Rule 84.Forms

Reporter’s Notes—2022 Amendment: Rule 84 is amended concurrently with the abrogation of the Appendix of Forms. Rule 84 and the Appendix of Forms were originally adopted with the Vermont Rules of Civil Procedure in 1971 on the model of the 1938 Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Those forms were intended not only to be “sufficient” but to illustrate the liberality and flexibility in pleading exemplified by the “short and plain statement” of a claim or defense called for by V.R.C.P. 8. See 1971 Reporter’s Notes to V.R.C.P. 8, 84. Federal Rule 84 and the federal Appendix of Forms were abrogated in 2015. The accompanying federal Advisory Committee’s Note says, in part: The purpose of providing illustrations for the rules [in the Appendix of Forms], although useful when the rules were adopted, has been fulfilled. Accordingly, recognizing that there are many alternative sources for forms, including the website of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts . . . ., Rule 84 and the Appendix of Forms are no longer necessary and have been abrogated. The abrogation of Rule 84 does not alter existing pleading standards or otherwise change the requirements of Civil Rule 8. For at least five years, the Vermont Court Administrator’s office has been publishing new and amended forms on the Judiciary website in a “Forms Library,” which now contains a great number and wide variety of detailed forms addressing matters beyond the scope of those in the former Appendix and published in a format appropriate for electronic filing. See https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/forms-library. The present amendment of Rule 84 establishes the Judiciary website as the primary source of forms and reflects the reality that approval is now the Court Administrator’s responsibility. The amended rule continues to indicate that the forms are sufficient under the rules and provide the standards of simplicity and brevity. In applying those standards, the Supreme Court, in the leading case of Colby v. Umbrella, Inc., 2008 VT 20, 184 Vt. 1, 955 A.2d 1082, 2008 Vt. LEXIS 23 (2008), using V.R.C.P. Form 9 as an example, stated that “The complaint is a bare bones statement that merely provides the defendant with notice of the claims against it. . . . Its purpose is to initiate the cause of action, not prove the merits of the plaintiff’s case.” That principle, together with the requirements of V.R.C.P. 8(a) and (e)(1) for brevity and simplicity, will serve as both interpretive and drafting guidance for continuing revision and development of forms on the Judiciary website.

Reporter’s Notes: This rule is similar to Federal Rule 84, but it permits the Court, consistent with the power to make “general rules with respect to . . . forms” conferred by 12 V.S.A. § 1, to revise or add forms without going through the formal amendment process required by that Act. Note that the forms in the appendix are not merely illustrative. They are expressly declared to be “sufficient under the rules.”