When an amended complaint or an answer asserting a counterclaim is filed which demands relief beyond the jurisdiction of the District Court, or if it appears by such pleading that title to real estate is in question, the court shall order the action to be transferred to such superior court as it directs. The making of any such pleading is subject to the obligations set forth in Rule 11. The party making such a demand shall file a notice of transfer with the clerk of the District Court and serve a copy thereof upon all parties, and shall pay to the clerk the required fees, including the entry fee in and the cost of forwarding the action to the superior court. The clerk shall thereupon send all papers and pleadings in the action and the fee to the clerk of the superior court who shall assign the action on the superior court hearing calendar.
Rule 80.8.Transfer from district to superior court
Group XI: Special Rules for Certain Actions · Last amended July 1, 2002 · Last verified July 14, 2026
In one sentenceRule 80.8 requires a case to be transferred to superior court once an amended complaint or counterclaim seeks relief beyond the filing court's jurisdiction or shows that title to real estate is in question.
Full Text of Rule 80.8
Notes
Reporter’s Notes: Rule 80.8 is added in light of the abrogation of the District Court Civil Rules and the resulting applicability of the Vermont Rules of Civil Procedure to District Court civil actions. See Reporter’s Notes to simultaneous amendment of Rule 1. The rule is a virtually verbatim replication of former D.C.C.R. 76.
Amendment History
Adopted Mar. 6, 2002, eff. July 1, 2002.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 80.8 covers a narrow but practical problem: a case that starts out within a court's jurisdiction but grows past it. If an amended complaint, or an answer raising a counterclaim, demands relief that exceeds the court's jurisdictional limit, or reveals that title to real estate is in dispute, the court orders the case transferred to the superior court it designates. Filing that kind of pleading carries the same obligations as any other filing under Rule 11. The party who triggered the transfer has to file a notice of transfer with the clerk, serve a copy on every other party, and pay the required fees, including the superior court's entry fee and the cost of forwarding the file. From there, the clerk sends every paper in the case, along with the fee, to the superior court clerk, who puts the case on the hearing calendar.
The rule is nearly a word-for-word carryover of former District Court Civil Rule 76, preserved when Vermont folded its separate District Court Civil Rules into the unified Rules of Civil Procedure.
Frequently Asked Questions
When must a case be transferred to superior court under Rule 80.8?
When an amended complaint or a counterclaim raised in an answer demands relief beyond the filing court's jurisdiction, or shows that title to real estate is in question.
Who pays for the transfer, and what does that cover?
The party who filed the pleading triggering the transfer pays the clerk the required fees, including the entry fee at the superior court and the cost of forwarding the case file there.
What must the party seeking the transfer do procedurally?
File a notice of transfer with the clerk of the court where the case is pending and serve a copy of that notice on every other party.
Does Rule 11 apply to a pleading that triggers a transfer under this rule?
Yes. The rule states expressly that making such a pleading is subject to the obligations set out in Rule 11.
Where did Rule 80.8 come from?
According to the Reporter's Notes, it is a near-verbatim replication of former District Court Civil Rule 76, carried forward when Vermont's separate District Court Civil Rules were abolished and folded into the Rules of Civil Procedure.
Source & verification. Rule text, official Reporter's Notes, and
amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Vermont Rules of Civil Procedure,
adopted by the Vermont Supreme Court. Last verified July 14, 2026.
· Official source
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