DOOLEY, J. 1. This case concerns the proper allocation of settlement costs between insurers following a wrongful death settlement. The death occurred in 2002, when Paul H. Tucker ("Tucker") was hauling waste for Casella Waste Management, Inc. ("Casella") and collided with Robert Hathaway's vehicle, killing Hathaway. Appellant, Old Republic Insurance Co. ("Old Republic"), challenges a grant of summary judgment in favor of Peerless Insurance Co. ("Peerless"), asserting that the trial court...
REIBER, C.J. 1. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of defendants in this wrongful death action. On appeal, plaintiff argues the trial court erred in holding that defendants were not subject to concerted action liability for their participation in a hunt which culminated in the death of Rejean Lussier. We affirm. 2. Summary judgment is appropriate when there is no issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. V.R.C.P. 56(c)(3). In...
DOOLEY, J. 1. Husband, William Mayville, who was recently laid off from his job, seeks to terminate the spousal maintenance payable to his ex-wife, Judy Mayville, pursuant to a 2003 court order. After husband filed a motion to terminate spousal maintenance, the Chittenden Family Court issued an order requiring him to pay $3000 per month—the same amount set forth in the 2003 order—until he stopped receiving unemployment compensation benefits and $1500 per month thereafter. Husband appeals...
REIBER, C.J. 1. Defendants David and Brianne Chase appeal from a Chittenden Superior Court decision holding that: (1) plaintiff Andrew Schonbek, trustee of the Isaiah 61 Foundation, possessed a twelve-foot-wide prescriptive easement for vehicular and pedestrian ingress and egress across defendants' property; (2) defendants must immediately remove a fence from their property to allow plaintiff to make use of the easement; and (3) defendants must pay plaintiff over $80,000 in costs associated...
SKOGLUND, J. 1. In this Access to Public Records Act case, plaintiff appeals the trial court's grant of summary judgment to defendants, the City of Burlington and the Burlington Police Department (collectively "the City"). The trial court concluded that the City lawfully withheld certain records as relevant to plaintiff's ongoing traffic court case. Plaintiff argues that summary judgment was inappropriate because the factual record is inadequate, and, in any event, the documents are not...
DOOLEY, J. 1. Defendant Carl Devoid, Jr. appeals his jury conviction for attempted voyeurism, a crime that the State did not originally charge, but that the court instructed the jury could find was committed. Among other arguments, defendant contends that the evidence at trial does not support the conviction. We agree and reverse. 2. Complainant resides on the second floor of an apartment building located in a secluded area in Colchester, Vermont. There is a window in her bathroom shower...
BURGESS, J. 1. In this civil enforcement action concerning the State's attempt to hold prior and past owners liable for its costs of responding to and cleaning up a hazardous waste contamination site, the State appeals from the dismissal of its claims against appellees T.D. Banknorth, N.A. (Banknorth), and John Fiore. We affirm. 2. In 2000, the Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) determined that the property located at 9 Depot Square in the City of Barre was the source of extensive...
