R.I. Gen. Laws § 37-6-19: Late filing of petition for assessment of damages.

In case any owner of or any person having an estate or interest in land or other real property shall fail to file his or her petition as provided in § 37-6-18, the superior court in the county of Providence or the superior court for one of the counties in which the land or other real property may be situated, in its discretion, may permit the filing of the petition subsequent to the one year period from the filing of the description and statement; provided, the person shall have had no actual knowledge of the taking of the land in time to file the petition; and provided, that the state shall not have paid any other person or persons claiming to own the land the value thereof or be liable to pay for the land under any judgment rendered under the provisions of this chapter.