Memorandum Opinion and Order: Defendant's Renewed Motion to Dismiss the Indictment WILLIAM K. SESSIONS III, District Judge. On August 6, 2012, Defendant Cory Lott pleaded guilty to an Indictment charging him with knowing failure to register and update his registration as a sex offender in Vermont, in violation the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act ("SORNA" or the "Act"), 18 U.S.C. 2250(a). Indictment, ECF No. 3; Plea Agreement, ECF No. 50. Lott's obligation to register under...
OPINION AND ORDER WILLIAM K. SESSIONS III, District Judge. Plaintiff, Dr. Mikyung P. Kwon, brings this suit against her former employer, the University of Vermont and the State Agricultural College ("UVM" or "the University"). Kwon alleges that UVM discriminated against her on the basis of age, race, national origin, and place of birth 1 in violation of 42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq., 29 U.S.C. 621 et seq., and the Vermont Fair Employment Practices Act, 21 Vt. Stat. 495. Kwon further...
OPINION AND ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT (Doc. 28) CHRISTINA REISS, Chief Judge. Plaintiff Property and Casualty Insurance Company of Hartford ("Hartford") brings this action against Defendant James Davenport seeking a declaratory judgment that it has no obligation under a homeowner's insurance policy (the "Policy") issued to Mr. Davenport for claims arising out of the loss that occurred on May 28, 2009. Presently before the court is Hartford's motion for summary...
OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT (Doc. 27) CHRISTINA REISS, Chief Judge. This matter comes before the court on a motion for summary judgment filed by Defendants Middlebury College ("Middlebury") and William Beaney ("Coach Beaney") with regard to all counts in Plaintiff James "Jak" Knelman's complaint. 1 (Doc. 27.) Plaintiff opposes summary judgment, arguing that genuine issues of material fact render summary judgment inappropriate....
OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART COUNTERCLAIM DEFENDANTS' MOTION TO DISMISS AND GRANTING IN PART COUNTER-CLAIMANTS' MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT (Docs. 46, 59) CHRISTINA REISS, Chief Judge. Presently pending before the court are two dispositive motions arising out of a February 20, 2010 snowmobile accident at or near the Mount Snow ski resort in West Dover, Vermont which resulted in injuries to Andrea Mitchell and the death of her passenger, Brienna Rose Antonio....
Memorandum and Order: Character Evidence WILLIAM K. SESSIONS, III, District Judge. Defendant Kenneth Miller has proffered that he intends to call witnesses who will testify as to his character for being a law-abiding citizen, for being a man of integrity, and for being truthful. Under Federal Rule of Evidence 404(a), evidence of an accused's character for integrity and for being a law-abiding citizen is admissible. See, e.g., In re Sealed Case, 352 f.3d 409, 412 (D.C. Cir. 2003) ("Courts...
Memorandum and Order WILLIAM K. SESSIONS, III, District Judge. The parties seek further clarification on the issue of the lawful exercise of parental rights in this case. The International Parental Kidnapping Crime Act ("IPKCA"), 18 U.S.C. 1204, prohibits the removal of a child from the United States with intent to obstruct the lawful exercise of parental rights. "Parental rights," as used in the statute means "the right to physical custody of the child ... whether joint or sole[, ...] and...
OPINION AND ORDER (Doc. 12) JOHN M. CONROY, Magistrate Judge. Defendant Elias Joseph has been indicted by the federal grand jury in the District of Vermont. He stands accused of entering the United States being an alien on or about June 11, 2012, having previously been removed from the United States in violation of 8 U.S.C. 1326. Presently before the Court is Joseph's motion (Doc. 12) to reconsider the order of detention entered on June 14, 2012. Joseph contends that conditions of release...
Memorandum and Order: Deposition of Timothy Miller WILLIAM K. SESSIONS III, District Court. The Government and the Defendant seek the exclusion of portions of the videotaped deposition of the Government's witness Timothy Miller, who is unavailable for trial. Defendant Kenneth L. Miller has been charged in a one-count indictment with aiding and abetting Lisa Miller 1 in the removal of a child from the United States with the intent to obstruct the lawful exercise of parental rights, in...
Memorandum and Order: Intent WILLIAM K. SESSIONS, III, District Judge. The Government has requested advance notice of the Court's intended jury instructions on intent in this case. Defendant Kenneth L. Miller has been charged in a one-count indictment with aiding and abetting Lisa Miller 1 in the removal of a child from the United States with the intent to obstruct the lawful exercise of parental rights, in violation of sections 1204 and 2 of the United States Code. The Government expects...
