Appeals. Mootness. Prisoner rights.
Jeffrey-Michael
Brandt, 2019 VT 32 (remands
declaratory judgment case, after prisoner transferred to another facility, to
determine if case is moot.)
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Appeals. Standard of review in internal agency
appeals.
In
re R.R., 2019 VT 31 (REVERSES Secretary’s reversal of Human
Services Board’s reversal of
Department’s denial of petitioner’s request for developmental
disability services -- Secretary
lacked authority to reverse the Board’s factual findings that had support in
the record and erred in interpreting the regulations)
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Appeals. Family Court. Final Judgment Rule
In
re C.P. & L.P., Juveniles 2019 VT 62 (mem)(dismisses appeal from
non-final order requiring DCF to
submit a new case plan)
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Appeals.
Family Court. Final Judgment Rule.
In
re G.B., Juvenile, 2019 VT
48 (dismisses parental rights appeal for lack of a final judgment.)
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Appeals. Interlocutory Appeals. Procedure. Stare decisis.
State v. Wesley Haynes, Tristan Harris and
Dennis Magoon, 2019 VT 44
(on motion to reconsider, dismisses interlocutory criminal appeal without
prejudice to trial court addressing
VRAP 5 criteria. A defendant in
a criminal action may seek interlocutory review under Rule 5 without showing
that a conditional guilty plea is not practicable or available before seeking
such interlocutory review (overruling Lyford, 2016 VT 118.), but the grant of review here without reasons
was an abuse of discretion).
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Appeals. Invited Error DUI refusal
State
v. Alzaga, 2019
VT 75 (affirms conviction for DUI refusal because appellate issue was waived
as “invited error”)
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Appeals. Mootness.
Christopher
Sullivan v. Lisa Menard, Commissioner, 2019 VT 76 (dismisses appeal from corrections
department furlough denial as moot,)
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Appeals. Plain error. Conditions of
Probation.
State
v. Henry Nash, 2019 VT
73 (CARROLL, J) (strikes random drug testing condition and part of another
condition of probation, but affirms other challenged conditions for failure to preserve constitutional issues and failure to argue plain error)
(ROBINSON J. concurs in result but disagrees that a party’s failure to invoke
the plain-error standard in arguing an unpreserved issue on appeal is a
reason to decline to review a challenged ruling for plain error.)
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Appeals. Probate Appeals. Trusts.
In
re Peter Val Preda Trusts (Peter Val Preda, Jr., Appellant), 2019 VT 61 (Superior court was correct it did not
have jurisdiction over probate appeal on question of law, but Court remands
anyway.)
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Appeals. Summary Judgment.
The
Lofts Essex, LLC, and The Wilson Inn, Inc. v. Strategis Floor Décor Inc., 2019 VT 82 (affirms denial of plaintiffs motion
for summary judgment and final decision granting judgment to defendant;
holding that denial of summary based
on the sufficiency of the evidence is not reviewable on appeal)
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Attorney Discipline.
In re Sherer, 2019 VT 70 (reciprocal disbarment of Colorado
attorney)
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Attorney Discipline.
In
re PRB No. 2018-087, 2019 VT
5 (admonishing lawyer for trust accounting violation)
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Attorney
Discipline.
In re Glenn Robinson, 2019 VT 8 (attorney
disbarred for sexual relationship with
client while representing her in her
divorce proceedings, and for sexual conduct with an employee that was
"unwelcome" and engendered a hostile work environment )
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Attorney Discipline.
In re Glenn Robinson, Esq. , 2019 VT 24 (clarifies when disbarred attorney may
apply for readmission.)
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Attorney’s fees.
Toensing v. Attorney General Of Vermont, 2019 VT 30
( affirms denial of fees to successful Public Record Act litigant; Attorney’s-fee-shifting provision of public
record act does not authorize award to prevailing self-represented litigant,
even if s/he is an attorney)
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Attorney’s Fees. Amended Pleadings.
