Vermont Supreme Court Decisions 2012
Date: December 28, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 106
Docket Number: 2012-062
Justia Opinion Summary: Both the State and Defendant Wallace Nolan appealed a trial court's revocation of Defendant's probation, though for different reasons. Specifically, both defendant and the State disputed the trial court’s authority to…
Date: December 21, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 105
Docket Number: 2010-021
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue before the Supreme Court in this case was whether the trial court’s admission of a videotaped deposition of a key state witness who was out of the country but willing to travel to the trial violated defendant’s…
Date: December 21, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 104
Docket Number: 2011-341
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue before the Supreme Court in this interlocutory appeal was the question of whether defendant Hieu Tran was in police custody when two detectives questioned him in a police cruiser for one hour as part of an…
Date: December 21, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 108
Docket Number: 2012-240
Justia Opinion Summary: A Mother appealed a superior court's decision that terminated her parental rights to her son, D.C. D.C. spent the first years of his life with both parents, who at the time were not married. When his parents separated,…
Date: December 17, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 103
Docket Number: 2012-158
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother appealed a CHINS decision by the superior court based on a finding that she repeatedly induced the child to make false allegations of abuse against father. On appeal, Mother contended the judgment was unsupported…
Date: December 13, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 102
Docket Number: 2010-479
Date: December 7, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 96
Docket Number: 2011-377
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff David Farrell, Trustee of the David Farrell Trust, appealed the grant of summary judgment for defendants Vermont Electric Power Company and Vermont Transco (together, VELCO), the holders of an easement for the…
Date: December 7, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 100
Docket Number: 2012-057
Justia Opinion Summary: This decision resolved two consolidated appeals related to family division proceedings involving juvenile C.P. First, mother and father appealed termination of their parental rights to their son C.P. Father argued the…
Date: November 30, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 101
Docket Number: 2011-118
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother appealed a final divorce order granting father parental rights and responsibilities for the parties' two children and giving mother parent-child contact in stages beginning with supervised contact with progression…
Date: November 30, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 99
Docket Number: 2011-433
Justia Opinion Summary: Rosann Maggio, widow and primary beneficiary of the estate of Daniel Maggio, appealed a decision of the superior court which held that Daniel Maggio did not own an interest in real property in Holland, Vermont at the…
Date: November 30, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-118
Date: November 30, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-118
Date: November 30, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-118
Date: November 30, 2012
Docket Number: 2012-118
Date: November 9, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 92
Docket Number: 2011-228
Justia Opinion Summary: The State appealed the Chittenden Criminal Division’s denial of its motion to seal search warrants and related materials generated during an ongoing investigation into a missing Essex couple. The court determined that…
Date: November 9, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 97
Docket Number: 2012-045
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue before the Supreme Court in this case centered on whether a physician could be held answerable as a matter of professional discipline solely on the basis of a physicians assistant’s (PA) unprofessional acts.…
Date: November 9, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 95
Docket Number: 2012-114
Justia Opinion Summary: Applicant Marilyn Clifford appealed the denial of long-term home-care benefits under the Medicaid-funded Choices for Care program, arguing that a second home on an adjacent piece of property should have been excluded…
Date: November 2, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 88
Docket Number: 2011-343
Justia Opinion Summary: The Vermont Human Rights Commission appealed a trial court decision interpreting 9 V.S.A. section 4554 as requiring all lawsuits brought by the Commission against the State of Vermont to be filed within a six-month…
Date: November 2, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 78
Docket Number: 2012-009
Justia Opinion Summary: Taxpayer World Publications distributes a free weekly newspaper in central Vermont called The World. Once a month, the newspaper includes a coupon book, produced and printed by taxpayer, that features coupons for local…
Date: October 26, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 91
Docket Number: 2010-336
Justia Opinion Summary: In July 2010, Defendant Donald Shepherd pled guilty to charges of aggravated sexual assault, lewd and lascivious conduct with a child, and sexual exploitation of a child in exchange for dismissal of several other pending…
Date: October 26, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 87
