Supreme Court

No. 2022-326-Appeal.

(WC 20-268)

Rickey Thompson

v.

Town of North Kingstown Zoning 

Board of Appeals et al.

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NOTICE: This opinion is subject to formal revision 

before publication in the Rhode Island Reporter. Readers 

are requested to notify the Opinion Analyst, Supreme 

Court of Rhode Island, 250 Benefit Street, Providence, 

Rhode Island 02903, at Telephone (401) 222-3258 or 

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Supreme Court

No. 2022-326-Appeal.

(WC 20-268)

Rickey Thompson

v.

Town of North Kingstown 

Zoning Board of Appeals et al.

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:

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Present: Suttell, C.J., Goldberg, Robinson, Lynch Prata, and Long, JJ.

O P I N I O N

Justice Lynch Prata, for the Court. 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. In this declaratory 

judgment action, the plaintiff, Rickey Thompson (Thompson or plaintiff), appeals 

from a final judgment in favor of the defendants, Town of North Kingstown Zoning 

Board of Review (the town),

1 and JAMM Golf LLC, Mark L. Hawkins, Joshua L. 

Hawkins, and M.L. Hawk Real Estate LLC (the developers) (collectively,

defendants). After considering the parties’ written and oral submissions and 

1 The plaintiff also individually named the members of the North Kingstown Zoning 

Board of Review, Planning Commission, and Town Council as defendants. We refer 

to these additional defendants collectively as “the town.” 
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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 in 

this opinion, we affirm the judgment of the Superior Court.

Facts and Travel

This case concerns a major land-development project (the Project) proposed 

for multiple parcels of real estate located in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. In 

2012, the North Kingstown Planning Commission (the planning commission)

approved the developers’ multi-use project located at Assessor’s Plat No. 110, lot

Nos. 2-7, 9-11, and Assessor’s Plat No. 126, lot No. 5 on Ten Rod Road in North 

Kingstown, Rhode Island. The property is known as the Preserve at Rolling Greens 

(Rolling Greens). 

Rolling Greens contains a preexisting golf course, a clubhouse, and four 

residential units. The proposed development would allow for 26,000 square feet of 

nonresidential commercial space, an expansion of the existing clubhouse, and 212 

bedrooms for up to 106 residential units, restricted to residents fifty-five years of age 

or older. In 2012 the North Kingstown Town Council (the town council) amended 

the zoning ordinance to create a Compact Village District (CVD) zone which would 

include a combination of residential and commercial space, or multi-use 
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development. The town council approved the inclusion of the developers’ Rolling 

Greens property within the CVD zone.2

 

Thereafter, in 2017, the town council once again amended the zoning 

ordinance for the town’s CVD zone. The amendment limited commercial building 

coverage to 10,000 square feet and provided that the ratio of buildings on the 

property could be a maximum of five percent nonresidential buildings and no less 

than ninety-five percent residential buildings. The developers challenged the

ordinance in the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island. In 

federal court, the developers alleged that their Project had vested prior to the 2017 

ordinance’s limitations on nonresidential square footage for the CVD zone. 

Thompson, who owned real estate within 200 feet of Rolling Greens, sought to 

intervene in the federal action, but his request was denied.

After mediation and settlement discussions, the town and the developers 

prepared a proposed consent judgment. The parties agreed that the consent judgment

would not enter until: (1) it was approved by the town council, and (2) the planning 

commission approved the developers’ preliminary plan application for Rolling 

Greens. The developers also agreed under the consent judgment that the Project, 

2 In a consent judgment discussed infra, the developers and the town agreed that this 

action by the town council implicitly approved the Project’s ratio of residential space 

to nonresidential space. The 2012 master plan originally approved a target range of 

commercial space between 24,000 and 40,000 square feet, not including the golf 

clubhouse. 
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which consisted of a maximum of 26,000 square feet of nonresidential commercial 

space, was valid under the 2014 zoning ordinance. The parties to the consent 

judgment acknowledged that the Rolling Greens project was not subject to the 2017 

amendments to the CVD zone. However, the parties also agreed that the developers’

application must still adhere to the other applicable zoning ordinances, technical 

aspects, and nitrate loading requirements. 