Rule 15 (b).
J
& K Tile Company v.
Wright & Morrissey, Inc, 2019 VT 78 (DIVIDED COURT affirms prompt pay act ruling and amendment
to conform to the evidence, but
REVERSES attorney fee award made to both parties; where there is a
“common core of facts” fees should not be apportioned.) (ROBINSON, J., joined
by JUSTICE CARROL dissenting, would hold the trial court was well within its
discretion in concluding that the breach of contract claim relating to an
alleged failure to mediate did not share a common core of facts with the PPA
claim)
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Attorney’s fees; anti-SLAPP,
Cornelius v. Chronicle, Inc., 2019 VT 4 (affirms, under anti SLAPP statute ,
dismissal of invasion of privacy claims; REVERSES order limiting the attorney
fee award)
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Attorney’s fees; Discovery sanctions
Dagney
Trevor v. Icon Legacy Custom Modular Homes, LLC, et al.
(affirms default judgments as
sanction for failure to supplement discovery; REVERSES fee award that
adjusted fee award upward because of the misconduct.)
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Criminal.
Procedure. Service.
State v. Timothy P. O'Keefe, 2019 VT 14 (REVERSES conviction for violation of abuse
protection order because the State failed to prove defendant was validly
served with the order)
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Criminal. Bail.
State v. Bernard D. Rougeau, 2019 VT 18 (affirms imposition of bail and the amount of
bail imposed)
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Criminal
Procedure. Double jeopardy.
State v. Onix Fonseca-Cintron, 2019 VT 80 (DIVIDED COURT, per REIBER,
C.J., affirms domestic assault
convictions, holding three convictions from same
underlying conduct are not a plain double jeopardy error.) (ROBINSON,
J, joined by SKOGLUND , J., concurring and dissenting, would reverse
as to Counts 1 and 3 and would remand the remaining two counts for the State
to choose which charge to dismiss. Unless the underlying acts are legally
distinct, the charges of attempting to cause serious bodily
injury to a household member in violation of 13 V.S.A. § 1043(a)(1) (Count 1)
and recklessly causing bodily injury to a family or
household member in violation of 13 V.S.A. § 1042 (Count 3), are duplicative
and both convictions cannot stand.)
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Criminal
Procedure. Double jeopardy.
State v. Michael Abel, 2019 VT 22 (Unanimous Court per CARROLL,
J., affirms conviction of domestic assault, despite argument that
both convictions arise from the same assaultive incident in violation of the
Double Jeopardy Clause. Whether the State is “dividing a single criminal act
into multiple counts of the same offense” is a “fact-intensive” inquiry to
determine if a “defendant’s actions are sufficiently separate in time and
location to constitute distinct acts.” Based on the evidence presented in
this case, the court could properly send both counts to the jury, and the
jury could reasonably find, as it did, that there were “two separate
assaults, separated by time” and not “one continuous assault.”)
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Criminal Procedure. Search and Seizure.
State v. Clyde S. Bovat, 2019 VT 81 (DIVIDED COURT per SKOGLUND, J. affirms
conviction of fish and game violation based on refusal to suppress evidence
of a search. Through a
window in defendant’s garage door, wardens saw what appeared to be deer hair
and blood on the top of the truck's rear tailgate, Defendant’s
truck was in the plain view of the game wardens from a lawful vantage point,
and therefore their observations were not an unconstitutional search.)
(REIBER, C.J., joined by ROBINSON, J., dissenting, would reverse the decision of the trial
court and grant defendant's motion to suppress, concluding that this search
violates the requirements of both Article 11 and the Fourth Amendment, First,
the majority's analysis undervalues "the deeply-rooted legal and
societal principle that the coveted privacy of the home should be especially
protected." State v. Blow, 157 Vt. 513, 518, 602 A.2d 552, 555
(1991).
