Justia Government & Administrative Law Opinion Summaries

The Vermont State Employees’ Association (VSEA) filed eight petitions with the Vermont Labor Relations Board to elect collective bargaining representatives under the Vermont Municipal Employee Relations Act (MERA). VSEA sought to represent the employees within the State’s Attorney’s Offices (SAOs), including deputy state’s attorneys, victim advocates, and secretaries, in the counties of Chittenden, Essex, Franklin, Orange, Rutland, Windsor, Addison, and Windham. The Board ultimately denied all eight petitions. "Plainly, the Legislature has endeavored to act comprehensively in covering government employees, including those working for local government entities such as the SAOs." The Supreme Court reversed the Board’s decision, and remanded the matter for the Board to proceed with the certification process. View "In re Election Petitions" on Justia Law

The Town of Underhill appealed a trial court order that affirmed a decision of the County Road Commissioners requiring the Town to maintain a segment of Town Highway 26 (TH 26), a Class 4 highway. TH 26 has existed, in some form, for nearly 150 years. In 2001, the Town sought to reclassify a segment of TH 26 between Irish Settlement Road and Pleasant Valley Road as a legal trail, and the remainder of the roadway as a Class 4 highway. Following protracted litigation, these changes became effective in June 2010, and TH 26 became part of the Town’s six miles of Class 4 highways. Prior to the reclassification of TH 26, the Town performed periodic maintenance and repair work to both the roadway and the twenty-two culverts that were installed along and under TH 26 over the past thirty years. Although the ditches along TH 26 do not appear to have been maintained since 2010, the Town has continued to do some work, primarily the addition of base material to the roadway. Appellees David Demarest, Jeffrey Moulton, and Jonathan Fuller owned property on TH 26 in the Town of Underhill. Appellees Fuller and Demarest resided at their properties full time, while two additional residents along the road were part-time residents. In 2012, appellees filed a notice of insufficiency pursuant to 19 V.S.A. 971 requesting maintenance of TH 26, which had been largely deferred following the roadway reclassification. The Town denied appellees’ allegations, asserting that TH 26 was being maintained to the extent required by the necessity of the Town, the public good, and the convenience of the inhabitants of the Town. Appellees then brought an action for the appointment of County Road Commissioners pursuant to 19 V.S.A. 971 et seq. to compel the Town to undertake repairs of TH 26. Specifically, appellees sought repairs and maintenance to drainage, culverts, and the road surface, so as to make it reasonably safe and accessible for appellees’ use as residents of the Town. The Town contended on appeal that the trial court misconstrued and incorrectly applied the statutory provisions for the maintenance of Class 4 roads and erroneously established its own maintenance standard. After review, the Supreme Court agreed with the Town and reversed. View "Demarest v. Town of Underhill" on Justia Law

The issue this case presented for the Vermont Supreme Court's review centered on whether Mount Mansfield Company, Inc. (MMC) had unitary operations with AIG Insurance Management Services, Inc. (AIG) such that AIG was required to include MMC as part of the AIG unitary group on its Vermont corporate income tax return. It also raised the question of whether, and under what circumstances, an amended tax return restarted the statute of limitations period for collecting a deficiency. The trial court reversed the decision of the Commissioner of the Department of Taxes that there were unitary operations, and concluded that MMC was a discrete business enterprise distinct from AIG’s insurance and financial business. The Department appealed, arguing that the evidence supported the Commissioner’s decision. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed the trial court. View "AIG Insurance Management Services, Inc. v. Vermont Department of Taxes" on Justia Law

Appellants Susan Beal and David Pearson appealed a Public Service Board decision to grant a certificate for public good (CPG) for the installation of a telecommunications facility by VTel Wireless, Inc. in Bennington. Appellants argued on appeal that the Board erred in finding that they had failed to demonstrate: (1) a "substantial interest" to intervene in the proceeding; and (2) a "significant issue" to warrant a hearing. Finding no reversible error in the Board's decision, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "In re Petition of VTel Wireless Inc. for a Certificate of Public Good" on Justia Law