Docket Number: 2011-398
Justia Opinion Summary: Neighbors of a proposed affordable housing development appealed an Environmental Division decision affirming a decision of the Town of Woodstock Development Review Board (DRB) granting appellee-applicants Woodstock…
Date: October 26, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 93
Docket Number: 2011-419
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue before the Supreme Court in this case centered on whether a workers' compensation insurer was entitled to reimbursement of death benefits it paid when a claimant's beneficiary also received proceeds from a…
Date: October 19, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 85
Docket Number: 2011-039
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Charles Crannell appealed the decision of the Rutland Civil Division that he was no longer entitled to an appointed attorney to handle his post-conviction relief (PCR) proceedings. Appellant’s previously…
Date: October 19, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 89
Docket Number: 2011-277
Justia Opinion Summary: In consolidated appeals, the Lowell Mountains Group, Inc. (LMG), and the Towns of Albany and Craftsbury, challenged several Public Service Board orders related to the construction of a wind-electric-generation facility…
Date: October 19, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 90
Docket Number: 2011-312
Justia Opinion Summary: The State of Vermont appealed a trial court's dismissal of a civil driver's license suspension complaint. The trial court found that the statutory requirements for civil suspension had not been met. Upon review, the…
Date: October 19, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 86
Docket Number: 2011-317
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Sally J. Taylor sued Fletcher Allen Health Care (FAHC) for medical negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress in connection with her medical care following a surgery performed on her lumbar…
Date: October 12, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 76
Docket Number: 2011-206
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Timothy Wiley appealed the Windham Civil Division's denial of his request for DNA testing pursuant to Vermont's Innocence Protection Act. Following an unsuccessful appeal of convictions for aggravated sexual…
Date: October 12, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 81
Docket Number: 2011-426
Justia Opinion Summary: In this consolidated appeal, defendants Paul Edmonds and Francis Cobb appeared their conditional pleas to driving with a suspended license, claiming that the Windsor Criminal Division erred in denying their motions to…
Date: October 12, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 84
Docket Number: 2011-436
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, Doctors Eitan and Vered Sobel, owners of a medical office building in Rutland, appealed the superior court's grant of summary judgment for defendant, City of Rutland. Plaintiffs sued the City for damages,…
Date: October 5, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 79
Docket Number: 2010-119
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of second-degree murder following a jury trial. He appeals that conviction on three grounds: (1) the trial court improperly denied his motion for a new trial based on a newly discovered witness…
Date: October 5, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 83
Docket Number: 2011-249
Justia Opinion Summary: In July 2003, Michael Bandler and Michael Bandler & Company, Inc., (collectively “Bandler”) sued Charter One for various claims based primarily on Charter One’s alleged failure to honor advertising promises and other…
Date: October 5, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 82
Docket Number: 2011-403
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue in two consolidated cases concerned a public housing authority and three of its tenants. Bennington Housing Authority (BHA) appealed two trial court decisions dismissing ejectment claims against tenants, and…
Date: September 28, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 80
Docket Number: 2011-345
Justia Opinion Summary: This litigation arose from the construction of a 143-unit condominium complex. Plaintiff Long Trail House Condominium Association appealed a trial court’s order granting summary judgment to defendant general contractor…
Date: September 14, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 77
Docket Number: 2011-274
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Foti Fuels, Inc. (Foti), a fuel distributor, appealed a Civil Division’s judgment in favor of Evans Group, Inc. (Evans), also a fuel distributor. Evans cancelled its agreement to sell fuel to Foti for resale…
Date: August 31, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 73
Docket Number: 2010-468
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Jeffrey Brandt was convicted by a jury of two counts of second-degree aggravated domestic assault and one count of driving with a license suspended (DLS). On appeal to the Supreme Court, he raised three…
Date: August 31, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 71
Docket Number: 2011-161
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Paul Bourn was convicted in superior court of two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon following an incident where he pointed an unloaded muzzleloader toward two police officers who were attempting…
Date: August 31, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 74
Docket Number: 2011-356