Second, the majority has misapplied the plain-view doctrine. While
defendant had no reasonable expectation of privacy in what he did on the
driveway, he could reasonably expect that the public would not wander around
his driveway, in the opposite direction from his house, position themselves
close to his garage-door window, and peer in.
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Criminal Procedure. Search and Seizure.
State v. Nichole L. Dubaniewicz, 2019 VT 13 (REVERSES drug conviction because evidence
gathered after police determined defendant was not operating under the
influence should have been suppressed).
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Criminal.
Evidence. DUI.
State v. Erika M. Schapp, 2019 VT 27 (DIVIDED COURT per EATON, J. affirms
conviction for refusal to take evidentiary breath test.) (ROBINSON, J.
joined by SKOGLUND, J., dissenting, would hold it was prejudicial
error to admit evidence concerning defendant’s refusal to submit to the
preliminary breath test (PBT). The majority’s conclusion that refusal to
consent to a roadside (PBT) is admissible as evidence in connection with a
charge of criminal refusal to take an evidentiary breath test pursuant to 23
V.S.A. § 1201(b) runs afoul of the Constitution. )
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Criminal.
Disorderly Conduct.
State v. Treyez L. McEachin, 2019 VT 37 (vacates and dismisses charge of disorderly
conduct)
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Criminal. Drugs.
State of Vermont v. Corey Regal Jones, 2019 VT 3 (affirms drug conviction and sentence)
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Criminal. Drugs. Rule 12(d)
State v. Robert Scales, 2019 VT 7
(vacates conviction under Rule 12(d) for lack of evidence of knowing possession
of drug found in car.)
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Criminal.
Impeding police officer.
State v. Berard, 2019 VT 65 (DIVIDED COURT REVERSES and vacates
conviction for impeding a police officer, based on refusal to provide license
and registration at traffic stop) (CARROLL, J.,
dissenting, would affirm the jury's guilty verdict because Defendant had no legal right to refuse to provide
her license and registration to the trooper and this impeded him in the
lawful execution of his duties when she unjustifiably delayed him at this
traffic stop and forced him to summon and wait for another officer to
arrive.)
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Criminal. Manslaughter.
State v. Melissa Robitille, 2019 VT 36 (affirms manslaughter conviction.)
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Criminal. Murder.
State v. Herring, 2019 VT 33 (affirms life sentence for
murder)
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Criminal. Murder.
State v. Robin O'Neill, 2019 VT 19 (affirms aggravated murder conviction)
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Criminal.
Resisting Arrest.
State v. Ellie May Morse¸ 2019 VT 58
(affirms conviction of assault disorderly conduct, and resisting
arrest)
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Criminal. Sexual
Assault on a Minor.
State v. Mark Bergquist, 2019 VT 17 (affirms conviction for sexually assaulting
seven-year-old)
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Criminal. Sexual
Assault on a Minor.
State v. Jeremy Fischer, 2019
VT 39 (affirms conviction of sexual assault of minor because impeachment of
defendant who testifies is not an impermissible comment on
silence)
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Criminal.
Withdrawal of plea.
State v. Andrew Stewart Jr.,2019 VT 89 (REVERSES denial of defendant’s motion to
withdraw a guilty plea)
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Criminal
Sentencing.
State v. Jeffrey M. Ray, 2019 VT 51 (affirms sentence against claim of plain
error.)
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Criminal.
PCR
In re Gay, 2019 VT 67 (CARROLL,
J.) affirms denial of
post-conviction relief because plea to habitual-offender charge waived
challenge to underlying conviction) (ROBINSON, J., concurring, writes separately to highlight the practical tension
this decision creates in our case law. It's
incongruous to suggest that a defendant cannot challenge prior underlying
convictions in defending a criminal charge that includes an enhancement based
on those convictions, while at the same time holding that pleading guilty or
no contest to that criminal charge that includes an enhancement constitutes a
waiver of any challenges to those convictions.)