The town council voted on February 28, 2019, to approve the consent 

judgment and to authorize the town solicitor to file it in federal court. Subsequently, 

the planning commission reviewed the developers’ application for a preliminary plan 

for the Rolling Greens project and approved it on April 9, 2020. In the decision, the 

planning commission noted that, under the consent judgment, the Project was limited 

to 26,000 square feet of nonresidential commercial space, and it explained the other 

requirements the parties had agreed to in the consent judgment. The preliminary 

plan was consistent with the comprehensive plan and the CVD zoning ordinance,

and it did not have a negative environmental or traffic impact on the community. 

The planning commission also included twenty-two design, infrastructure, and 

affordable-housing conditions to its approval of the developers’ application. With 

the consent of the town council and the planning commission’s approval of the 

preliminary plan, the parties’ consent judgment was formally entered in federal court 

on April 14, 2020. 
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Thompson filed an appeal of the planning commission’s decision with the 

North Kingstown Zoning Board of Review (the zoning board). After review, the 

zoning board determined that the consent judgment recognized the developers’ 

vested rights with respect to Rolling Greens and that the Project was not bound by 

the subsequent 2017 zoning amendments. The zoning board further concluded that 

the consent judgment did not modify the zoning ordinance, and that the developers 

were not bound by the 2017 amendments to the CVD zoning ordinance. 

Accordingly, the zoning board denied Thompson’s appeal of the planning 

commission’s decision to approve the developers’ application. 

Thereafter, Thompson filed the instant action in the Superior Court on July 7, 

2020. Among other relief, plaintiff sought a declaratory judgment that: (1) the town 

council was not authorized to enter into the consent judgment, as doing so usurped

the planning commission’s authority to review a major land development 

application; (2) the town council was not authorized to enter into the consent 

judgment, as it purported to change the zoning ordinance without notice or a public 

hearing; and (3) the planning commission should not have relied upon the terms of 

the consent judgment to review the developers’ application for preliminary plan 

approval.3

 

3 In his complaint, Thompson asserted two other claims: count one, which sought an 

administrative appeal of the preliminary plan approval, and count three, which 

alleged a violation of the Rhode Island Open Meetings Act. The Superior Court
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The defendants filed a motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s count for 

declaratory judgment, asserting that his complaint was an attempt to set aside the 

consent judgment through an impermissible collateral attack. Thompson objected,

arguing that he was challenging the planning commission’s approval process, as 

opposed to collaterally attacking the consent judgment.

After a hearing on defendants’ motion for summary judgment, the hearing 

justice issued a bench decision concluding that Thompson’s complaint for 

declaratory relief sought to invalidate a valid final consent judgment in federal court. 

Accordingly, the hearing justice granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment,

finding that plaintiff had made an improper collateral attack on the consent 

judgment, as a nonparty, and that the town had the authority to enter into the 

agreement. An order granting summary judgment entered, and final judgment 

thereafter. Thompson filed a timely notice of appeal. 

Standard of Review

“This Court reviews a decision granting a party’s motion for summary 

judgment de novo.” Wild Horse Concepts, LLC v. Hasbro, Inc., 286 A.3d 848, 851 

(R.I. 2023) (quoting Citizens Bank, N.A. v. Palermo, 247 A.3d 131, 133 (R.I. 2021)).

dismissed Thompson’s administrative appeal of the zoning board’s decision in a 

written decision and the parties stipulated to the dismissal of count three. On appeal, 

Thompson does not challenge his other claims; he contends that the hearing justice 

erred in the grant of summary judgment on his claim for declaratory relief. However, 

Thompson did file a separate writ of certiorari on count one, which this Court denied. 
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“We assess the matter ‘from the vantage point of the trial justice, * * * viewing the 

evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, and if we conclude that 

there are no genuine issues of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to 

judgment as a matter of law, we will affirm.’” Id. (brackets omitted) (quoting 

Citizens Bank, N.A., 247 A.3d at 133). “Although summary judgment is recognized 

as an extreme remedy, * * * to avoid summary judgment the burden is on the 

nonmoving party to produce competent evidence that proves the existence of a 

disputed issue of material fact.” Id. (quoting Citizens Bank, N.A., 247 A.3d at 133).

