Rhode Island is a pure comparative state. R.I. GEN. LAWS §9-20-4 (2014). A
plaintiff can recover as long as he is not 100% at fault. Id. A plaintiff’s recovery of damages is reduced in accordance with his degree of fault. Id.
F. PRE-JUDGMENT INTEREST/RESOLUTIONS
Twelve percent per annum from the date of injury. R.I. GEN. LAWS § 9-21-10 (2014).
G. SETTLEMENT PRACTICES
Whenever any claim is settled, the insurance company responsible for paying the settlement must make payment within thirty days from the date the claimant or his attorney sends the release. R.I. GEN. LAWS. § 9-1-50 (2014). Failure to make payment within thirty days raises a presumption that the failure was a wilful and wanton disregard of the rights of
the claimant. Id. Additionally, the payor is liable to the claimant in a separate cause of action for punitive damages and interest computed at twelve percent per annum from the date of the cause of action giving rise to the settlement until judgment on the claim is entered. Id.
© 2015 Behman Hambelton LLP.
VERMONT
PREMISES LIABILITY LAW SYNOPSIS
A. STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS (NEGLIGENCE)
Three years. VT. STAT. ANN. tit. 2, § 512(4) (2014).
B. PREMISES LIABILITY
1. Slip and Fall
A duty is owed to a business visitor or other invitee to keep premises reasonably safe. Mortiboys v. St. Michael’s Coll., 478 F.2d 196, 197 (1973). A landowner generally has no duty of care to protect trespassers from injury caused by unsafe and dangerous conditions on the premises. Buzzell v. Jones, 151 Vt. 4, 6 (1989).
2. Snow and Ice
A defendant owes a plaintiff a duty to use reasonable care to keep its premises in safe and suitable condition in light of the fact that winter weather is a reality of life and that slippery conditions cannot be wholly prevented but are foreseeable. Wakefield v. Tygate Motel Corp., 161 Vt. 395, 398 (1994).
3. Negligent Security
Vermont common law does not hold property owners or operators liable in negligence for consequences that a reasonably prudent person could not have foreseen or anticipated under the circumstances. Edson v. Barre Supervisory Union, 182 Vt. 157, 161 (2007). In general, crimes committed by a third party fall within the realm of the
unforeseeable, and therefore cannot form the basis for liability. Id. at 162 (citing Estate of Sumner v. Dep’t of Soc. & Rehab. Servs., 162 Vt. 628, 629 (1994) (mem.)); Smith v. Day,
148 Vt. 595, 598 (1987) (finding university was not liable for student’s unforeseeable criminal acts).
C. JOINT TORTFEASORS/JOINT AND SEVERAL LIABILITY
Vermont is a pure several liability state, meaning each defendant is only liable for his assigned portion of the damages based on his percentage of fault. VT. STAT. ANN. tit. 2, § 512(4) (2014). No right of contribution among joint tortfeasors exists in Vermont. Murray v. J & B Int’l Trucks, 146 Vt. 458, 468 (1986). A right of indemnity exists only by an express agreement or undertaking by one joint tortfeasor to indemnify the other, or if the law implies such an undertaking given the circumstances. Id. at 467.
D. COMPARATIVE/CONTRIBUTORY NEGLIGENCE
A plaintiff may recover so long as his negligence is less than or equal to the combined negligence of all the defendants. VT. STAT. ANN. tit. 12, § 1036 (2014). However, a
plaintiff’s damages are diminished by general verdict in proportion to the amount of negligence attributable to him. Id.
E. PRE-JUDGMENT INTEREST
Pre-judgment interest in Vermont is twelve percent per annum from the date of injury. VT. STAT. ANN. tit. 9, § 41a(a). It may be awarded as a matter of right where damages are liquidated or reasonably ascertainable as of the date of the tort. Turcotte v. Estate of La Rose, 153 Vt. 196, 199 (1989) (excluding punitive damages).
