Vermont procedural guides

Plain-English guides to the Vermont Rules of Civil Procedure, each one tied to the rules it relies on. Every rule named in a guide has its own page with the official text.

• Responding to a Vermont complaint: 21 days, and there is no entry of defaultVermont Rule 12(a) gives 21 days after service to serve an answer, or 49 days if served outside the continental United States or Canada — and Vermont has abolished the entry of default entirely.
• Setting aside a Vermont default judgment: the plaintiff had to swear to liability, not just damagesVermont has no entry of default — only a motion for default judgment, which requires an affidavit on personal knowledge setting out facts as to both liability and damages.
• The Vermont motion to dismiss: twenty-one days to answer, fourteen after a denialVermont Rule 12(b) carries the familiar seven defenses, gives 21 days to answer and 14 days after a motion is denied.
• Vermont summary judgment: 30 days to oppose, and you must reproduce every paragraph you answerVermont Rule 56 gives 30 days to oppose and 14 to reply, requires each answered paragraph to be reproduced before the response, and obliges you to hand the other side an editable copy on request.
• The Vermont motion to compel: any Superior Judge will hear it — but only one of themVermont Rule 37(a)(1) lets a discovery motion be made to any Superior Judge, then bars re-presenting it to a second judge once the first has acted, and shifts fees on every motion in both directions.
• Vermont wage garnishment: 75% is exempt, and 85% if the debt came from consumer creditVermont Rule 4.2(j) exempts 75% of a debtor's weekly disposable earnings — 85% where the judgment arose from a consumer credit transaction — and requires four conditions plus a hearing before trustee process may issue against wages.
• Vermont subpoenas: any county will issue it, and a magistrate can sign itVermont Rule 45 lets a subpoena issue from the court in any county, allows an attorney or a magistrate to sign one, and requires a copy to go to every party no later than service on the recipient.
• Vermont depositions: the witness can run their own recorder, and opposing counsel can swear the oathVermont Rule 30 lets any party or the witness make a concurrent recording of a deposition at their own expense, and allows an attorney for one of the parties who is a notary to administer the oath.
• Vermont injunctions: the clerk sets the hearing, and one judge decides itVermont Rule 65 requires a preliminary injunction to be heard at a time and place set by the clerk, and bars presenting the application to a second judge once the first has acted on it.

No guides match that search.