REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION (Doc. 10) JOHN M. CONROY , Magistrate Judge . Plaintiff John Preterotti, an inmate proceeding pro se , brings this action under 42 U.S.C. 1983. He alleges that Defendant Correctional Officer Dan Souliere 1 violated his rights under the Fourth and Eighth Amendments by subjecting him to a "strip search" in front of other inmates during an incident that was recorded by a security camera transmitting footage to "main control." (Doc. 4 at 4-5, 6.) For relief,...
OPINION AND ORDER Geoffrey W. Crawford , Judge United States District Court . Plaintiffs James D. Sullivan, Leslie Addison, Sharyn Jones, and Bishop Robin Hood Greene reside in the towns of Bennington and North Bennington, Vermont. They bring this putative class action for negligence, nuisance, trespass, battery, and strict liability against Defendant Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corporation ("Saint-Gobain"). Plaintiffs allege that Saint-Gobain and its predecessor ChemFab...
OPINION AND ORDER (Docs. 82, 83, 95) GEOFFREY W. CRAWFORD , District Judge . Plaintiff Microsoft Corporation (Microsoft) brings this action against Weidmann Electrical Technology Inc. (Weidmann), alleging in Count II that Weidmann is in breach of contract for failure to comply with a provision of the parties' software license agreements that allows Microsoft to verify the number of software products used by Weidmann. ( See Doc. 19 at 16.) 1 For relief, Microsoft seeks, among other...
OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS' PARTIAL MOTION TO DISMISS (Doc. 10) CHRISTINA REISS , Chief District Judge . This matter came before the court on October 12, 2016 for oral argument on the partial motion to dismiss filed by Defendants Rutland County State's Attorneys Office (the "Rutland SAO") and the Department of State's Attorneys and Sheriffs (the "Department") (collectively, "Defendants") (Doc. 10). Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1) and the Eleventh Amendment to the U.S....
RULING ON DEFENDANTS' MOTIONS TO DISMISS (Docs. 7, 12) J. GARVAN MURTHA , District Judge . I. Introduction Plaintiff Ryan Lawyer ("Lawyer") sues the State of Vermont-Department of Public Safety ("State"), and Drew Cota, Ben Patnode, and Derek Rolandini, both individually and in their official capacities as Vermont State Police ("VSP") Troopers. (Doc. 1 ("Compl.").) Lawyer alleges Cota, Patnode, and Rolandini (collectively, the "Trooper Defendants") acted negligently and/or recklessly...
RULING ON DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO DISMISS (Doc. 22) J. GARVAN MURTHA , District Judge . I. Introduction Plaintiff Melvin B. Neisner, Jr. ("Neisner"), a licensed attorney acting pro se, sues the Town of Killington ("Killington" or the "Town") alleging a violation of the Freedom of Information Act and multiple state law claims. (Doc. 19 ("Am. Compl.").) Purporting to sue both individually and on behalf of all other taxpayers in the Town of Killington, Neisner seeks a declaratory judgment, a...
ORDER (Docs. 5, 6, 7, 9, 13, 14, 16, 18, 19) J. GARVAN MURTHA , District Judge . Kalyn Stephens, proceeding pro se, filed a complaint against at least twenty defendants on October 17, 2016. (Doc. 1 ("Compl.").) On November 23, 2016, Defendants Anne Baylock and Kathy McVey moved to dismiss the complaint. (Doc. 5.) Stephens filed a motion for service of the summons and complaint. (Doc. 6.) Defendants Joyce Stevens and Roger Stevens also moved to dismiss. (Doc. 7.) On December 15, Stephens...
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION (Doc. 4) JOHN M. CONROY , Magistrate Judge . Petitioner Anthony John Palubicki, proceeding pro se , has filed a Petition under 28 U.S.C. 2254 for a Writ of Habeas Corpus to vacate his State of Minnesota conviction for first-degree murder in violation of Minn. Stat. 609.185(a)(1) (2006). (Doc. 3 at 64.) Following a jury trial, Palubicki was sentenced to life in prison. State v. Palubicki (Palubicki I) , 700 N.W.2d 476 , 480 (Minn. 2005). He is now in the...
OPINION AND ORDER WILLIAM K. SESSIONS, III , District Judge . Plaintiff Charles Cernansky brings the present action against Tyler Lefebvre ("Lefebvre") and Russ Owen, doing business as Soda Factory Skate Boards, following the death of his son, Peter Cernansky ("Cernansky"). On April 26, 2016, Defendant Lefebvre filed a motion for summary judgment pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 56. ECF No. 49. In addition, Defendant Lefebvre filed a motion to exclude an expert witness on March 7, 2016, and...
OPINION AND ORDER ON CONSTITUTIONALITY OF THE FEDERAL DEATH PENALTY ACT Geoffrey W. Crawford , Judge United States District Court . INTRODUCTION In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Glossip v. Gross, ___ U.S. ___, 135 S.Ct. 2726 , 192 L.Ed.2d 761. The case concerned challenges under the Eighth Amendment to execution by lethal injection of four defendants sentenced to die by state courts in Oklahoma. Justice Breyer, joined by Justice Ginsburg, issued a dissent...
