Vermont Supreme Court Decisions 2023
Date: December 21, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 65
Docket Number: 22-AP-324
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court of Vermont upheld an earlier decision by the Environmental Division, which granted a zoning permit to the Department for Children and Families (DCF) and the Vermont Permanency Initiative, Inc. (VPI) to…
Date: December 21, 2023
Citation: 2009 VT 11
Docket Number: 23-AP-177
Date: December 15, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 64
Docket Number: 23-AP-003
Justia Opinion Summary: In Vermont, a dispute arose among the owners of seven lots connected by a private road named Purple Mountain Road over how to allocate maintenance costs for the road. The plaintiffs, who own five of the seven lots,…
Date: December 15, 2023
Citation: 2011 VT 84
Docket Number: 23-AP-138
Date: December 15, 2023
Citation: 2018 VT 31
Docket Number: 23-AP-161
Date: December 15, 2023
Citation: 2016 VT 6
Docket Number: 23-AP-189
Date: December 15, 2023
Citation: 2016 VT 17
Docket Number: 23-AP-202
Date: December 15, 2023
Citation: 2005 VT 26
Docket Number: 23-AP-211
Date: December 15, 2023
Citation: 2015 VT 49
Docket Number: 23-AP-239
Date: December 15, 2023
Citation: 2017 VT 112
Docket Numbers: 23-AP-255, 23-AP-256
Date: December 8, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 63
Docket Number: 23-AP-058
Justia Opinion Summary: In the case, Maple Run Unified School District (the District) appealed a trial court order which granted the Vermont Human Rights Commission (the Commission) a motion to dismiss the District’s complaint for lack of…
Date: December 1, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 60
Docket Number: 22-AP-211
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case decided by the State of Vermont Supreme Court, the defendant, Walter Taylor, III, appealed his convictions for aggravated assault, attempted domestic assault, assault and robbery, and obstruction of justice,…
Date: November 13, 2023
Citation: 2015 VT 37
Docket Number: 23-AP-114
Date: November 13, 2023
Citation: 2008 VT 52
Docket Number: 23-AP-130
Date: November 13, 2023
Citation: 2013 VT 82
Docket Number: 23-AP-131
Date: November 13, 2023
Citation: 2010 VT 32
Docket Number: 23-AP-135
Date: November 13, 2023
Citation: 2019 VT 38
Docket Number: 23-AP-142
Date: November 13, 2023
Citation: 2009 VT 68
Docket Number: 23-AP-159
Date: November 13, 2023
Citation: 2011 VT 84
Docket Number: 23-AP-168
Date: November 9, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 59
Docket Number: 22-AP-260
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Edwin Rodriquez appealed the denial of his motion to be resentenced. Defendant was charged with aggravated domestic assault and related criminal counts for physically assaulting his then-romantic partner. After…
Date: October 27, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 57
Docket Number: 22-AP-286
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Allco Renewable Energy Limited appealed a Vermont Public Utility Commission denial of its request for a certificate of public good (CPG) to construct a solar energy project in Bennington, Vermont. Under…
Date: October 23, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 58
Docket Number: 23-AP-309
Date: October 20, 2023
Citation: 2005 VT 18
Docket Number: 22-AP-331
Date: October 13, 2023
Citation: 2015 VT 64
Docket Number: 23-AP-095
Date: October 13, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 55
Docket Number: 23-AP-103
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Seth Alarie appealed a final relief-from-abuse (RFA) order requested by plaintiff Carissa Poss, his former girlfriend. On February 6, 2023, plaintiff filed a form RFA complaint alleging defendant physically…
Date: October 13, 2023
Citation: 2020 VT 13
Docket Number: 23-AP-111
Date: October 13, 2023
Citation: 2004 VT 40
Docket Number: 23-AP-117
Date: October 13, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 56
Docket Number: 23-AP-129
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff William Doherty appealed the grant of summary judgment to defendant Alphonse Sorrentino. On the morning of November 8, 2019, plaintiff walked a short distance from the Village Inn to the Woodstock Inn in…
Date: October 13, 2023
Citation: 2010 VT 10
Docket Number: 23-AP-145
Date: September 29, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 54
Docket Numbers: 23-AP-124, 23-AP-126
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother appealed multiple family court decisions that found her four minor children B.G., E.G., I.O., and A.O. to be children in need of care or supervision (CHINS). Mother’s husband J.O., who was the father of I.O. and…
Date: September 22, 2023
Citation: 2019 VT 4
Docket Number: 23-AP-149
Date: September 15, 2023
Citation: 2017 VT 58
Docket Number: 23-AP-002
Date: September 15, 2023
Citation: 2019 VT 4
Docket Number: 23-AP-055
Date: September 15, 2023
Citation: 2006 VT 5
Docket Numbers: 23-AP-065, 23-AP-085
Date: September 15, 2023
Citation: 2020 VT 24
Docket Number: 23-AP-073
Date: September 15, 2023
Citation: 2019 VT 74
Docket Number: 23-AP-075
Date: September 15, 2023
Citation: 2014 VT 61
Docket Number: 23-AP-089
Date: September 15, 2023
Citation: 2014 VT 74
Docket Number: 23-AP-137
Date: September 15, 2023
Citation: 2005 VT 18
Docket Number: 23-AP-144
Date: September 15, 2023
Citation: 2004 VT 40
Docket Number: 23-AP-147
Date: September 8, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 51
