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Premises Liability: Vermont Supreme Court Affirms That Landowner Is Not Responsible for Death of Lessee’s Guest

The Vermont Supreme Court just issued a new premises liability decision, clearing a non-possessory property owner from a wrongful death claim made by an invitee of the commercial tenant. Here’s the decision and a very brief...more

Insurance Law: The Vermont Supreme Court Weighs in on COVID Claims

On September 23, 2022, the Vermont Supreme Court issued an opinion reversing the dismissal of insurance claims seeking coverage for damage the insured argued was caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Huntington Ingalls Indus.,...more

UPDATE: Restaurant Relief Shortchanged: Demand That Congress Replenish the RRF!

Back in July of last year, we blogged about the fact that the federal Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) had to shut down shortly after it opened in May 2021, because it ran out of relief funds. The RRF was intended to help...more

Major Development In Prop 65 Law: Federal Court Issues Injunction Against Any New Lawsuits Based On Acrylamide

In what is a major development in California's Proposition 65 jurisprudence, a California federal court has just issued an injunction that bars the filing of any new lawsuits against food and beverage companies whose products...more

Vermont Supreme Court Issues Important Decision On The Enforceability Of Arbitration Clauses In Consumer Agreements And The...

The Court Affirmed A Lower Court’s Enforcement Of The Arbitration Clause, Requiring The Consumers To Arbitrate Their Claims Against A Home Inspection Company, And Also Affirmed The Lower Court’s Refusal To Vacate The...more

2020 Update: Can your social media (e.g., LinkedIn) contacts be your employer’s trade secret?

Employers and employees alike use social media to promote and define their businesses and themselves in the digital space. From personal connections on Facebook, to professional marketing on LinkedIn, these connections on...more

Vermont Legislature Further Defines "Local" For Vermont Agricultural and Food Products

Before ending the 2020 session, the Legislature took the step of amending the Vermont Consumer Protection Act to refine the term “Local” in connection with labeling or advertising Vermont agricultural and food products. The...more

VSC Rules "Date Of Loss" Not Ambiguous

Brillman v. New England Guaranty Ins. Co., 2020 VT 16 (Feb. 21, 2020) - In this insurance coverage decision, the Vermont Supreme Court determined that the “date of loss,” which starts the clock running on the one-year...more

Vermont Supreme Court Caps UIM Insurer's Exposure, Despite Multiple Claimants

Progressive Northern Insurance Company V. Muller, Et Al. 2020 VT 76 (August 28, 2020) - Vermont Supreme Court holds that “Combined Single Limit” and “Limits of Liability” provisions in UIM policy cap auto insurer’s total...more

Vermont Court Rules That Commercial Landlord Cannot Be Liable for Injury to Retail Tenant’s Invitee Involving Tenant’s Operations...

In Mowrey v. Eagle Rutland, LLC, et al., Vt. Super. Ct., Docket No. 284-5-18 Rdcv (Aug. 5, 2020), the court held that a non-possessory, arms-length commercial landlord that leased the premises to a supermarket could not be...more

Admission of Social Media Evidence at Trial: Vermont Supreme Court Weighs In

Vermont Supreme Court offers guidance on admissibility of social media content - By now it is not particularly controversial that a litigant’s social media content is discoverable.  See, e.g., Lewis v. Bellows Falls...more

Recovery of Medical Bills: “Face Amount” VS “Amount Paid" - Medical malpractice plaintiff may not recover more than the defendant...

For years a battle has been raging in the United States over whether a personal injury plaintiff can recover from the tortfeasor, by way of medical specials, (1) the “face amount” of her medical bills for accident-related...more

National Restaurant Assoc. Guidelines For Re-Opening

Restaurant and hospitality businesses prepare to reopen: guidelines. As various states begin to ease stay-at-home restrictions and restaurants and hospitality business prepare to re-open, the National Restaurant...more

Vermont Supreme Court Recognizes Exception to the Economic Loss Rule

Sutton v. Vermont Regional Center, 2019 VT 71 (Oct. 14, 2019) - Despite its longstanding reputation as liberal and sympathetic to plaintiffs, the Vermont Supreme Court has for a very long time strictly enforced the...more

Can your social media contacts be a trade secret of your employer? Maybe.

This is a relatively new legal subject, so there isn’t much law out there.  In December, 2011, a Pennsylvania federal court answered this question in the negative.  In the case of Eagle v. Morgan, Linda Eagle, the founder of...more

Second Strike Out for Alleged Patent Troll

In May 2013 the State of Vermont sued MPHJ Technology Investments, LLC for alleged consumer fraud arising from its letters sent to Vermont businesses claiming patent infringement. Since then, the parties have been disputing ...more

United States Court of Appeals Dismisses MPHJ Technology Investments Appeal

The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in Washington, D.C., has ?dismissed the appeal of MPHJ Technology Investments, LLC from an order of the United States District Court in Vermont that favored the...more

Vermont supreme court makes radical change to premises liability law

In a significant decision issued on Friday, July 18, 2014, involving a retail store, the Vermont Supreme Court has abolished the old premises liability distinction between “business invitees” (i.e., customers) and licensees...more

Vermont Federal Court Rules In Favor Of Vermont And Against Alleged Patent Troll In Preliminary Decision

Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell won a major victory in his groundbreaking effort to use state law to crack down on “patent trolls.” In State of Vermont v. MPHJ, LLC, the Vermont federal court has rejected the...more

Alleged Patent Troll Targeted By Vermont Attorney General

Previously, we posted about Governor Peter Shumlin signing into law Vermont’s first-in-the-nation (and so far only-in-the-nation) patent troll legislation helping Vermont businesses protect themselves from bad faith patent...more

Seed of Patent Infringement Germinates Between Organic Farmers and Monsanto

In a significant legal decision with a connection to Vermont’s farming community, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has affirmed that organic farmers cannot obtain a judicial declaration to prevent...more

Speaking Of . . . Trade Secrets - Damages For Misappropriation Can Be Full Refund Of Ex-Employee’s Severance Pay

When your trade secrets are stolen, you might sue the ex-employee who stole them, or the competing business that’s now in possession of them, or both. What’s an appropriate measure of damages when your trade secrets are...more

Speaking Of . . . Trade Secrets - Misappropriation Justice Has International Reach: Connecticut Court Has Jurisdiction Over...

An important federal appeals court has determined that a Connecticut court has jurisdiction over a Canadian citizen whose only act in Connecticut was accessing information on a computer server located in Connecticut. In...more

Speaking Of . . . Trade Secrets - Misappropriation Justice Has International Reach: Connecticut Court Has Jurisdiction Over...

An important federal appeals court has determined that a Connecticut court has jurisdiction over a Canadian citizen whose only act in Connecticut was accessing information on a computer server located in Connecticut. In...more

Speaking Of . . . Insurance Coverage - Is There Coverage For Alleged “Disparagement” Of Another Company’s Product? One California...

We previously discussed the troubling issues of: a) whether your company’s insurance policy(ies) actually provides coverage for claims of IP infringement, and b) which of your policies is the one(s) you should be looking to...more

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