SCOVT 2019 SUMMARIES © 2020 Allan R. Keyes, Esq., all rights reserved

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.)

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)

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)

Appeals. Family Court. Final Judgment Rule. In re G.B., Juvenile, 2019 VT 48 (dismisses parental rights appeal for lack of a final judgment.)

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).

Appeals. Invited Error DUI refusal State v. Alzaga, 2019 VT 75 (affirms conviction for DUI refusal because appellate issue was waived as “invited error”)

Appeals. Mootness. Christopher Sullivan v. Lisa Menard, Commissioner, 2019 VT 76 (dismisses appeal from corrections department furlough denial as moot,)

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.)

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.)

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)

Attorney Discipline. In re Sherer, 2019 VT 70 (reciprocal disbarment of Colorado attorney)

Attorney Discipline. In re PRB No. 2018-087, 2019 VT 5 (admonishing lawyer for trust accounting violation)

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 )

Attorney Discipline. In re Glenn Robinson, Esq. , 2019 VT 24 (clarifies when disbarred attorney may apply for readmission.)

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)

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)

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)

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.)

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) Criminal. Bail. State v. Bernard D. Rougeau, 2019 VT 18 (affirms imposition of bail and the amount of bail imposed) 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.) 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.”) 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. 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). 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. ) Criminal.  Disorderly Conduct. State v. Treyez L. McEachin, 2019 VT 37 (vacates and dismisses charge of disorderly conduct) Criminal. Drugs. State of Vermont v. Corey Regal Jones, 2019 VT 3 (affirms drug conviction and sentence) 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.) 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.)  Criminal. Manslaughter. State v. Melissa Robitille, 2019 VT 36 (affirms manslaughter conviction.) Criminal. Murder. State v. Herring, 2019 VT 33  (affirms life sentence for murder) Criminal. Murder. State v. Robin O'Neill, 2019 VT 19 (affirms aggravated murder conviction) Criminal. Resisting Arrest. State v. Ellie May Morse¸ 2019 VT 58 (affirms conviction of assault  disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest) Criminal. Sexual Assault on a Minor. State v. Mark Bergquist, 2019 VT 17 (affirms conviction for sexually assaulting seven-year-old) 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) Criminal. Withdrawal of plea. State v. Andrew Stewart Jr.,2019 VT 89 (REVERSES denial of defendant’s motion to withdraw a guilty plea) Criminal Sentencing. State v. Jeffrey M. Ray, 2019 VT 51 (affirms sentence against claim of plain error.) 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.) 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.)

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)

Environmental ACT 250.   In Re North East Materials Group, LLC, 2019 VT 55 (affirms Act 250 permit for a rock-crushing operation in Graniteville)

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)

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).)

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)

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.

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)

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.)

Family. CHINS. In re B.B., B.C., and B.B., Juveniles, 201912 (affirms in part and REVERSES CHINs determinations.)

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

Family. Parent child contact. Michele L. Wright v. Dean J. Kemp, 2019 VT 11 (REVERSES parent-child contact order)

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)

Family. Parental rights.   In re MP, 2019 VT 69 (affirms termination of mother’s parental rights; remands issue of father’s rights)

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)

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.)

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)

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)

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.)

Juvenile. In Re BB, 2019 VT 86 (affirms on interlocutory appeal  denial of motion for youthful offender status )

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.)

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.)

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.)

Privacy State v. Timothy Grant. 2019 VT 91 (REVERSES per se imposition of fingerprint requirement defendant charged with a misdemeanor)

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.)

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.)

Procedure. Rule 60 time limits. In re Purvis Nonconforming Use (Luke Purvis, Appellant), 2019 VT 60 (affirms denial of Rule 60 motion, as untimely)

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)

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)

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).

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.")

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)

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.)

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.)

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.)

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.)

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”)

Statute of limitations; summary judgment; environmental State of Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, 2019 VT 21 (affirms summary judgment compelling environmental clean up)

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. )

Teacher Labor Relations In re Vermont State Colleges Faculty Federation, AFT Local 3180, 2019 VT 50 (affirms labor board dismissal of bargaining unit petition.)

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.)

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 )

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)

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.)

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)

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.

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)

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.)

Torts. Premises liability. Causation.  Jay Bernasconi v. City of Barre: Hope Cemetery, 2019 VT 6 (affirms summary judgment for defendant in premises liability case for lack of evidence of causation / notice of dangerous condition.)

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. )

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)

VOSHA.  Commissioner of Labor v. Eustis Cable Enterprises, LTD, 2019 VT 2 (REVERSES VOSHA fine for insufficient evidence)

Welfare In re Appeal of Sharon McSweeney, 2019 VT 25 (affirms adoption-assistance subsidy calculation)