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Charlotte Rumsey appealed a decision by the Vermont Human Services Board which denied her Choices for Care (CFC) Services on a tie vote of the Board. The issue before the Board was whether petitioner met the…
Date: August 24, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 63
Docket Number: 2011-085
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants John and Margaret Toor appealed a decision of the Superior Court, Environmental Division, which upheld a notice of violation issued by the Town of Grand Isle Zoning Administrator for changing the use of their…
Date: August 24, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 72
Docket Number: 2011-291
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006, Petitioner Paul Kirby was charged with five counts of possessing child pornography after a search of his computer revealed five different video depictions of sexual conduct by a child or children. Evidence…
Date: August 14, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 70
Docket Number: 2011-183
Justia Opinion Summary: Guardian appealed an order of the probate division directing that a court-ordered guardianship evaluation performed by Rutland Mental Health Services, Inc. (RMHS) be placed with the court under seal. Guardian argued…
Date: August 10, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 65
Docket Number: 2011-082
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Richard Reid appealed his conviction for aggravated sexual assault. In the summer of 2008, when she was six years old, the child "A.V.", made statements to her neighbors indicating that defendant had sexually…
Date: August 10, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 68
Docket Number: 2011-220
Justia Opinion Summary: Vermont Golf Association challenged the superior court’s dismissal of its appeal from a decision by the Department of Taxes assessing sales and use tax on prior activities. The court based its dismissal on Vermont Golf’s…
Date: August 10, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 67
Docket Number: 2011-267
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff David Shaddy appealed a trial court's dismissal of his complaint against the Brattleboro Retreat and some of its employees. Plaintiff, a former Retreat employee, brought claims of defamation, obstruction of…
Date: August 10, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 64
Docket Number: 2011-293
Justia Opinion Summary: Fletcher Allen Health Care (FAHC) appealed a decision of the Vermont Employment Security Board finding claimant, Abdullahi Mohamed, eligible for unemployment compensation benefits. The Board found that claimant’s…
Date: August 10, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 69
Docket Number: 2011-351
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Kevin Turnley appealed a trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of defendant Town of Vernon. Plaintiff, formerly the Town’s Chief of Police, claimed that he was entitled to receive overtime pay under…
Date: August 3, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 55
Docket Number: 2010-181
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Richard Daniels wanted to foreclose on a mortgage on two parcels of real property owned by defendant Elks Club of Hartford, Vermont. Defendant creditors, who include the Vermont Human Rights Commission, four…
Date: August 3, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 61
Docket Number: 2011-211
Justia Opinion Summary: Hartford police officers responded to a report of a possible burglary in progress, and used considerable force in restraining the suspect. The alleged burglar turned out to be the homeowner, who was disoriented due to a…
Date: August 3, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 66
Docket Number: 2011-229
Justia Opinion Summary: The Windsor County State's Attorney filed an interlocutory collateral final order appeal seeking review on the question of whether 13 V.S.A. 4815(g)(1) violated the Vermont Constitution's separation-of-powers provision…
Date: August 3, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 62
Docket Number: 2011-266
Justia Opinion Summary: The Franklin County Sheriff's Office appealed the trial court's judgment in favor of the St. Albans City Police Department. The Sheriff's Office contended that the City Police Department engaged in an unfair method of…
Date: August 3, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 60
Docket Number: 2011-283
Justia Opinion Summary: Pro se Defendant Casey Hafford appealed a trial court's order that granted plaintiff Becky Nystrom's request to partition jointly owned property. Defendant argued that the court erred in rejecting his argument that he…
Date: July 27, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 58
Docket Number: 2011-116
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Stephen J. Pcolar appealed Superior Court verdict in favor of defendant Casella Waste Systems, Inc. Plaintiff filed suit alleging negligence in connection with an incident where the gripper arm of a garbage…
Date: July 27, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 59
Docket Number: 2011-235
Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose from a separation agreement made thirty-seven years ago between a now-deceased husband and plaintiff, his first wife. Plaintiff contended that her ex-husband promised to devise to her certain assets upon…
Date: July 27, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 54
Docket Number: 2011-276
Justia Opinion Summary: Kayla Eaton's lawsuit against her former employer and supervisor for sexual assault was dismissed for failure to prosecute. She claimed that her ability to prosecute the case was thwarted by a licensed polygraph…
