Given the breadth and depth of our litigation practice, we have handled hundreds of appeals over
the years. We have appeared before administrative agencies, the Vermont Supreme Court, and the
federal appellate courts, including the United States Supreme Court. Many of our attorneys have
served as judicial law clerks in the Vermont Supreme Court or in the federal courts. We have
extensive legal research resources and produce appellate briefs and oral argument of the highest
quality. As a result, we are often retained by trial counsel, or by clients directly, to pursue
litigation at the appellate level.
Many of our appeals have resulted in ground-breaking decisions and have established new
principles of law. Some of our significant reported decisions include:
- Business
- Cooperative Fire Ins. v. White Caps, Inc., 166 Vt. 355 (1997), which abolished the
longstanding rule that untimely notice automatically results in forfeiture under insurance
policies;
- Employment
- Foote v. Simmonds Precision Products Co., Inc., 158 Vt. 566 (1992), which
established the doctrine of promissory estoppel in the employment context;
- Real Estate and Land Use
- Bianchi v. Lorenz, 166 Vt. 555 (1997), which held that violation of
a zoning ordinance can constitute an encumbrance on title; State v. Central Vermont Railway,
Inc., 153 Vt. 337 (1989), which construed the public trust doctrine;
- Environmental
- International Paper Co. v. Ouelette, 479 U.S. 481 (1987), which established
that citizens of one state injured by pollution emanating from another state are not
pre-empted by federal regulations from common-law recoveries; Allen v. Uni-First Corp.,
151 Vt. 229 (1988), which established the right to recover for “stigma” damages in pollution
cases;
- Personal Injury
- Dalury v. S-K-I, Ltd., 164 Vt. 329 (1995), which held that a ski
area’s exculpatory release was void as contrary to public policy; Peck v. Counseling
Service of Addison County, Inc., 146 Vt. 61 (1985), which established the duty of mental
health practitioners to warn of potential violence by patients;
- Family
- Manosh v. Manosh, 160 Vt. 634 (1993), which established the ability to re-open
property settlement based upon unconscionability; Klein v. Klein, 150 Vt. 466 (1988),
which established the parameters for permanent spousal maintenance;
- Criminal
- State v. Duranleau, 163 Vt. 8 (1994), which overturned a murder conviction
with an entry of not guilty; State v. Delisle, 162 Vt. 293 (1994), which overturned a
second degree murder conviction on the ground that a lesser included offense instruction
was not given;
- Civil Rights
- Baker v. State of Vermont, 170 Vt. 194 (1999), which established the
legal rights of same-sex couples and led to the passage of Vermont’s civil union law;
Brigham v. State of Vermont, 166 Vt. 246 (1997), which established the right to equal
educational opportunity under the Vermont Constitution; Chittenden Town School District v.
Vermont Department of Education, 169 Vt. 310 (1999), which clarified the lines of separation
between church and state under Vermont law; and Landell v. Sorrell, 118 F. Supp. 2d 459
(D. Vt. 2000), 382 F.3d 91 (2d Cir. 2004), which raised constitutional challenges to Vermont’s campaign finance reform law, and which the United States Supreme Court recently agreed to hear;
- Civil Procedure
- In re Maple Tree Place, 156 Vt. 494 (1991), which held that the court
conducting a de novo review of an administrative decision has the inherent authority to
remand to the administrative agency; Hospitality Inns v. South Burlington R.I., Inc.,
149 Vt. 653 (1988), which adopted the rule that an order transferring real property,
otherwise interlocutory, is final and appealable.
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