By Andy DelaneyNo “opinions” this week but there were three published entry orders, one each on the 12th, 13th, and 14th. The big difference between a published entry order and an opinion, to the best of my knowledge,
SCOV Law
SCOV Law is a blog published by SCOV Law that focuses on legal developments and case law from the Supreme Court of Vermont. It covers a range of topics including administrative law, property law, environmental law, public utility regulation, constitutional law, family law, and litigation practice. The blog provides summaries and analysis of Vermont Supreme Court decisions, often discussing procedural issues such as mootness, jurisdiction, and agency deference. It also addresses specific legal controversies like emergency housing eligibility, renewable energy project regulation, abusive litigation sanctions, bail considerations in criminal law, cannabis licensing, and environmental concerns such as invasive species control. The blog combines legal analysis with commentary on Vermont law and policy.
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March 5, 2025
This joke is so nerdy that it may require a reverse image searchBy Andy DelaneyI used the date this entry order issued for a few reasons. If you think it’s just because I’m lazy and it’s a Sunday with a lost…
Closing out February
By Andy DelaneyTwo opinions on Friday. Let’s get to it. First up we have a tiff between Travelers and the Department of Financial Regulation (DFR). Travelers wanted records from DFR about Middlesex Assurance Company, a Vermont captive insurer. If you…
Students or Employees? Or Both?
By Andy DelaneyOne opinion on Friday. This one does not answer the question of “whether predoctoral fellows and trainees are employees for purposes of the State Employees Labor Relations Act (SELRA).” SCOV punts this one back to the Labor…
Valentine’s Day 2025
By Andy DelaneyTwo cases on Valentine’s Day. I haven’t thought of a “clever” link between the first case and Valentine’s Day and it’s probably better that I don’t.Our first case is an appeal from a substantiation. M.R., while a…
Unlawful Mischief
By Andy DelaneyI’ve always enjoyed the phrase “unlawful mischief.” To me, it sounds endearing—like an impish lawbreaker getting up to shenanigans. “Unlawful mischief” as used in Vermont jurisprudence is essentially vandalism. Fun fact: the Vandals are a punk rock
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Land Use Lit or "A Bridge too Far?"
Definitely not the bridge in this caseBy Andy DelaneyOne opinion this past week, concerning what a de minimus—a lawyers’-job-security word for unimportant or insignificant—use is in the context of recreational trails, bridges, and triggering application of zoning regs. I want…
January 10, 2025: Two Admin Opinions
AdminBy Andy DelaneyThis week’s post is going to be short because, as Polonious quipped in Hamlet, “Brevity is the soul of wit.” I’m lazy. SCOV issued two opinions on Friday, January 10. Opinion one boils down to whether redacted records…
New Year, New . . . Something
By Andy DelaneyVermont follows what we sometimes call the “public domain” citation format. What this means is that following the case name, you’ll have the year the case was decided, the two-letter state abbreviation, and the number of…
Friday December 20, 2024: Defamation, Mootness, and Employment Law
The trouble with defamationBy Andy Delaney
Three opinions issued on Friday.
In the first one, we look at the interplay between tort and criminal law, with a twist based on what I like to call “the reverse-Uno card of defamation
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