R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-9-7
Any owner of or person entitled to any estate in or interested in any part of the land so taken, who cannot agree with the school committee for the price of the land so taken in which he or she is interested, may, within three (3) months after personal notice of the taking, or, if he or she have no personal notice, may, within one year from the filing of the description, statement, and plat referred to in § 16-9-6, apply by petition to the superior court held for the county where the land is located, setting forth the taking of his or her land and praying for an assessment of damages by a jury. Upon the filing of the petition the court shall cause twenty (20) days' notice of the pendency of the petition to be given to the town by serving the town treasurer of the town with a certified copy of the petition, and may proceed after the notice to the trial; and the trial shall determine all questions of fact relating to the value of the land and the amount; and shall be conducted in every respect as other civil cases are tried, including the right to except to rulings and apply for new trial for cause. In case of conflicting claims to the land by any two (2) or more petitioners, the court may set down the petitions of the petitioners for trial at the same time by the same jury, and may frame all necessary issues for the trial.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-9-7