Docket Numbers: 22-AP-120, 23-AP-099
Justia Opinion Summary: In consolidated appeals, Parents challenged the termination of their residual parental rights to K.G. and L.G., and the denial of their post-termination motion to set aside the merits and disposition orders in this case…
Date: September 8, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 50
Docket Number: 22-AP-222
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Kyle Wolfe appealed the dismissal of his lawsuit against Vermont Digger and its editor (collectively, “VT Digger”), arguing that dismissal was improper and alleging that VT Digger’s publication of articles…
Date: September 8, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 52
Docket Number: 22-AP-231
Justia Opinion Summary: In October 1987, defendant William Wheelock, III shot and killed James Brillon with a shotgun. He was convicted by jury of second-degree murder and sentenced to seventeen-years-to-life, with a split sentence to serve…
Date: September 8, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 53
Docket Number: 23-AP-051
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff appealed the denial of her motion to enforce a provision in the parties’ final divorce order that gave her the option to purchase jointly owned real property from defendant. The property at issue was a…
Date: August 18, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 48
Docket Number: 22-AP-217
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant James Menize was convicted by jury on one count of aggravated sexual assault of a victim under the age of thirteen, and one count of lewd and lascivious conduct with a child. Defendant raised multiple arguments…
Date: August 18, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 47
Docket Number: 22-AP-301
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs appealed a trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of defendant on their legal-malpractice and Vermont Consumer Protection Act (VCPA) claims. Mongeon Bay Properties, LLC (MBP) owned property abutting…
Date: August 18, 2023
Citation: 2017 VT 42
Docket Number: 22-AP-309
Date: August 18, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 49
Docket Number: 23-AP-042
Justia Opinion Summary: This case was the second appeal in this partition action, which involved a parcel of property jointly owned by plaintiff Simeon Bruner and defendant Bradford Gee. Plaintiff argued the court erred in assigning the…
Date: August 18, 2023
Citation: 2003 VT 90
Docket Number: 23-AP-066
Date: August 18, 2023
Citation: 2015 VT 37
Docket Number: 23-AP-092
Date: August 18, 2023
Citation: 2019 VT 28
Docket Number: 23-AP-108
Date: August 4, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 43
Docket Number: 22-AP-202
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Energy Policy Advocates challenged a trial court’s conclusion that certain communications between different state attorney general offices were protected from disclosure under a public-records request, and…
Date: August 3, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 46
Docket Number: 22-AP-353
Date: July 21, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 40
Docket Number: 21-AP-275
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Joshua Boyer challenged the denial of his motion to suppress evidence gathered in a consented-to search of his residence. In April 2018, M.B. complained to police that defendant had sexually assaulted her…
Date: July 21, 2023
Docket Number: 22-AP-302
Date: July 21, 2023
Citation: 2018 VT 31
Docket Number: 23-AP-006
Date: July 21, 2023
Citation: 2008 VT 90
Docket Number: 23-AP-080
Date: July 14, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 39
Docket Number: 22-AP-225
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Theodore Colehamer appealed two convictions by jury: (1) felony driving under the influence (DUI), fourth offense; and (2) misdemeanor eluding a police officer. He contended the trial court abused its…
Date: July 7, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 38
Docket Number: 22-AP-216
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Austin White appealed the suspension of his driver’s license. He argued that the trial court abused its discretion in admitting the results of an evidentiary blood-alcohol test because the State did not offer…
Date: July 7, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 36
Docket Number: 22-AP-314
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2018, the State charged defendant Larry Labrecque with multiple counts of sexual assault, including the aggravated sexual assault of a child. He remained held without bail through his trial, which commenced on May 9,…
Date: June 30, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 35
Docket Number: 22-AP-086
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Gregg Beldock contracted to purchase four solar assets in development from VWSD, LLC. Following allegations of breach, VWSD sold three of the solar assets to a third party, Green Lantern. Beldock filed a…
Date: June 30, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 37
Docket Number: 22-AP-323
Justia Opinion Summary: Claimant Semir Mahmutovic appealed a Vermont Department of Labor decision concluding that claimant’s prior employer was not obligated to reimburse claimant for lost wages under 21 V.S.A. § 640(c), and that the statute…
Date: June 16, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 34
Docket Number: 23-AP-017
