R.I. Gen. Laws § 10-17-15
If any person, co-partnership or corporation, served as trustee with a copy of a writ, shall refuse or neglect to render, on oath, the account required by § 10-17-2, of what personal estate of the defendant the trustee had in his or her hand at the time of the service of the copy, the trustee shall be charged to the amount of the judgment or decree, if any, rendered against the defendant in the suit; or, if no judgment is so rendered because of want of service upon the defendant, then, the trustee shall be charged to the amount of the just claim or demand which the plaintiff may show against the defendant to the satisfaction of the court. The amount for which the trustee is charged may be recovered by a civil action against him or her, except as otherwise provided in § 9-25-24.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 10-17-15