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Criminal
Procedure. PCR
In Re Dow, 2019 VT 72 (REVERSES summary judgment in favor of
State in fairness, for failure of court to consider amended petition.)
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Environmental ACT 250.
In
re Diverging Diamond Interchange SW Permit, Diverging Diamond Interchange
A250 (R.L. Vallee, Inc. and Timberlake Associates, LLP, Appellants), 2019 VT 57 (REVERSES act 250 permit to consider
questions concerning Criterion 1)
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Environmental ACT 250.
In Re North East Materials Group, LLC, 2019 VT 55 (affirms Act
250 permit for a rock-crushing
operation in Graniteville)
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Environmental Public Utility
Commission. Solar.
In
re Petition of Apple Hill Solar LLC (Libby Harris and Apple Hill Homeowners
Association, Appellants), 2019 VT 64 (REVERSES issuance of a certificate of
public good for a solar project)
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Environmental. Certificate of public good.
In
re Construction & Operation of a Meteorological Tower (Travis Belisle,
Appellant), 2019 VT 20
(affirms in part and remands to recalculate penalty for constructing a
meteorological tower without a certificate of public good (CPG).)
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Environmental. Certificate of public good.
In
re Investigation into SolarCity Corporation, 2019 VT 23
(affirms civil penalty for constructing rooftop solar-energy
net-metering systems without first obtaining certificates of public good)
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Environmental. Certificate of public good.
In
re Application of Derby GLC Solar, LLC, 2019 VT 77 (affirms PUC denial of application for
a certificate of public good for a net-metered solar electric-generation
facility.
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Environmental. Clean Water Act. Hydro dams.
In re Morrisville Hydroelectric Project Water Quality , 2019 VT 84 (affirms in part and
REVERSES and remands in part the Environmental Divisions conditions under the
Clean water act fro certain hydroelectric dams)
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Family. CHINS, Costs of transporting
child.
In
re A.M., Juveniles, 2019
VT 79 (REVERSES, as unauthorized, order direction parent to pay costs of
transporting child for contact visits.)
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Family.
CHINS.
In
re B.B., B.C., and B.B., Juveniles,
201912 (affirms
in part and REVERSES CHINs determinations.)
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Family.
Modification of Maintenance.
Holly
Atherton v. Mark Atherton, 2019 VT 15
(REVERSES denial of husband’s request to modify spousal maintenance after he
lost his job
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Family.
Parent child contact.
Michele
L. Wright v. Dean J. Kemp, 2019 VT 11
(REVERSES parent-child contact order)
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Family. Parental rights
In re NL, 2019 VT 10 (DIVIDED COURT affirms termination of mother's parental rights and REVERSES the court's order declining to terminate father's parental rights) (ROBINSON, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part, would affirm the ruling reversing the trial court's denial of the termination petition as to father, arguing the majority opinion amounts to a reweighing of the evidence and more pointedly that terminating father’s rights on appeal is an extraordinary departure from the Courts role as a court of appellate review)
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Family.
Parental rights.
In
re MP, 2019 VT 69 (affirms termination of
mother’s parental rights; remands issue of father’s rights)
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Immigration
law.
Joaninha
Kitoko v. Manzambi Salomao, 2019 VT 45 (REVERSES family court’s refusal to make special findings
necessary for individuals to apply for “special immigrant juvenile” (SIJ)
status under federal law)
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Insurance (Collision).
Parker's
Classic Auto Works, Ltd. v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, 2019 VT 46
(REVERSES judgment notwithstanding the verdict and reinstates jury verdict
for plaintiff repair shop construing collision coverage as promise to pay the
amount of money needed to repair an insured vehicle to preaccident condition,
regardless of the amount the insurer deemed sufficient to do the repairs.)
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Insurance (E&O).
Integrated
Technologies, Inc. v. Crum & Forster Specialty Insurance Company, 2019
VT 53 (affirms summary judgment ruling of no coverage under E&O policy)
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Insurance. (Contractor’s Casualty ).