Date: July 19, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 57
Docket Number: 2011-336
Justia Opinion Summary: Wife Maura Breslin appealed a family court order that required her to sign a waiver to correct a previously filed Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) which erroneously gave her survivorship benefits in her former…
Date: July 11, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 52
Docket Number: 2011-305
Justia Opinion Summary: Margaret Chickansoky (Mother) appealed a family court order that modified her parent-child contact rights. The parties originally agreed to share parental rights and responsibilities as part of a December 2005 divorce…
Date: July 10, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 53
Docket Number: 2011-184
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue before the Supreme Court concerned whether a truck idling in the middle of the night in the parking lot of an auto repair shop that had previously been burglarized was sufficient to give police reasonable and…
Date: July 6, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 48
Docket Number: 2011-100
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Jeffory Hammond appealed his convictions for sexual assault and lewd and lascivious conduct. Defendant argued that: (1) he was entitled to a judgment of acquittal based on the complainant's contradictory and…
Date: July 6, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-310
Date: July 6, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 44
Docket Number: 2011-310
Justia Opinion Summary: The trial court dismissed Wife's post-divorce motion for relief from judgment based on Husband's alleged fraudulent concealment of assets without requiring completion of the discovery sought by wife, and without a…
Date: July 6, 2012
Docket Number: 2011-310
Date: July 5, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 51
Docket Number: 2011-068
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Chase Tetrault and friends broke into a remote camp owned by A.C. (camp owner), damaging appliances and personal items. Defendant pled guilty to one count of unlawful trespass and the State requested…
Date: June 22, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 43
Docket Number: 2010-457
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Frank Hall, a longtime employee of the Agency of Transportation (AOT), sued the agency in 2007, alleging discrimination on the basis of a physical disability and retaliation for his having filed a workers'…
Date: June 18, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 40
Docket Number: 2011-365
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed the trial court's dismissal of his medical malpractice action for failing to satisfy the applicable statute of limitations. Plaintiff alleged that Defendant Allan Eisemann, M.D., practicing through a…
Date: June 14, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 36
Docket Number: 2010-414
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Jason Mead was convicted of attempted second-degree murder following a jury trial. He appealed that conviction on four grounds: (1) a State’s witness and a juror had improper contact during trial; (2) the…
Date: June 14, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 50
Docket Number: 2010-437
Justia Opinion Summary: Pro se defendant James Burke appealed his sexual assault conviction under 13 V.S.A. 3252(a)(1) and resulting eighteen-to-twenty-year sentence. Defendant contended that: (1) he was denied a speedy trial; (2) the trial…
Date: June 14, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 49
Docket Number: 2011-162
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Moira Lamay, a former Vermont state trooper, appealed the grant of summary judgmet in favor of the State on her claim of employment discrimination. On appeal, Plaintiff contended the trial court erred in: (1)…
Date: June 14, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 46
Docket Number: 2011-328
Justia Opinion Summary: Barrett Holby, Grethe Holby, Kristin Holby, and Wegard Holby appealed orders of the Public Service Board which granted New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC d/b/a AT&T Mobility (AT&T) a Certificate of Public Good (CPG)…
Date: June 8, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 47
Docket Number: 2010-475
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Eddie Sinclair filed a petition for a writ of coram nobis in the criminal division, seeking to vacate a conviction from 1993 on the ground that his plea was not entered voluntarily. The court denied the…
Date: June 8, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 45
Docket Number: 2011-081
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs Vermont Human Rights Commission (HRC) and Ursula Stanley, an employee of the State Agency of Transportation, appealed the Washington Civil Division's decision to grant the State's motion to dismiss her…
Date: May 17, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 37
Docket Number: 2010-254
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Robert Kolibas was convicted by a jury of lewd and lascivious conduct with a child and two counts of aggravated assault. On appeal of his conviction, Defendant claimed the trial court in its instructions to the…
Date: May 17, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 38
Docket Number: 2010-312
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants Warren and Wynne Kirschbaum appealed a trial court's ruling in favor of Appellee First Quality Carpets, Inc. arising from a dispute they had over carpet installed in 2007. The Kirschbaums argued that the civil…