Discussion

Before us, Thompson argues that his complaint was not an impermissible 

collateral attack on the consent judgment entered in federal court. Although third 

parties generally lack standing to challenge the validity of an agreement to which 

they are not a party, plaintiff maintains that he can collaterally attack the consent 

judgment because it usurps the legislative statutory scheme regulating the zoning 

and development of land. Thompson insists that his complaint challenged the 

actions of the town council and planning commission, prior to the entry of the 

consent judgment. He further argues that the planning commission erred in ruling

that he lacked standing to challenge the agreement, as the consent judgment had not 

been formally entered when the planning commission issued a decision on the 

matter. The plaintiff asserts that, while the town has the right to settle land-use 
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litigation so long as the agreement does not violate existing law, here the town 

council lacked authority to agree to the consent judgment and direct the planning 

commission to apply the terms of the agreement. Doing so, he argues, illegally 

amended the zoning ordinance without providing proper notice and a hearing. 

The plaintiff also argues that the town did not properly amend the zoning 

ordinance for the CVD zone because such an amendment would require the overall 

percentages for residential coverage and nonresidential coverage. The consent 

judgment illegally constrained the planning commission, he contends. Thompson 

maintains that he can attack aspects of the judgment because it violates the Rhode 

Island Zoning Enabling Act and the CVD zoning ordinance, which establishes the 

acceptable percentages of residential and nonresidential coverage for developments 

in that zone. 

In response, defendants argue that the hearing justice properly granted 

summary judgment on Thompson’s complaint for declaratory relief because it 

amounted to an improper collateral attack by a nonparty on a valid consent judgment.

Despite plaintiff’s contentions otherwise, defendants maintain that the town has the 

authority to settle a land dispute through approval from the town council, and that it

did not violate the law by settling its dispute with the developers, who had 

preexisting vested rights in the Project. Moreover, defendants assert that the consent 

judgment and the actions of the commission did not effectively amend the zoning 
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ordinance, as plaintiff claims, because the 2017 zoning amendment was in effect but 

did not apply to the development in this case.4

 

In his supplemental statement, plaintiff makes the additional argument that 

the consent judgment in this case amounts to illegal contract zoning and insists that 

the developers did not have a vested right in the Project because the town council 

failed to specify ratios for residential and nonresidential coverage as required by the 

CVD ordinance.5

 In response, defendants contend that the issue of contract zoning 

is not properly before us, as plaintiff failed to raise the issue in Superior Court. Even 

so, defendants argue that the master plan approval vested their rights in the Project 

because the approval indicated that the ratio for residential and nonresidential 

development would happen during the preliminary plan stages. The defendants also 

argue that the town council properly approved the ratio of nonresidential to 

residential uses when it placed the development within the CVD zone. 

4 In the consent judgment, the parties agreed that the developers would not be subject 

to the 2017 amendments to the CVD zoning ordinance. The zoning board issued a 

decision finding that the consent judgment thus recognized that the developers’ 

rights were vested.

5 The issue of contract zoning has not been passed upon by this Court. In Nicholson 

v. Tourtellotte, 110 R.I. 411, 293 A.2d 909 (1972), we declined to decide whether a 

contractual zoning and planning arrangement between a municipality and developers 

was valid because the agreement that plaintiffs sought to enforce did not establish 

the rights they claimed. Nicholson, 110 R.I. at 415, 293 A.2d at 911 (“While we have

referred, albeit briefly and generally, to the divergent views with respect to the law

of contract rezoning, we cannot agree with the parties that the record in this case

requires us to choose which of the two views shall prevail in this state.”).
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While Thompson insists that his complaint for declaratory relief is not an 

improper collateral attack on a valid final judgment of the federal court, we disagree. 