Commercial
Construction Endeavors, Inc. v. Ohio Security Insurance Company, 2019 VT 88 (No coverage for wind damage to
building under construction, SCOVT REVERSES ruling that rebuilding expenses were covered, and
affirms ruling that cost of debris
removal was not)
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Intervention Timeliness.
Standard of Review.
State
v. Quiros, 2019 VT 68 (affirms denial of motion to intervene,
because—on de novo review-- the motion was untimely.)
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Juvenile.
In Re BB, 2019 VT 86 (affirms on
interlocutory appeal denial of motion
for youthful offender status )
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Juvenile; CHINS
In
re M.E., Juvenile, 2019 VT 90 (affirms dismissal of State’s petition to
declare juvenile a child in need of care or supervision.)
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Landlord tenant
Soon
K. Kwon v. Eric Edson and Dina Well, 2019 VT 59 (affirms punitive damage award against
landlord; REVERSES compensatory award for further findings.)
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Mental Health
In
re G.G., 2019 VT
83 (vacates involuntary medication order and REVERSES determination
that patient lacked capacity to execute advance directive that he did
not wish to be administered antipsychotic medications.)
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Privacy
State v.
Timothy Grant. 2019 VT 91 (REVERSES per se imposition of fingerprint requirement
defendant
charged with a misdemeanor)
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Procedure.
Dismissal under Rule 41(a)(1). Family law
Sheryl Weitz v. Theodore Weitz, 2019 VT 35 (affirms denial of
motion to reopen divorce case after voluntary dismissal by other spouse. Rule
41 gives claimant absolute right to dismiss if no answer or summary judgment
is filled.)
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Procedure. Rule 12(b)(6). At-will
employment. Wrongful discharge.
Whistleblowing.
Dawn
Boynton v. ClearChoice MD, MSO, LLC and ClearChoiceMD, PLLC, 2019 VT 49 (DIVIDED COURT per CARROLL, J., affirms
Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal of wrongful
termination complaint alleging retaliation for whistleblowing.) (ROBINSON,
J., dissenting, would conclude that the allegations in plaintiff’s complaint,
and the fair inferences from those allegations, are sufficient to survive a
motion to dismiss with respect to plaintiff’s claims that defendants breached
the covenant of good faith and fair dealing and wrongfully terminated her in
violation of public policy.) PEARSON, Supr. J. (Ret.), Specially Assigned, separately dissenting agrees
with almost all of what Justice Robinson has written as to why the dismissal
of the amended complaint, as a matter of law under Vermont Rule of Civil
Procedure 12(b)(6), was premature at this early stage of the litigation.)
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Procedure. Rule 60 time limits.
In
re Purvis Nonconforming Use (Luke Purvis, Appellant), 2019 VT 60 (affirms denial of Rule 60 motion, as
untimely)
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Public
Access to Court Records
In
re Affidavit of Probable Cause (Jacob Oblak, Appellant),
2019 VT 43 (REVERSES denial of
access to criminal court record and
remands for joinder of additional parties and for further proceedings)
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Public Access to Court Records
In re VSP-TK / 1-16-18 Shooting (Gray
Television, Inc., Appellant), 2019 VT 47 (ROBINSON, J.) (REVERSES denial of motion to
unseal order quashing inquest subpoena) (DOOLEY,
concurring, writes additionally to make broader points I believe this case
raises. The State seems to have claimed that the
procedure for inquest proceedings, including whether they are "secret,"
is controlled by the common law.. This broad reading of the law applicable to
inquests has been rejected. In the
modern "inquest" there is no evidentiary hearing with witnesses
testifying to facts relevant to the commission of the crime. By dropping the
part of the procedure that the statute designated as secret, the modern
"inquest" has no claim to statutory secrecy and no claim under an
exception to public access in the Rules for Public Access to Court Records.