Date: May 16, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 038
Docket Number: 2011-326
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Vaillancourt Tree and Landscape Service appealed a trial court decision denying its post-trial motion for attorney's fees and costs under a theory of implied indemnification. The issue on appeal was whether…
Date: May 10, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 32
Docket Number: 2011-067
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants Richard Barnett and Cedric and Leslie Sanborn appealed a judgment which ruled that the City of Montpelier may prohibit boating, fishing, and swimming in Berlin Pond, a public body of water located outside the…
Date: May 4, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 34
Docket Number: 2010-297
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Joseph McCarthy appealed his conviction of involuntary manslaughter. Defendant set up a dangerous shooting range on his property and invited others to join him in firing weapons at the site. An errant bullet…
Date: April 26, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 33
Docket Number: 2011-106
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs Russell and Mary Ann Rueger and John Moyers appealed a trial courts grant of summary judgment in favor of Defendants Natural Resources Board and the District #9 Environmental Commission of Vermont. The matter…
Date: April 19, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 30
Docket Number: 2011-057
Justia Opinion Summary: Juvenile Defendant A.C. appealed an adjudication of delinquency. On the basis of an incident at school, the State filed a delinquency petition against him, alleging that he engaged in open and gross lewdness and…
Date: April 13, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 27
Docket Number: 2011-033
Justia Opinion Summary: The question before the Supreme Court was whether, and to what extent, a state's attorney was entitled to official immunity from civil liability for allegedly tortuous conduct concerning a local police officer. The trial…
Date: April 12, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 28
Docket Number: 2011-236
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Poulin Auto Sales appealed a trial court judgment that awarded attorney's fees under the Vermont Consumer Fraud Act (VCFA). Poulin argued that the court erred in holding it liable under the VCFA and refusing to…
Date: April 12, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 29
Docket Number: 2011-352
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant John Madden appealed the Public Service Board's order granting a certificate of public good for Appellee Cross Pollination, Inc.'s planned construction of a solar energy farm in the Town of New Haven. Appellant…
Date: April 6, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 26
Docket Number: 2010-344
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case were documents that related to the investigation and discipline of City of Rutland employees for viewing pornography, including possible child pornography, at work. The City challenged a superior…
Date: March 30, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 24
Docket Number: 2010-434
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff-Appellee the Rutland Herald appealed a trial court's decision to grant summary judgment to Defendants the Vermont State Police (VSP) and the Office of the Attorney General (collectively the State), and to deny…
Date: March 30, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 22
Docket Number: 2011-158
Justia Opinion Summary: James Bennett, the father of Brooke Bennett and the administrator of her estate, appealed a trial court's declaration of no coverage for the claims made in the lawsuit filed against homeowner Denise Woodward for…
Date: March 23, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 17
Docket Number: 2010-100
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1995, Petitioner John Rhodes, a resident of the Town of Georgia, petitioned his local governing body, the selectboard, to clarify several issues surrounding two roads that bordered his land. While this case began as…
Date: March 23, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 18
Docket Number: 2010-356
Justia Opinion Summary: Following a jury trial, Defendants R. Brown & Sons, Inc., a scrap metal hauling company, and its principal, Robert Brown were found liable for breach of contract, common law fraud, trespass, breach of the implied…
Date: March 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-399
Date: March 23, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 21
Docket Number: 2010-399
Justia Opinion Summary: Following Defendant Jay Handy's conviction for a sex offense, the superior court granted the State's motion to compel Defendant to submit to testing for sexually transmitted diseases under the authority of 13 V.S.A.…
Date: March 23, 2012
Docket Number: 2010-399
Date: March 23, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 23
Docket Number: 2011-076
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue in this case was whether the State may prosecute an adult defendant for crimes alleged to have occurred when he was a juvenile. The prosecution was late in bringing the charged because the alleged victims did…
Date: March 23, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 19
Docket Number: 2011-078
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Randy J. Rouleau appealed the decision of the Washington Civil Division which held that Wells Fargo Bank Minnesota, N.A., as Trustee for the registered holders of Credit Suisse First Boston Mortgage Security…