F. SETTLEMENT PRACTICES
All payments of claims under policies of insurance are made, unless another statute specifically provides otherwise, within thirty days of settlement between the insurer and beneficiary. VT. STAT. ANN. tit. 8, § 3665(c) (2014). In the event judgment is entered for a
beneficiary, or a settlement agreement between the insurer and the beneficiary is executed, interest accrues from thirty days after the beneficiary files a properly executed proof of loss. VT. STAT. ANN. tit. 8, § 3665(d) (2014). The interest rate imposed on the insurer is the judgment rate allowed by law. Id.
© 2015 Behman Hambelton LLP.
VERMONT
LIQUOR LIABILITY LAW SYNOPSIS
Vermont Dram Shop Law is a combination of statutory and common law. An action can be brought against all servers of liquor except social hosts, unless social hosts serve alcohol to minors. VT. STAT. ANN. tit. 7, § 501 (2014). Where the particular facts of a case fall within in the scope of the Dram Shop Act, the Act affords the plaintiff’s exclusive remedy. Winney v. Ransom & Hastings, Inc., 149 Vt. 213, 216 (1988). However, the Dram Shop Act does not preempt common law negligence against a person who has voluntarily become intoxicated and injures another person. Plante v. Johnson, 152 Vt. 270, 274 (1989).
A. PROCEDURAL LAW
1. Time to Respond to Complaint
Twenty days. VT. STAT. ANN. tit. 4, § 1105(b) (2014).
2. Time for Plaintiff to Perfect Service of Process Upon Defendant
An action is commenced by filing a complaint or by service of a summons and a complaint on the defendant(s). V. R. C. P. 3 (2014). When an action is commenced by filing with the appropriate court, a summons and a copy of the complaint must be served on the defendant(s) within sixty days of the filing. Id. When an action is commenced by service, the plaintiff must file the complaint with the appropriate court within twenty days after completion of service upon the first defendant served. Id.
3. Notice/Statute of Limitations
A claim that falls within the scope of the Dram Shop Act must be brought within two years. VT. STAT. ANN. tit. 7, § 501(d) (2014). However, a common law negligence claim
against a person who voluntarily becomes intoxicated and injures another is subject to a three year statute of limitations. VT. STAT. ANN. tit. 12, § 512 (2014).
4. Joint Tortfeasors/Joint and Several Liability
Vermont is a pure several liability state, meaning each defendant is only liable for his assigned portion of the damages based on his percentage of responsibility. VT. STAT. ANN. tit. 2, § 512(4) (2014). Unlike other tortious actions in Vermont, a defendant in a dram shop action has a right of contribution from any other responsible party, which may be enforced in a separate action brought for that purpose. VT. STAT. ANN. tit. 7, § 501(f) (2014).
5. Caps on Liability
None.
B. LIABILITY
A spouse, child, guardian, employer or other person who is injured in person, property or means of support by an
intoxicated person, or in consequence of the intoxication of any person, shall have a right of action in his or her own name, jointly or severally, against any person or persons who have caused in whole or in part such intoxication by selling or furnishing intoxicating liquor:
(1) to a minor as defined in this title;
(2) to a person apparently under the influence of intoxicating liquor;
(3) to a person after legal serving hours; or
(4) to a person whom it would be reasonable to expect would be under the influence of intoxicating liquor as a result of the amount of liquor served by the defendant to that person.
VT. STAT. ANN. tit. 7, § 501(a)(1) (2014). “Apparently under the influence of intoxicating liquor” means a state of intoxication accompanied by a perceptible act or series of actions which present signs of intoxication. Id.
C. TOLLING PROVISIONS
When a person entitled to bring a dram shop action is a minor, insane or imprisoned at the time the cause of action accrues, such person may bring such action within the statute of limitations, after the disability is removed. VT. STAT. ANN. tit. 12, § 551 (2014).
D. SUBSTANTIVE LAW
1. Minors
An individual injured by an intoxicated personwho is a minor shall have a cause of action against the tavern. VT. STAT. ANN. tit. 7, § 501(a)(1) (2014). In addition, a minor shall have a cause of action against a social host, if the social host knew, or a reasonable person in the same circumstances would have known, that the person who received the intoxicating liquor was a minor. Id.