Unless sealed under Rule 7 of the Vermont Rules for Public Access to Court
Records, all documents filed in the modern "inquest" are publicly
accessible. Although the opinion for the Court does not explicitly go this
far, this is the necessary consequence of its decision)
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Public Records Act.
Jacob
Oblak v. University of Vermont Police Services, 2019 VT 56 (REVERSES denial of access to UVM police
affidavit of probable cause).
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Public Records Act.
Doyle
v. City of Burlington Police Department, 2019 VT 66 (DIVIDED COURT REVERSES denial of plaintiff’s motion for
judgment on the pleadings in Public Record Act case alleging state
agency cannot charge for staff time
spent in complying with requests to inspect public records) (EATON, J., joined by JUSTICE
CARROLL, dissenting, would hold that
the Legislature recognized record requests "entail expending public
resources to fulfill requests" and
established "a process for public agencies to charge requesters
for the actual costs of copying public records and for staff time associated
with fulfilling requests.")
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Public
Records; Declaratory relief; Waiver.
Burlington
School District v. Provost,
2019 VT 87 (Affirms declaratory ruling
that district could disclose an employee’s resignation agreement)
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Relief from Abuse, Sufficiency of Evidence.
McCool
v. Macura, 2019 VT 85 (DIVIDED COURT vacates relief from abuse order ) (REIBER,
C.J., joined by JUSTICE ROBINSON dissenting, would affirm because the record
supports the trial court’s conclusion that plaintiff had an objectively
reasonable fear of imminent serious physical harm.)
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Standing. Open meeting
Severson
v. City of Burlington & Burlington Conservation Board, 2019 VT 41 (affirms dismissal, for lack of standing, of board member open meeting violation compliant.)
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Standing;
V.R.A.P. 21. Attorney Discipline;
In
re John Paul Faignant, Esq.,
2019 VT 29 (dismisses, for lack of standing, V.R.A.P. 21 petition to require
Bar counsel to investigate an attorney.)
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Statute
of limitations. Enforcement of family court orders.
Johnston
v. Johnston, 2019 VT 34 (REVERSES denial, as outside the eight-year
statute of limitations, of a motion to
enforce a Qualified Domestic Relations Order, because the motion was not an
action on a judgment subject to the limitations.)
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Statute of limitations. Municipal law.
In
re 204 North Avenue NOV (Pierre Gingue, Appellant), 2019 VT 52 (REVERSES and holds that s statute of limitations bars a Notice
of Violation (NOV) issued by the City of Burlington against property owner
for alleged “continuing violation”)
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Statute
of limitations; summary judgment; environmental
State
of Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, 2019 VT 21 (affirms summary judgment compelling
environmental clean up)
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Teacher Labor relations
Northfield School Board v. Washington South Education Association, 2019 VT 26 (affirms injunction of arbitration, where union failed to exhaust statutory remedies as required by 16 V.S.A. § 1752. )
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Teacher Labor Relations
In
re Vermont State Colleges Faculty Federation, AFT Local 3180, 2019 VT 50 (affirms labor board dismissal of
bargaining unit petition.)
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Torts / Tort claims act. Prisoner rights.
Ingerson v. Pallito, 2019 VT 40 (affirms summary judgment dismissing tort claim against state on grounds of discretionary function.)
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Torts, Tort Claims Act, contracts, implied contracts , fiduciary duty, economic-loss rule
Sutton
v. Vermont Regional Center,
2019 VT 71
(affirms dismissal of investors’ claims against state actors in connection with
Jay Peak EB-5 program, except REVERSES dismissal of claims of negligence and
negligent misrepresentation, gross negligence, breach of contract and the implied covenant
of good faith and fair dealing )
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Torts. Causation Sudden Emergency
Matthew Ziniti v. New England Central
Railroad, Inc., 2019 VT 9
(In train-car collision injury case
Court affirms partial summary judgment finding no causation and
precluding plaintiff from arguing that defendant was liable on account of the
absence of a crossbuck on the right side, where a crossbuck sign on the right
would not have provided approaching motorists with any warning of the
crossing beyond the warning already provided earlier by the crossbuck sign on
the left ; also affirms denial of sudden emergency charge as harmless)
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Torts. Constitutional torts. Search and seizure. Tort claims act.