Justia Opinion Summary: J.N. was born in August 2013. On the eve of J.N.’s eighth birthday in August 2021, the State filed a petition alleging that J.N. was a child in need of care or supervision (CHINS) due to lack of proper parental care…
Date: June 9, 2023
Citation: 2014 VT 85
Docket Number: 22-AP-175
Date: June 9, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 32
Docket Number: 22-AP-200
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff sued defendants alleging childhood sexual abuse, and defendants moved to dismiss on the ground that the statute, which eliminated the prior limitations period, was unconstitutional. The civil division denied…
Date: June 9, 2023
Citation: 2012 VT 58
Docket Number: 22-AP-264
Date: June 9, 2023
Citation: 2014 VT 61
Docket Number: 22-AP-289
Date: June 9, 2023
Citation: 2007 VT 65
Docket Number: 22-AP-308
Date: June 9, 2023
Citation: 2015 VT 92
Docket Number: 22-AP-312
Date: June 2, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 31
Docket Number: 22-AP-197
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Zephryn Hammond appealed the grant of summary judgment in favor of defendant University of Vermont Medical Center on plaintiff’s claims of employment discrimination and retaliatory discharge. Defendant…
Date: May 26, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 30
Docket Number: 22-AP-081
Justia Opinion Summary: In August 2020, plaintiff Vermont Journalism Trust (VJT) sought from the State emails to or from former Secretary of the Agency of Commerce and Community Development Lawrence Miller related to the Jay Peak EB-5 fraud…
Date: May 19, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 26
Docket Number: 22-AP-143
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Brian Gates appealed a trial court’s extension and modification of three stalking orders against him. he parties are longtime neighbors who lived on the same street in Mendon, Vermont. Defendant owned a home on…
Date: May 19, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 29
Docket Number: 22-AP-199
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Ava Morton appealed the denial of her complaint for an order against stalking. In May 2022, plaintiff’s mother filed a complaint on behalf of plaintiff, who was then seventeen years old, seeking an…
Date: May 17, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 28
Docket Number: 23-AP-164
Date: May 5, 2023
Docket Number: 22-AP-194
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-landowner Sisters & Brothers Investment Group, LLP (SBIG) appealed an environmental-division enforcement order: enjoining it from using real property in the City of Burlington; ordering it to address…
Date: May 5, 2023
Citation: 2018 VT 88
Docket Number: 22-AP-255
Date: May 5, 2023
Citation: 2020 VT 88
Docket Number: 22-AP-256
Date: May 5, 2023
Citation: 2017 VT 62
Docket Number: 22-AP-280
Date: May 5, 2023
Citation: 2020 VT 44
Docket Number: 22-AP-322
Date: May 5, 2023
Citation: 2006 VT 94
Docket Number: 22-AP-352
Date: May 5, 2023
Citation: 2003 VT 112
Docket Number: 23-AP-033
Date: April 21, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 23
Docket Number: 22-AP-154
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants challenged the civil division’s order granting plaintiff Sharond Hill’s request to vacate its previous order dismissing her complaint. In February 2019, plaintiff filed a complaint against defendants…
Date: April 14, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 21
Docket Number: 22-AP-090
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother appealed a family division’s order denying her motion to permanently suspend father’s parent-child contact with the parties’ minor son. Mother argued the court erred in denying her motion to admit into evidence…
Date: April 14, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 19
Docket Number: 22-AP-131
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Devan Calabrese appealed the criminal division’s denial of his motion to suppress evidence of a cartridge found at his girlfriend’s house following a remand from the Vermont Supreme Court. He argued the trial…
Date: April 14, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 20
Docket Number: 22-AP-237
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Gary Margolis appealed a trial court’s grant of defendant Daily Direct LLC’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s complaint. Plaintiff, a resident of Vermont, entered into two contracts with defendant, whose principal…
Date: April 14, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 22
Docket Number: 22-AP-285
Justia Opinion Summary: G.C. brings this interlocutory appeal from a family division order denying his request for youthful-offender status. The State charged youth with felony sexual assault in October 2021. On appeal, G.C. argued the evidence…
Date: April 7, 2023
Citation: 2006 VT 126
Docket Number: 22-AP-153
Date: April 7, 2023
Citation: 2014 VT 74
Docket Number: 22-AP-269
Date: April 7, 2023
Citation: 2005 VT 18
Docket Number: 22-AP-279
Date: April 7, 2023
Citation: 2011 VT 84
Docket Number: 22-AP-294
Date: March 24, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 17
Docket Number: 22-AP-271
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother appealed the family division’s order transferring custody of thirteen-year-old Z.P. to father, who was previously the noncustodial parent. In 2020, Z.P. was adjudicated a child in need of care or supervision, for…
