse decision.

In addition to handling appeals at the Rhode Island Supreme Court, Massachusetts Appeals Court, and Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, Attorney Fabisch also handles the following lower court appeals:

Administrative Appeals and Municipal Law

Unemployment Appeals - Have you been denied unemployment benefits because your employer reported that you were discharged for misconduct? You may still be entitled to unemployment benefits. Under Rhode Island and Massachusetts law in order to deny you unemployment benefits an employer must prove that you engaged active misconduct not merely poor performance. For purposes of unemployment, "misconduct" is defined as deliberate conduct in willful disregard of the employer's interest, or a knowing violation of a reasonable and uniformly enforced rule or policy of the employer, provided that such violation is not shown to be as a result of the employee's incompetence. If you have been denied unemployment benefits you have the right to appeal and to a hearing but you must act quickly, generally, Rhode Island unemployment appeals must be filed within fifteen days of a decision.  

Tax Appeals - Has the tax assessor increased the valuation on your house for no apparent reason? Was the process used to assess the tax rate in town conducted in blatant violation of state municipal finance laws? These are just some of the reasons you might consider appealing your property tax assessment. Under Rhode Island law property owners are allowed to file an administrative appeal with the local tax board, or appeal the matter straight to Superior Court. Time frames vary depending on the chosen method of appeal but range from thirty to ninety days.  

Zoning/Planning Appeals - Property owners have a constitutional right to make use of their land. If your Zoning or Planning Board denial is the result of an arbitrary or illegal process and contrary to the substantial weight of the evidence presented to the Board, you have a right to have that decision reversed. Generally, zoning decisions must be appealed within twenty days. 

State and Federal Habeas Petitions and Post-Conviction Relief - If your criminal conviction was the result of ineffective assistance of counsel, or is otherwise the result of unconstitutional process or procedures, including the failure to advise of immigration consequences, or if your sentence exceeds the maximum provided by law, or permitted under the constitution, you may have a right to post conviction relief.

Civil Rights, Constitutional, and other Civil Litigation

Eminent Domain and Regulatory Takings- Attorney Fabisch started his legal career working for one of the nation's best known public interest litigation law firms dedicated to protecting the property rights of home and small business owners from government abuse. Now, in private practice, Attorney Fabisch continues his dedication to private property owners by refusing to represent condemning authorities, large developers, or others who would seek to use the power of eminent domain to take your home from you for pennies on the dollar. By contesting both the condemning authority and the valuation of those who would seek to take property by eminent domain, Attorney Fabisch helps clients protect not only their most valuable asset, but also the center of their family life, their home. Attorney Fabisch also helps clients seek compensation for the loss of use of their property when government over-regulation impairs the value or productivity of their property. 

Zoning & Planning Matters - Attorney Fabisch's land use and litigation practice is centered on one simple principle - people should have the right to do with their private property as they see fit. Unfortunately, in far too many communities, onerous zoning and planning restrictions severely limit the right of property owners to put their land to the highest and best use. Attorney Fabisch represents landowners before local planning and zoning authorities and stands ready to vindicate his clients rights before the Courts when local boards base their land use decisions on personal biases and relationships rather than the law.

Special Education Matters - I help protect special needs children from the system. Getting your child the help to which he or she is entitled can be an intimidating, emotionally charged, process.  Education rights law, also known as special education law, is a complex area of law involving numerous federal statutes and state based regulations. No Child Left Behind and IDEA 2004, Section 504 are just some of the federal laws, under constant change, that an education rights lawyer must master. As Counsel, Attorney Fabisch helps parents faced with the difficult task of advocating for their child's rights before a local school committee or board, state department of education, and in the federal courts. Attorney Fabisch will assist parents through representation at IEP meetings, mediations, due process hearings, and in litigation.

1st Amendment – We all learn in grade school that the first amendment's protections of freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of assembly, and freedom of religion are a fundamental part of what it means to be an American. Despite these assurances, government officials far too often attempt to impose onerous regulations or restrictions designed to eliminate free expression or stifle dissent. Whether by imposing irrational limitations on commercial signage or suing their critics for comments in a local news paper, First Amendment freedoms are under constant attack and all too often require and an experienced attorney to vindicate.

2nd Amendment – Right to Bear Arms - As a right enshrined in both the Massachusetts and Rhode island Constitutions, as well as in the United States Constitution, Attorney Fabisch assists law abiding citizens secure the necessary permits to exercises their individual right to keep and bear arms. 

1983 Civil Rights Suits - Have you been the victim of discrimination by a government entity? Has a public official illegally searched your property? Have zoning officials ordered you to remove a sign? 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983 protects your right to seek money damages when government officials abuse their power and violate your constitutional rights. If you think your constitutional rights may have been violated, call me today to discuss how you can vindicate your rights in court.

Probate Litigation

Will Contests and Appeals - Are you an estate executor facing legal threats from "long lost" counsins seeking to participate in your grandmothers estate? Maybe you are a spouse who was disinherited in your spouse's will in favor of the children from an earlier marriage? We handle estate disputes and will advise you of your rights to recover what is rightfully yours.

Trust Litigation and Fiduciary Disputes - Is your trustee acting in your own best interests, or self-dealing? If your trsutee has been less than faithful in executing his or her duties, you may be able to recover damages for thier breach of fiduciary duty? 

Guardianship and Conservatorship Proceedings

---