OPINION AND ORDER (Docs. 9, 12) JOHN M. CONROY , Magistrate Judge . Plaintiff Tracy Riordan brings this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 405(g) of the Social Security Act, requesting review and remand of the decision of the Commissioner of Social Security denying her application for Disability Insurance Benefits (DIB). Pending before the Court are Riordan's motion to reverse the Commissioner's decision (Doc. 9), and the Commissioner's motion to affirm the same (Doc. 12). For the reasons...
OPINION AND ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT FREESTREAM AIRFCRAFT USA, LTD.'S MOTION TO DISMISS PURSUANT TO FED. R. CIV. P. 12(b)(2), 12(b)(3), AND 12(b)(6), AND DENYING AS MOOT PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR LEAVE TO AMEND (Docs. 11 & 19) CHRISTINA REISS , Chief District Judge . Plaintiff Mansfield Heliflight, Inc. brings this action against Defendant Freestream Aircraft USA, Ltd. ("Defendant Freestream") and Defendant Rudolph Melk, Jr. (collectively, "Defendants") for fraudulent inducement (Count 1),...
OPINION AND ORDER (Doc. 19) GEOFFREY W. CRAWFORD , District Judge . In this diversity action, Plaintiffs Kim Bertolini-Mier and her husband Roger Mier sue Upper Valley Neurology Neurosurgery, P.C. ("UVNN"), UVNN physician Dr. Donald W. Ayres, and the Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital ("APD") for medical malpractice and loss of consortium, alleging that, between 2007 and 2011, APD improperly administered and interpreted radiologic studies as indicating that Ms. Bertolini-Mier suffered from...
OPINION AND ORDER WILLIAM K. SESSIONS, III , District Judge . Plaintiff Ariana Breitmeyer-Schaal brings this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 405(g) of the Social Security Act, requesting review and remand of the decision of the Commissioner of Social Security denying her applications for Disability Insurance Benefits (DIB) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Pending before the Court are Plaintiff's motion to reverse the Commissioner's decision (ECF No. 17) and the Commissioner's motion...
DECISION ON MOTION TO INTERVENE (Doc. 42) GEOFFREY W. CRAWFORD , District Judge . This lawsuit is filed by physicians and other health providers who seek to enjoin the state, including the Vermont Board of Medical Practice and the Office of Professional Regulation, from taking any action against them arising from the provisions of Act 39 (18 V.S.A. 5281-5293), Vermont's informed consent statute (18 V.S.A. 1909), and the Vermont Patients' Bill of Rights (18 V.S.A. 1871). Act 39 was...
OPINION AND ORDER ADOPTING MAGISTRATE JUDGE'S REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION (Docs. 16 & 22) CHRISTINA REISS , Chief District Judge . This matter came before the court for a review of the Magistrate Judge's September 27, 2016 Report and Recommendation ("R & R") (Doc. 22), in which he recommended that the court deny Petitioner Darrell Day's motion to stay his habeas corpus proceeding filed pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 2254 and dismiss those claims so that Petitioner may exhaust his unexhausted...
OPINION AND ORDER WILLIAM K. SESSIONS, III , District Judge . Plaintiff Effie Mayhew ("Mayhew") brings this action against her former employer, Defendant Hermitage Club, LLC ("Hermitage Club"), alleging that she was wrongfully discharged in violation of public policy, that Defendants failed to pay her for time worked in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act and Vermont wage and hour laws, and that she was wrongfully discharged in violation of an implied modification to her at-will...
RULING ON MOTION TO DISMISS (Doc. 17) J. GARVAN MURTHA , District Judge . I. Introduction Defendant Malcolm Tanner moves to dismiss the indictment (Doc. 14) alleging he illegally possessed a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1). (Doc. 17.) Tanner contends the indictment violates the Ninth and Tenth Amendments of the United States Constitution as well as the Vermont Constitution. (Doc. 17 at 1, 6.) The government responds the indictment properly charges Tanner with being a...
OPINION AND ORDER ADOPTING MAGISTRATE JUDGE'S RECOMMENDATION TO DISMISS PLAINTIFF'S COMPLAINT WITHOUT PREJUDICE AND GRANTING LEAVE TO AMEND (Docs. 64 & 98) CHRISTINA REISS , Chief District Judge . On May 9, 2016, Plaintiff Kirk Wool, a self-represented inmate, filed a notice to remove his "1st Amendment retaliation claim" and other claims against Defendant Lisa Menard, Commissioner or the Vermont Department of Corrections ("DOC") to this court (the "Notice"). (Doc. 64 at 1.) The Notice...
OPINION AND ORDER LIFTING STAY, WITHDRAWING REFERENCE TO MAGISTRATE JUDGE, AND GRANTING DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO CORRECT SENTENCE UNDER 28 U.S.C. 2255 (Docs. 30, 39) CHRISTINA REISS , Chief District Judge . This matter came before the court on Defendant Edward J. Marosz's appeal of the Magistrate Judge's Order staying the proceeding (Doc. 39) and on his motion to correct his sentence under 28 U.S.C. 2255. (Doc. 30.) Mr. Marosz asks the court to lift the stay imposed by the Magistrate...