Date: March 15, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 20
Docket Number: 2011-080
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother Jacqueline Parker appealed a superior court judgment that transferred physical parental rights and responsibilities to Father Brian Parker. She contended that the court erred in concluding that her desire to…
Date: March 9, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 16
Docket Number: 2011-042
Justia Opinion Summary: Husband Robert Molleur appealed the property and maintenance components of a divorce order issued by the family division of the superior court. Following an evidentiary hearing, the trial court granted the parties a…
Date: March 9, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 15
Docket Number: 2011-045
Justia Opinion Summary: Medicaid recipient John Doe and the State appealed a trial court's decision allowing the State to partially recover the amount of its lien against Doe's settlement with a third party. In 1992 when Doe was nine years old,…
Date: March 2, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 14
Docket Number: 2009-468
Justia Opinion Summary: Pro se Plaintiff-Appellant Stephen Bain was incarcerated as a habitual offender following convictions in 2005 for possession of stolen property and possession of marijuana. He believed that police unlawfully entered his…
Date: February 16, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 13
Docket Number: 2011-248
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Junior's Pizza, Inc. appealed a superior court decision that confirmed an arbitration award and awarded attorney's fees to Plaintiff UniFirst Corporation. The Superior Court held that Junior's waived its right…
Date: February 10, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 12
Docket Number: 2011-407
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Alexander Stolte appealed the decision of the Orange Criminal Division that denied his motion for bail review. Defendant was charged with second-degree murder and held without bail. He requested that the court…
Date: February 7, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 10
Docket Number: 2011-072
Justia Opinion Summary: This condemnation case was filed in July 1992, "making it very, very old." On its fourth time reviewing this matter, the Supreme Court was asked to determine whether the superior court abused its discretion when it…
Date: February 7, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 11
Docket Number: 2011-111
Justia Opinion Summary: Taxpayer Margaret Murray appealed a superior court's order that dismissed her tax abatement appeal. On appeal to the Supreme Court, she argued that the superior court erroneously concluded that she could not appeal the…
Date: February 2, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 5
Docket Number: 2011-010
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006, Defendants Tristan Vaughan and Grace Zambon purchased all outstanding shares of defendant Northland Specialties, Inc., from Plaintiffs Philip and Patricia Pierce. Under the terms of the promissory note,…
Date: January 31, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 6
Docket Number: 2010-477
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, a search warrant was issued to search the home of Defendant Richard Chaplin, and the search turned up incriminating evidence. In response to a motion to suppress however, the superior court determined that…
Date: January 31, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 9
Docket Number: 2011-079
Justia Opinion Summary: The central issue on appeal to the Supreme Court in this case arose from a purported agreement to bifurcate the allowance of a will from the future allowance of a codicil. Farwell W. Perry died leaving behind a wife and…
Date: January 30, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 8
Docket Number: 2011-084
Justia Opinion Summary: Claimant Katherine St. Martin appealed the Employment Security Board's determination that she voluntarily left her job without good cause, disqualifying her from receiving unemployment benefits. She argued on appeal that…
Date: January 26, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 4
Docket Number: 2010-255
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant Ali Abdi (a Somali Bantu immigrant) was convicted of one count of aggravated sexual assault on a child. He moved for a new trial based in part on a claim of jury misconduct resulting from a…
Date: January 26, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 7
Docket Number: 2010-326
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Jennifer Wyrocki appealed her conviction of disturbing the peace by telephone. The State charged her with making repeated and anonymous terrifying, intimidating, threatening, harassing, or annoying telephone…
Date: January 6, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 2
Docket Number: 2010-293
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Scott Blaise appealed a superior court decision that he violated three conditions of his probation for his alleged failure to: (1) adequately participate in counseling as directed by his probation officer; (2)…
Date: January 6, 2012
Citation: 2012 VT 1
Docket Number: 2010-369
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Matthew Voog pled guilty to simple assault and reckless endangerment. He appealed the trial court's denial of his motions to strike surplusage from the information and affidavit of probable cause, and sought…
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