Gregory W. Zullo v. State of Vermont, 2019 VT 1 (REVERSES summary
judgment for state, holding that a direct private right of action for damages
based on alleged flagrant violations of Article 11 is available against the
State, that the stop and seizure of plaintiff’s car constituted violations of
Article 11 in this case and remands to
give the parties an opportunity to address the elements of a direct action
under Article 11 as established in this opinion, including that a plaintiff
must show either 1) a violation of clearly established law, which the actor
knew or should have known he or she was violating, or 2)bad faith, which may
take the form of discriminatory animus.)
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Torts. Duty to warn of danger of violence by one in residential care.
Montague v. Hundred Acre Homestead, LLC, 2019 VT 16 (affirms dismissal
of claim against residential mental-health
provider for failure to warn potential victim of violence by resident
where victim was neither individually identified or identifiable, nor a
member of a discrete identified or identifiable class opotential victims)
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Torts. Legal malpractice. Causation. Speculation.
Stephan Palmer, Sr. v. Mark Furlan and
State of Vermont, 2019 VT 42
(SKOGLUND, J. ) (affirms summary judgment dismissing legal malpractice claim
for lack of evidence of causation.)
(EATON, J. joined by CARROLL,J., concurring, agrees with the majority that the claim rests upon
speculation concerning the workings of the court in approving the proposed
stipulation dismissing the post-conviction relief (PCR) claim, and writes
separately to point out additional concerns not addressed by the majority.
The PCR court did not have authority under 13 V.S.A. § 7042, or Rule 35, to
reduce Palmer’s sentence based solely upon an untimely agreement of counsel
to do so. Thus, the argument that “any
reasonably competent” judge would have advanced the case on the docket, and
signed the stipulation, is even more speculative than the majority’s decision
suggests. Second, that a judge ultimately signed the stipulation when he did
does not mean the stipulation would have been signed sooner, or at all, if it
had been presented at an earlier time.
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Torts. Legal malpractice. PCR Ineffective counsel. Causation.
In Re Burke, 2019 VT 28 (affirms summary judgment that there was no
ineffective assistance of counsel, largely because alleged professional
errors did not prejudice result)
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Torts. Premises liability Statutory immunity for recreational lands.
Katerina
Nolan, as Administrator of the Estate of Parker J. Berry v. Stephen J.
Fishman and Susan B. Fishman, 2019
VT 63 (DIVIDED COURT on interlocutory
appeal REVERSES denial of summary judgment and holds Recreational Use Statute
immunized defendants from liability for drowning of child on defendants’
“open and undeveloped” land adjacent to a day care.) (REIBER, C.J, joined by
JUSTICE ROBINSON dissenting, would hold that defendants’ property was
“developed for commercial recreational uses,” 12 V.S.A. § 5792(2)(B)(i). and
therefore not protected by the statute.)
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Torts. Premises liability. Causation.
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Torts. Privacy. Health care. HIPAA .
Elizabeth Lawson v. Patricia Halpern-Reiss
and Central Vermont Medical Center, 2019 VT 38 (recognizes a
common-law private right of action for damages resulting from the unjustified
disclosure to a third party by medical personal of information obtained during
treatment -- but affirms summary judgment that threat of
imminent and serious harm to plaintiff and the public justified disclosure. )
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Torts. Timber Trespass
Epsom
v. Crandall, 2019 VT 74
(affirms verdict in timber trespass case and denial of
plaintiffs' post-trial motions arguing that
damages, interest and costs were inadequate)
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