Supreme Court of Vermont

The Vermont Supreme Court denied defendant Tate Rheaume's motion for permission to take an interlocutory appeal from the trial court's order denying his motion in limine to admit evidence of the Rutland City Police Department's pursuit policy in his aggravated murder trial.

The Supreme Court of Vermont affirmed the trial court's judgment in favor of plaintiff Christopher Huber on his breach-of-contract claim against defendants Janet Currie, 57 Sanford Street LLC, and Valley Stock Farm LLC.

The Vermont Supreme Court affirmed a trial court order imposing $5000 cash bail or surety after finding the defendant posed a risk of flight, where within roughly three days he was twice charged with violating conditions of release and asked his estranged wife not to report one violation.

The Vermont Supreme Court denied an attorney's motion for automatic reinstatement from an interim suspension imposed after a nolo contendere plea to DUI, holding that the trial court's striking of the adjudication of guilt under the deferred-sentence statute, 13 V.S.A.

The Court affirmed judgment for Susan, holding that the mutual wills contract required the surviving parent to distribute all property owned at death equally among the three children, including assets received through joint tenancy.

The Vermont Supreme Court reversed the trial court’s denial of the plaintiff’s motion to extend a relief‑from‑abuse (RFA) order, holding that probation conditions do not substitute for an RFA order because the two serve different purposes; the case was remanded for further proceedings consistent with that ruling.

The court affirmed judgment as a matter of law for defendants on plaintiff’s claims concerning her 2018 and 2019 bonuses, her alleged deprivation of a 2020 bonus and unused paid time off, and the individual defendant’s wage liability.

The Court reversed the order holding defendant without bail and remanded for a prompt hearing to impose conditions of release. It held that aggravated stalking, including the weapon-possession variant charged here, is not a felony whose elements involve an act of violence for purposes of the hold-without-bail statute…

The Court imposed immediate interim suspension on Vermont attorney Stephen Girdwood based on his interim suspension and admitted misconduct in New Hampshire. Because neither Girdwood nor Disciplinary Counsel showed that identical discipline would be unwarranted under the applicable Vermont rule, the Court imposed the…

The Court affirmed dismissal of the Human Rights Commission’s discrimination action after the defendant died, holding that the proposed substitutes were not shown to be proper parties under Rule 25.

The Supreme Court of Vermont affirmed the dismissal of a divorced husband's fraud and breach-of-fiduciary-duty claims against his former wife's law firm (DRM) and its retained valuation firm (GFC), holding that the complaint failed to plead justifiable reliance and knowledge of falsity with the particularity Rule 9(b)…

The Supreme Court of Vermont affirmed summary judgment for Green Mountain on Gauthier's workers' compensation retaliation claim and affirmed the denial of his motion to amend. Although Gauthier made a prima facie case through temporal proximity between his benefits claim and his termination, he failed to show the…

The court affirmed dismissal of Birchwood’s unjust-enrichment claim arising from road, utility, and infrastructure improvements that increased the value and developability of Krizan’s landlocked property.

The Vermont Supreme Court affirmed the trial court's judgment that plaintiffs did not acquire title to a disputed beach and adjacent strip of land by adverse possession or acquiescence, though it reached that result partly on different reasoning.

The Court affirmed termination of both parents’ rights and upheld Vermont’s authority to adjudicate the termination proceeding. It held that the unappealed CHINS judgment could not be collaterally attacked as void, and that Vermont had become the child’s home state by the time termination was sought.

The Vermont Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s dismissal of U.S. Bank’s foreclosure action for lack of standing and remanded the case for consideration of the homeowner’s request for attorney’s fees.

The court held that an inmate may seek de novo review under Rule 75 of a Department of Corrections decision designating him a high-risk sex offender. Because the record did not establish when petitioner received notice, the timeliness of his designation challenge could not be resolved on the pleadings and was remanded…

The court held that the landowners’ private motocross track was not a "structure" requiring a zoning permit under the Hinesburg zoning regulations. Because the track was a de minimis incidental recreational use and did not substantially change the property’s use, the court reversed the Environmental Court’s permit and…

The Supreme Court of Vermont affirmed dismissal of plaintiffs' claims as barred by the six-year statute of limitations. The court held that plaintiffs were on inquiry notice when they received the Summary Plan Description in December 1997 because it disclosed the fundamental differences and risks of the…

