Same . . . different . . . never mind.  By Andy Delaney I didn’t post an update last week, so there’s some ground to cover here. This week, SCOV first takes care of some housekeeping from last year. Remember the Sutton decision from 2019? Me neither. And that’s why I’m glad I can text search my sent email. My emailed summary to the Vermont Association for Justice list from October 2019 posed the question:…

A different type of control Kuligoski v. Rapoza, 2018 VT 14 By Andy Delaney We’ve covered one iteration of this case before, complete with an amended opinion on reargument. This version is based on a respondeat superior theory. For those of you not indoctrinated in legalese, that’s a claim that an employer is liable for the negligence of his or her employee. This most often arises when an employee is driving a company…

Unoriginal Calendar By Andy Delaney One entry order snuck in presumably last Friday (but not posted when I did last week’s update). This case deals with speedy trial rights, hold-without-bail orders, and the trial court’s discretion to entertain a five-days-early release argument. Briefly, defendant was held without bail and was most likely going to be released due to the speedy trial rule . . . today, actually. His dad’s funeral was this Monday. The trial…

Why a caption? Why not?  Brandt v. Menard, 2020 VT 61 By Elizabeth Kruska Long story short, this case gets remanded to the trial court because the mechanism by which Mr. Brandt seeks relief is unusual but not un-possible. I say it that way because “impossible” seems too strong and “not impossible” seems terrible. Mr. Brandt filed suit in 2017 and the case was dismissed. The trial court made its decision on September 11,…

State v. Allcock, 2020 VT 60By: Ember Tilton Christina Marie Allcock appealed her convictions for aggravated assault on a police officer, simple assault on a police officer, and impeding a police officer.  Her appeal focuses on the trial court’s admission of some DMs (as the kids these day call them, but what we called PMs or what even older folks used to call IMs, also known as and more specifically Facebook messages).   SCOV…

Still a calendar By Andy Delaney No opinions issued last week, presumably due to the holiday weekend. SCOV made up for it this week, however, with a half-dozen new, published decisions. Numero uno is a criminal appeal that turns on proper authentication of Facebook messages. Here, Ms. Allcock was convicted of several charges stemming from an altercation with police. The trial court admitted Facebook messages over Ms. Allcock’s objection. The SCOV majority reasons that the…

Rambling Rooftops Watson v. The Village at Northshore I Association, Inc., 2018 VT 8 By Elizabeth Kruska Ever have it when you go to a concert and you aren’t sure if the band is going to play one of your favorite songs? And then they do and they totally jam it out and you leave thinking, “That’s the best version of that song I’ve ever heard?” Even if it’s one of the band’s greatest hits?…