A consent judgment “is in essence a contract between the parties to the litigation and 

is to be construed as a contract.” McEntee v. Davis, 861 A.2d 459, 462-63 (R.I. 2004)

(quoting In re McBurney Law Services, Inc., 798 A.2d 877, 882 (R.I. 2002)). It is 

well settled that “an individual who was not a party to a contractual agreement lacks 

standing to challenge its validity.” DePetrillo v. Belo Holdings, Inc., 45 A.3d 485, 

492 (R.I. 2012); see also Meyer v. City of Newport, 844 A.2d 148, 151 (R.I. 2004) 

(holding that individuals who were not a party to a consent judgment may not 

challenge the validity of the agreement); Sousa v. Town of Coventry, 774 A.2d 812, 

815 n.4 (R.I. 2001) (stating that there is no support for the notion that a person “who 

is not a party to a contract may assert the rights of one of the contracting parties in 

order to void a contract or have it declared unenforceable”). Likewise, we have held 

that standing is “a necessary predicate to pursuing a declaratory judgment * * *.” 

DePetrillo, 45 A.3d at 491. A party seeking “[t]o nullify or rescind the consent 

judgment” must demonstrate “that there was a mutual mistake between the parties.”

McEntee, 861 A.2d at 462. “If the contract terms are clear and unambiguous, judicial 

construction is at an end for the terms will be applied as written.” Rivera v. Gagnon, 

847 A.2d 280, 284 (R.I. 2004). 
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Thompson cannot establish the necessary standing or grounds to mount a 

successful collateral attack against the parties’ consent judgment. See DePetrillo, 45 

A.3d at 492 (“[A]n individual who was not a party to a contractual agreement lacks 

standing to challenge its validity.”). As the hearing justice explained, “[a]t the core, 

[plaintiff’s] request for declaratory judgment is asking the [c]ourt to invalidate a 

valid, final judgment of the [f]ederal [c]ourt * * *.” Thompson is not a party to the 

consent judgment; and, as a nonparty, he lacks the requisite standing to challenge 

the agreement and is thus barred from making a collateral attack on what is a valid, 

final judgment in federal court.6 See DePetrillo, 45 A.3d at 492. “When parties to 

litigation resolve issues through compromise and in good faith, it is well settled that 

‘courts will enforce the compromised settlement without regard to what the result 

might, or would have been, had the parties chosen to litigate.’” In re McBurney Law 

Services, Inc., 798 A.2d at 882 (brackets omitted) (quoting Mansolillo v. Employee 

Retirement Board of Providence, 668 A.2d 313, 316 (R.I. 1995)). Accordingly, we 

decline to reopen these issues, which the town and the developers elected to resolve 

through a consent judgment. See Borozny v. Paine, 122 R.I. 701, 706, 411 A.2d 304, 

307 (1980) (“[A] collateral attack is not permitted upon a final judgment, even 

though it may be alleged to be erroneous.”); Metts v. B. B. Realty Company, 108 R.I. 

6 Thompson attempted to intervene in the federal action, his request was denied, and

he did not appeal.
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55, 60, 271 A.2d 811, 813 (1970) (“A judgment cannot be attacked collaterally 

except for fraud or lack of jurisdiction.”). 

Furthermore, the town clearly had authority to enter into the agreement and 

the consent judgment did not illegally constrain the planning commission’s 

authority. See Casa DiMario, Inc. v. Richardson, 763 A.2d 607, 611 (R.I. 2000) 

(“[A] city or town can bind itself on * * * matters only by the official acts of its town 

council or by the authorized actions of its representatives.”). Thompson concedes 

that generally a town council has the authority to settle land use litigation; however, 

he asserts that authority is circumscribed when the terms of a settlement and its 

procedural application violate state and local laws, which he argues is what 

happened here. The defendants rely on the hearing justice’s determination that the 

consent judgment approved by the town council did not violate existing law and 

argue that it is undisputed that the town council is vested with the authority to settle 

a land use litigation dispute by entering into a consent judgment with the developers.