A decision of the Environmental Division came to the Vermont Supreme Court on interlocutory appeal. Applicants, Richard J. Bove, Sr. and Rick Bove, applied to the City of Burlington Development Review Board (DRB) to construct a development on their two adjacent lots. A zoning-district-boundary line runs through the middle of the proposed development, dividing the two parcels. The city’s zoning ordinance required a fifteen-foot setback intended to be a buffer between the two districts (one downtown and the other residential). The DRB denied the application, and applicants appealed to the Environmental Division. The Environmental Division concluded that, although the merger of the two adjacent lots eliminated the property line dividing the two parcels, the merger did not eliminate the fifteen-foot buffer required by the zoning ordinance. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "In re Bove Demolition/Construction Application" on Justia Law

Mary McGuire and Douglas Grover separately appeal from orders of the Public Service Board granting Basin Harbor Club (BHC) a certificate of public good for the installation of a photovoltaic net metering system, and denying McGuire’s motion for reconsideration. After review, the Supreme Court concluded that the Board erred in denying McGuire’s motion for reconsideration on the ground that she lacked party status, reversed and remanded. View "In re Application of Beach Properties, Inc. d/b/a Basin Harbor Club" on Justia Law

Thirteen Town of Williston residents appealed the Superior Court, Environmental Division’s grant of a discretionary permit to All Metals Recycling, Inc., to establish an outdoor storage area and install a scale and scale house. The discretionary permit allowed All Metals to continue operating a previously unpermitted scrap-metals recycling business in Williston. Finding no abuse of discretion, the Supreme Court affirmed the Superior Court's decision. View "In re All Metals Recycling, Inc." on Justia Law

This property tax appeal centered on the valuation of five electrical substations, seven transmission lines, a fiber-optic line, land, and utility easements located within the Town of Vernon. Taxpayer Vermont Transco LLC challenged a decision of the state appraiser fixing the 2011 listed value of taxpayer’s utility property in the Town at $92 million. Taxpayer argued: (1) the state appraiser should have used an alternative nonlinear depreciation schedule (the “Iowa Curve” method) because that method was previously approved by the Supreme Court in reviewing the method of property tax appraisal; (2) the state appraiser’s decision on fair market value was not supported by a sufficient analysis of the “core factual issues, including whether fair market value is best estimated by the economic or physical life of the assets, and what those lives are;” (3) the state appraiser’s decision to follow the Town’s appraiser in not depreciating assets during the first year of service was wrong; and (4) the state appraiser’s decision to include an appraised value for the utility easements was also wrong. Upon review, the Supreme Court reversed and remanded the case for further findings regarding the lifespan of the property to be used in calculating depreciation. View "Vermont Transco, LLC v. Town of Vernon" on Justia Law

Taxpayer Ugo Quazzo appealed a superior court decision to uphold a determination by the Commissioner of Taxes that he failed to prove a change of domicile for purposes of obtaining an income-sensitive homestead property tax adjustment on his Vermont residence for the years 2007 through 2009. He argued that the Commissioner erred in treating this case as one involving a change of domicile, rather than maintenance of domicile, so that taxpayer had the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that he had changed domicile to Vermont, even though he had declared (and the Department of Taxes did not challenge) his Vermont domicile years earlier. He also argued that the Commissioner’s findings are insufficient to support her conclusions. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Quazzo v. Department of Taxes" on Justia Law

"At its heart, the present controversy is about noise - specifically, airport-generated noise and its effects on immediate neighbors." Airport neighbor, George Maille, appealed the Superior Court, Environmental Division's grant of summary judgment in favor of appellees City of Burlington and City of South Burlington. The court upheld the South Burlington Zoning Administrative Office's issuance of fifty-four zoning permits to the City of Burlington and Burlington International Airport (BTV) and concluded that applicants were not required to submit a site plan for zoning board approval. Each permit allowed the BTV to demolish, remove, and fill in the cellar hole of a vacant structure on BTV-owned property. Maille contended that the environmental court erred in concluding that site plan review of the applications was not required under the South Burlington Land Development Regulations. Although the Supreme Court disagreed with part of the environmental court’s reasoning, it ultimately affirmed its holding that site plan review was not required for the removal of the structures and the placement of fill in the structures' respective cellar holes. View "In re Burlington Airport Permit" on Justia Law