The Vermont Supreme Court affirmed the Environmental Court’s upholding of the Development Review Board’s denial of Stowe Highlands’ application to convert a Resort Planned Unit Development to a Planned Residential Development, holding that the Board’s decision was supported by substantial evidence because Stowe…

The Supreme Court of Vermont affirmed jury verdicts finding Paul Florindo and Susan Morency liable for common-law fraud in the sale of a bed-and-breakfast, holding that clear-and-convincing evidence — including Florindo's evasive testimony and gross discrepancies between reported and actual revenues, and Morency's…

The court held that the wildlife-corridor expert testimony was sufficiently reliable for admission and that the Environmental Court did not abuse its discretion in admitting it. It nevertheless concluded that the zoning ordinance and incorporated city-plan provisions governing protection of wildlife habitat and scenic…

The Supreme Court of Vermont affirmed summary judgment against the landowners in a zoning enforcement action concerning an unpermitted pond located within a required road setback.

The court held that the amended complaint adequately pleaded a procedural due-process claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the named defendants in their individual capacities because, read as a whole, it gave fair notice that plaintiff challenged the process preceding revocation of his furlough.

The court held that the superior court abused its discretion by denying leave to amend claims alleging that a state official was personally involved in the plaintiff's termination and that the State was her employer under FEPA.

The court held that plaintiffs lacked standing to challenge a deeded right of first refusal held by a stranger to their contracts with the property owners, depriving the trial court of subject-matter jurisdiction to declare that right extinguished.

The Vermont Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the Environmental Board's denial of an Act 250 permit for a 4,800-square-foot gift shop and deli in Royalton. It upheld the Board's findings that the project would have an undue adverse aesthetic impact under Criterion 8 — because the applicant never…

The Vermont Supreme Court affirmed a jury verdict awarding Lamell Lumber $100,000 against Newstress International for breach of contract, breach of implied warranty, and negligence arising from a deteriorating precast-concrete lumber-drying kiln.

The court affirmed the compensatory and consequential damages awarded for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing because the evidence permitted reasonable inferences that GMAC failed to act diligently, communicate with plaintiffs, and fairly remedy its escrow breach.

The court affirmed summary judgment for the City on Gallipo’s retaliation and discriminatory-termination claims because his unanswered requests for admission and noncompliant statements of disputed facts established a record on which he could not prove an adverse employment action or causal connection.

The Supreme Court of Vermont affirmed the family court's order terminating father's residual parental rights to K.F., born October 2002. Rejecting father's argument that the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services engineered the circumstances supporting termination by failing to provide him services and…

The Vermont Supreme Court affirmed the judgment for Nissan North America and Jerry’s Nissan, holding that the jury instructions on the Consumer Fraud Act were correct, the witness testimony was admissible, and the plaintiffs were not entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.

The court affirmed summary judgment for the defendants on the plaintiff's FEPA claims alleging gender-based failure to promote, unequal pay, disparate treatment, and retaliation.

The Vermont Supreme Court affirmed a judgment extinguishing Elizabeth Campbell's and Karen Houghton's claim to the Buttolph Farm and ordering Thomas and Mary Buttolph to convey the farm and its owner corporation, Buttolph Farms, Inc., to Richard and Bettina Quenneville.

The Court affirmed summary judgment for CLD on Boulton's claims for wrongful termination, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, gender discrimination, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

The court affirmed a jury verdict and related attorney-fee award in favor of tenants who rented a home with contaminated drinking water and serious structural and electrical deficiencies.

The court held that intervenors who timely obtained intervention as of right may continue an environmental-court appeal after the original appellants voluntarily withdraw, absent an improper purpose or other basis for dismissal.

The Supreme Court of Vermont affirmed summary judgment for Fletcher Allen Health Care on a nurse's claims for breach of an implied just-cause contract, promissory estoppel, public-policy wrongful discharge, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and defamation.

The Supreme Court of Vermont affirmed termination of the mother’s residual parental rights over S.B., holding that the family court properly considered S.B.’s preference against termination but did not give it controlling or inordinate weight.

The court affirmed dismissal of Powers's claims arising from OCS's allegedly inadequate child-support enforcement, concluding that OCS's functions were uniquely governmental and lacked a private analog, so sovereign immunity barred claims against the State and OCS.