Memorandum Opinion & Order: Defendant's Motion to Suppress WILLIAM K. SESSIONS, III, District Judge. Defendant Britney Hall was indicted on one count of conspiring to distribute cocaine base and heroin with her former co-defendant, William James Dunn, in violation of 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1), 846. ECF No. 14. Before the Court is Ms. Hall's motion to suppress statements and physical evidence obtained as the fruits of an illegal arrest. ECF No. 60. Since the Court finds Hall's arrest was...
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER (Doc. 25) J. GARVAN MURTHA, District Judge. I. Introduction Deerfield Wind, LLC moves to intervene as a defendant in this matter under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 24. (Doc. 25.) Plaintiffs Vermonters for a Clean Environment, Inc., Justin Lindholm, Annette Smith, John David Geery, Thomas E. Shea, George S. Halford, Kathy Halford, and Tyler Resch (collectively, "Plaintiffs") oppose the motion. (Doc. 29.) Defendants Colleen Madrid, Forest Supervisor of the Green...
OPINION AND ORDER (Docs. 2, 4, 6 and 7) WILLIAM K. SESSIONS, III, District Judge. Pro se petitioner Alkarim Pirbhai Lakhani, a native of Pakistan, petitions the Court pursuant to 8 U.S.C. 1447(b) to take jurisdiction over his application for naturalization. Lakhani also moves the Court to stay his removal from the United States. The government has moved to dismiss the petition, arguing first that Lakhani does not have a naturalization application pending. The government further argues...
Memorandum Opinion & Order: Defendant's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment and Plaintiff's Motion for Leave to Amend Complaint WILLIAM K. SESSIONS, III, District Judge. Plaintiff Paul Sprayregen filed suit against Defendant Bank of America, N.A. ("BOA"), seeking recovery for damages related to breach of a lending agreement. There are two motions before the Court, BOA's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, ECF No. 26, and Sprayregen's Motion for Leave to Amend Complaint, ECF No. 32. For the...
Memorandum Opinion and Order Re: Daubert Motions 1 WILLIAM K. SESSIONS III, District Judge. In this action seeking to hold certain pharmaceutical companies responsible for Plaintiff Colleen Lyman having developed tardive dyskinesia as a result of her long-term ingestion of the prescription drug metoclopramide, Defendant PLIVA USA, Inc. ("PLIVA") has moved to exclude the testimony of Plaintiffs' experts Dr. Philip Seeman, Dr. Daniel Tarsy and Dr. Suzanne Parisian. Plaintiffs...
OPINION and ORDER WILLIAM K. SESSIONS, III, District Judge. Plaintiffs Colleen and Steve Lyman have sued several manufacturers of the drug metoclopramide, alleging that they are liable for Colleen Lyman's overexposure to the drug, which caused her to develop tardive dyskinesia, a neurological movement disorder. Before the Court are Defendants Actavis Elizabeth LLC ("Actavis") and PLIVA, Inc. ("PLIVA")'s Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs' Amended Complaint, ECF No. 211; Defendants Pfizer Inc., 1...
Memorandum Opinion and Order WILLIAM K. SESSIONS, III, District Judge. Ethel Kellogg has brought suit against the manufacturers of metoclopramide for injuries arising from her ingestion of the drug. Defendant Wyeth has moved to exclude the testimony of Plaintiff's experts Daniel Tarsy, M.D., Ronald Stewart, Ralph Bernstein, M.D. and Robert Nelson, Ph.D., pursuant to Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals., Inc., 509 U.S. 579 (1993). For the reasons that follow, the motions, ECF Nos. 317,...
Memorandum Opinion & Order WILLIAM K. SESSIONS III, District Judge. Plaintiff Michael Shovah filed suit against Defendants Father Gary Mercure and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, New York (the "Diocese"), seeking recovery for damages related to sexual abuse. There are five motions before the Court: (1) the Diocese's Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Supplemental Jurisdiction (ECF No. 61); (2) the Diocese's Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Personal Jurisdiction (ECF No. 22); (3) the Diocese's...
ORDER WILLIAM K. SESSIONS, III, District Judge. The Report and Recommendation of the United States Magistrate Judge was filed June 26, 2012. After careful review of the file and the Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation, no objections having been filed by any party, this Court ADOPTS the Magistrate Judge's recommendations in full for the reasons stated in the Report. The petitioner's petition for a writ of habeas corpus (Doc. 3) is DENIED; that his motion to stay lower court...
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION (Docs. 3, 4, 6 and 10) JOHN M. CONROY, Magistrate Judge. Petitioner James Burke, a Vermont inmate proceeding pro se, has filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2254. (Doc. 3.) At the time the petition was filed, Burke was awaiting trial in state court on two counts of obstruction of justice. His habeas corpus petition challenges those charges on speedy trial and First Amendment grounds. Burke has since entered a plea of nolo...