Date: March 17, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 15
Docket Number: 22-AP-059
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs were three sets of parents of schoolchildren who resided in school districts which maintained a public school for at least some grades and did not provide the opportunity for children to attend the public or…
Date: March 17, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 18
Docket Number: 22-AP-178
Justia Opinion Summary: Brothers Newton and Jason Wells (plaintiffs) and their mother Beverly Wells, filed suit in September 2017 seeking to partition real property they held as tenants in common with defendant Pall Spera in Stowe, Vermont. The…
Date: March 17, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 16
Docket Number: 22-AP-242
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother appealed a trial court’s determination that C.C. was a child in need of care or supervision (CHINS). She argued that the court erred in admitting certain hearsay statements by C.C. concerning alleged sexual abuse…
Date: March 10, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 12
Docket Number: 22-AP-119
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Sarah Spinette sought summer housing for herself and her minor child at the Redstone Apartments located on the campus of the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College (UVM). The Redstone Apartments…
Date: March 10, 2023
Citation: 2009 VT 109
Docket Number: 22-AP-149
Date: March 10, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 13
Docket Number: 22-AP-168
Date: March 10, 2023
Citation: 2006 VT 2
Docket Number: 22-AP-186
Date: March 10, 2023
Citation: 2018 VT 104
Docket Number: 22-AP-247
Date: March 3, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 10
Docket Number: 22-AP-122
Justia Opinion Summary: In August 2018, following a "series of unfortunate events," defendant Jeffrey Young fired multiple nine-millimeter rounds from inside his home toward the front door. Defendant’s adult son, and his son’s two friends were…
Date: February 24, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 11
Docket Number: 22-AP-082
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Tina Fleurrey appealed the dismissal of her negligence claim against defendant landlord 3378 VT Route 12 LLC. In her complaint, she alleged that landlord was responsible for the drowning death of decedent Scott…
Date: February 17, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 8
Docket Number: 2019-029
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Chavis Murphy was convicted by jury of second-degree murder following a jury trial. He argued on appeal that the trial court erred by: (1) denying his motion for judgment of acquittal; (2) denying his motion to…
Date: February 17, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 9
Docket Number: 22-AP-137
Justia Opinion Summary: The State of Vermont appealed a decision of the Vermont Labor Relations Board sustaining a grievance filed by the Vermont State Employees’ Association (VSEA) on behalf of several classified employees. The Board…
Date: February 10, 2023
Citation: 2008 VT 52
Docket Number: 22-AP-196
Date: February 10, 2023
Citation: 2021 VT 20
Docket Number: 22-AP-240
Date: February 8, 2023
Citation: 2017 VT 18
Docket Number: 23-AP-039
Date: January 27, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 7
Docket Number: 22-AP-162
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner K.C. Myers challenged the trial court’s determination that his exclusion from the earned-time program for a disqualifying offense did not violate the Ex Post Facto Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Petitioner…
Date: January 20, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 6
Docket Number: 21-AP-257
Justia Opinion Summary: Employer Howard Center appealed a trial court order that confirmed an arbitration award in favor of grievant Daniel Peyser and AFSCME Local 1674. In May 2019, employer expressed concern over grievant’s billing practices,…
Date: January 20, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 4
Docket Number: 22-AP-125
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2018, City of Montpelier voters approved a proposed amendment to the city’s charter that would allow noncitizens to vote in its local elections. The Legislature authorized the amendment in 2021, overriding the…
Date: January 20, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 5
Docket Number: 22-AP-192
Justia Opinion Summary: Jeffrey and Alyssa Gladchun appealed the grant of summary judgment to their neighboring landowners, Michael and Diane Eramo, and the Eramos’ lessee, New Cingular Wireless, PCS, d/b/a AT&T (AT&T). The civil division…
Date: January 13, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 2
Docket Number: 22-AP-053
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Berkshire Bank filed this action seeking possession of funds in an investment account owned by defendant Thomas Kelly, which defendant purportedly pledged as security for a business loan to his sister Dorothea…
Date: January 13, 2023
Citation: 2011 VT 110
Docket Number: 22-AP-161
Date: January 6, 2023
Citation: 2023 VT 1
Docket Number: 22-AP-096
Justia Opinion Summary: Landowner Frances Nesti appealed two civil-division orders resolving multiple claims in favor of the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans). In 2006, VTrans rebuilt Route 7 in South Burlington and Shelburne. The new…
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