In the case before us, the town council approved the consent judgment, and 

the planning commission approved the developers’ application for a preliminary 

plan, which was within its authority. See Beaudry v. Rossi, 295 A.3d 349, 357 (R.I. 

2023) (holding town did not properly enact an amendment because it relied on the 

actions and statements of individual town officials and not formal action by the town 

council); see also Casa DiMario, Inc., 763 A.2d at 610-11 (“Communications, 
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representations, and alleged acts * * * are insufficient as a matter of law to bind a 

municipality to future acts or inaction [without formal approval of the town 

council].”). The proceedings in this matter were open to the public and did not occur 

behind closed doors or without a formal vote. See, e.g., Beaudry, 295 A.3d at 357; 

Casa DiMario, Inc., 763 A.2d at 611. Moreover, the town had authority to enter 

into the consent judgment pursuant to Section 106 of the town charter. See Kells v. 

Town of Lincoln, 874 A.2d 204, 211 (R.I. 2005) (“The provisions of a town charter 

are the organic law of the town with respect to municipal affairs.”) (quoting 

Borromeo v. Personnel Board of Bristol, 117 R.I. 382, 385, 367 A.2d 711, 713 

(1977)). Thompson had notice of these proceedings and had the opportunity to be 

heard. His allegation of a violation of the Rhode Island Open Meetings Act was 

dismissed by stipulation, and that claim is not before this Court. 

Likewise, we reject Thompson’s argument that the consent judgment illegally 

amended the town’s zoning ordinance. Pursuant to the consent judgment, the 

developers are entitled to up to 26,000 square feet of nonresidential commercial 

space, which is consistent with the zoning ordinance at the relevant time because 

Rolling Greens was included in the CVD zone in 2014. Moreover, in 2012, the 

developers obtained master plan approval for commercial space between 24,000 

square feet and 40,000 square feet. The developers had certain vested rights and 

preexisting approvals in the Project prior to 2017, when the town council revised the 
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ordinances. The town’s recognition of those vested rights in the consent judgment 

did not amend the zoning ordinance; it exempted the Project from subsequently 

enacted amendments that were inconsistent with the approvals they had previously 

obtained. 

Finally, with respect to Thompson’s argument that the town and the 

developers engaged in contract zoning, the argument was not raised in Superior 

Court and is thus waived. Decathlon Investments v. Medeiros, 252 A.3d 268, 270 

(R.I. 2021) (“According to this Court’s well settled raise-or-waive rule, issues not 

properly presented before the trial court may not be raised for the first time on 

appeal.”) (quoting Federal National Mortgage Association v. Malinou, 101 A.3d 

860, 865 (R.I. 2014)).

Conclusion

For the reasons stated in this opinion, we affirm the judgment of the Superior 

Court and remand the papers to the Superior Court. 
SU-CMS-02A (revised November 2022)

STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

SUPREME COURT – CLERK’S OFFICE

Licht Judicial Complex

250 Benefit Street

Providence, RI 02903

OPINION COVER SHEET

Title of Case Rickey Thompson v. Town of North Kingstown 

Zoning Board of Appeals et al. 

Case Number No. 2022-326-Appeal.

(WC 20-268)

Date Opinion Filed May 7, 2024

Justices Suttell, C.J., Goldberg, Robinson, Lynch Prata, and 

Long, JJ.

Written By Associate Justice Erin Lynch Prata 

Source of Appeal Washington County Superior Court 

Judicial Officer from Lower Court Associate Justice Sarah Taft-Carter

Attorney(s) on Appeal

For Plaintiff:

Christopher A. D’Ovidio, Esq. 

For Defendants:

Mark W. Freel, Esq.

Nicholas J. Hemond, Esq.