Dismissed with Prejudice

University Archives and Special Collections
15 Lippitt Road
Kingston, RI 02881-2011
Tel: 401-874-4632

email: archives@etal.uri.edu

Published in 2010

Collection Overview

Title:	Dismissed with Prejudice
Date range:	1956-1960
Creator:	McGaughan, Mary Stearns and McGaughan, Terrence F
Extent:	1 linear foot
Abstract:	Between 1956 and 1960 citizens of Jamestown, R.I. successfully fought the construction of an oil refinery along Narragansett Bay. Commerce Oil Refining Corporation of New York and its executive vice president Harold M. Geller, with the backing of Gulf Oil and Lehman Brothers, attempted to build the refinery. Leading the opposition was Jamestown resident Dr. William Miner, who formed the Jamestown Protective Association and retained Attorney Cornelius C. Moore as counsel. The material in this collection was used by authors Mary Stearns McGaughan and Terrence F. McGaughan in writing their book, Dismissed With Prejudice: the Epic Battle Against Construction of an Oil Refinery in Jamestown, Rhode Island, published in 1994.
Language of materials:	English
Repository:	University Archives and Special Collections
Collection number:	Mss. Gr. 146

Scope & content

In February 2000, a book entitled Dismissed With Prejudice by Mary Stearns McGaughan and Terrence F. McGaughan was brought to the attention of the Acting Assistant Archivist, Sarina Wyant. The book chronicled the grass roots efforts to stop the construction of an oil refinery in Jamestown, Rhode Island. It was a private press publication and the Library Special Collections was interested in obtaining a copy for the Rhode Island Collection.

It was discovered that the authors were deceased. Mary Stearns McGaughan's son, David Stearns Martin, was contacted and he was delighted to provide a copy of the book. Upon discussion it was discovered that supporting documents were in Mr. Martin's possession. On March 23rd, Mr. Martin donated about 1.5' of records to Special Collections. The records consisted of paperbound court briefs, correspondence, news clippings, and membership rosters. Mr. Martin requested that copies be made of the news clippings and that he retain the originals. In addition to copying the news clippings, research copies were made of deteriorating facsimiles of court testimony dated November 4, 1957, an opinion dated February 7, 1958, and a prospectus of the Commerce Oil Refinery Corp, 1957.

Arrangement

The records are arranged in three series as follows:

• 1. Court Documents
• 2. Correspondence and Supporting Materials
• 3. News Clippings

Historical note

In 1953, Harold Geller of Commerce Oil Corporation had a vision to build a large oil refinery somewhere in the Narragansett Bay area. He and Commerce Oil Corp. founder, Harry Lewis, formed a new company called Commerce Oil Refining Corp. After garnering the financial support of Gulf Oil Corp. and Lehman Brothers, a site in Portsmouth, Rhode Island was chosen.

In April 1956, Geller faced fierce legal opposition to the refinery by the Portsmouth Priory, whose property abutted the proposed site. The Priory hired Cornelius Moore, a notable Rhode Island attorney to represent their concerns. Rather than become entangled in a legal battle, Commerce Oil abandoned that prospective site and began buying land options in Jamestown for the same purpose. The project was embraced as an economic godsend by the Jamestown solicitor, Daniel Murray, and the Town Council.

Jamestown had poor economic prospects at that time and many were enticed by the idea of the economic benefits a large refinery might bring. Dr. William Miner, a retired osteopath whose property was next to the refinery site, formed the Jamestown Protective Association (JPA) and Cornelius C. Moore was once again enlisted to thwart the efforts of building a refinery along Narragansett Bay. A counter group, the Citizens' Committee for Establishment of a Modern Refinery on Jamestown, was formed headed by Daniel Murray, polarizing the town. After a town vote with 777 in favor and 183 opposed, prospects for Dr. Miner's group seemed dim.

In August 1956, a public hearing was held. Governor Dennis Roberts and the Town Council gave their enthusiastic support for the refinery. However, Rear Admiral John Snackenberg, First Naval District Commandant, released letters he had written Mr. Geller stating that flight operations from the Naval Air Station at Quonset Point would be at risk. In addition, Dr. Miner had acquired 600 signatures from property owners who were summer residents and as such could not vote in Jamestown.

Upon examining the refinery's plans, the Navy began to seriously question the prudence of such a venture so close to torpedo training, ship navigation, and flight paths. The Rhode Island governor's advisory commission also raised the fear that a refinery would jeopardize civilian jobs supplied by the Navy presence. In 1957 another anti-refinery group, the Narragansett Bay Home Owners Association, was formed. It unified smaller anti-refinery groups scattered throughout the area. A suit was filed by two Jamestown residents concerning the building of a pier and was ruled in Commerce's favor. Commerce Oil Refining Corp. filed suit in state Superior Court in Newport against Dr. Miner and 16 others for two million dollars each for conspiracy to obstruct the lawful plans for the refinery. A counter suit was made by the 17 seeking an injunction against the refinery.

With waning financial support and behind construction schedule, Commerce Oil Refining Corp.'s attorney, Mr. Quinn asked the presiding judge, Edward Day, that the conspiracy charges be dropped on March 11, 1958. Judge Day dismissed the suit "with prejudice" which meant the defendants could claim damages and their counterclaim suit of "anticipatory nuisance" could be heard in Federal Court. After forty one days of testimony, Judge Day issued a decision on January 5, 1959 that upheld the JPA's assertion that the refinery would be a nuisance and depreciate property values. Commerce appealed. On June 16, 1960 US Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously reversed Judge Day's decision saying that a nuisance can't be a nuisance if it does not exist yet. The next day, Commerce Oil Refining Corp. announced that they were no longer interested in building their refinery in Jamestown, citing federal government cutbacks in crude oil. Attorney Moore, however pressed the appeal to the Supreme Court. Since the US Circuit Court of Appeals decision was reached unanimously, the Supreme Court refused to hear the case.

Access & Use

Access to the collection:	Any qualified person doing scholarly research is permitted to use material housed in the Special Collections Unit.
Use of the materials:	Photocopying and scanning of materials is a fee based service available in the repository and is allowed at the discretion of the Archivist when in compliance to the Unit's policy on copyright and publication.
Preferred citation:	Dismissed with Prejudice, Mss. Gr. 146, University of Rhode Island, University Archives and Special Collections.
Contact information:	University Archives and Special Collections 15 Lippitt Road Kingston, RI 02881-2011 Tel: 401-874-4632 email: archives@etal.uri.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION
Acquisition:	Mary Stearns McGaughan's son, David Stearns Martin, donated the records to Special Collections in March 2000.
ABOUT THE FINDING AID
Author:	Finding aid prepared by Sarina R. Wyant
Encoding:	Finding aid encoded by Hailie D. Posey 2010 October 13, updated by Mark Dionne on 2020 April 9
Descriptive rules:	Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Additional Information

Related material:

For a more detailed account, see Dismissed With Prejudice in the R.I. Collection (call number TD195 P4 M33 1994).

Inventory

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Inventory