2. Imbibers
The Dram Shop Act provides no statutory remedy to an imbiber, but does not foreclose an action by the imbiber against the tavern in common law negligence. Langle v. Kurkul, 146 Vt. 513, 516 (1993). As such, a common law negligence action by an imbiber against a licensed vendor is not preempted by the Dram Shop Act. Estate of Kelley v. Moguls, Inc., 160 Vt. 531, 536 (1993). Also, the law was intended to prevent recovery in strict liability against a social host, but not to bar recovery in common law negligence. Id. at 532.
3. Assault and Battery Involving Drunken Patrons
A liquor licensee has a duty to control the conduct of its patrons at all times.
Department of Liquor Control General Regulation 36 (2014). “All licensees must ensure the safety of individuals entering, leaving, or remaining on the licensed premises. No licensee
shall permit or suffer any disturbances, brawls, fighting, or illegal activity upon the licensed premises.” Id.
The Board may find, that a licensee suffered a disturbance, brawl, fight, or illegal activity upon the licensed premises or upon the streets, sidewalks, parking lots or highways adjacent thereto if any individual engaged in such conduct had been allowed to stay on the licensed premises while displaying signs of intoxication from alcohol, drugs, or other substances, and/or if it would be reasonable to expect that such individual would be intoxicated as a result of the amount of alcohol served to that individual. Under such facts, the Board may conclude that any such individual’s conduct should have been anticipated. Department of Liquor Control General Regulation 36(a) (2014).
If an altercation or fight occurs inside the licensed premises, the licensee must take appropriate affirmative action. See In re Con-Elec. Corp., 168 Vt. 576, 578 (1998). In Con- Elec. Corp., a bar owner permitted both men who engaged in a physical altercation to remain at the bar. Id. Only after a second fight inside the bar did the owner eject one of the men. Id. At that point, however, he did nothing to prevent the other man from following his combatant outside or to prevent the fight from resuming outside. Id. at 578-79. Such inaction by the bar owner qualifies as a clear violation of a licensee’s duty to control the conduct of its patrons. Id. at 579.
E. SPECIAL DEFENSES
Landlords may be joined as defendants if the intoxicating liquor was sold or furnished in a rented building. VT. STAT. ANN. tit. 7, § 501(c) (2014). Judgment may be rendered against the owner, or in the case of a corporation, its agent, if he knew or had reason to know that intoxicating liquor was sold or furnished by the tenant in violation of the statute. VT. STAT. ANN. tit. 7, § 501(c) (2014). However, defendant parents and property owners are not liable for injuries allegedly caused by the consumption of alcohol on their property where
they were not present, did not furnish the alcohol and did not control the alcohol consumed. Knight v. Rower, 170 Vt. 96, 107-08 (1999).
The Dram Shop Act permits admissibility of evidence of responsible actions taken or not taken, such as: instruction of servers as to laws governing the sale of alcohol; training of servers to deal with intoxicated customers; and inquiry as to age or degree of intoxication. VT. STAT. ANN. tit. 7, § 501(e) (2014).
A plaintiff may recover so long as his negligence is less than or equal to the combined negligence of all the defendants. VT. STAT. ANN. tit. 12, § 1036 (2014). However, a
plaintiff’s damages are diminished by general verdict in proportion to the amount of negligence attributable to him. Id.
F. PRE-JUDGMENT INTEREST
Pre-judgment interest in Vermont is twelve percent per annum from the date of injury. VT. STAT. ANN. tit. 9, § 41a(a). It may be awarded as a matter of right where damages are liquidated or reasonably ascertainable as of the date of the tort. Turcotte v. Estate of La Rose, 153 Vt. 196, 199 (1989) (excluding punitive damages).
G. SETTLEMENT PRACTICES
All payments of claims under policies of insurance are made, unless another statute specifically provides otherwise, within thirty days of settlement between the insurer and the beneficiary. VT. STAT. ANN. tit. 8, § 3665(c) (2014). In the event judgment is entered for a beneficiary, or a settlement agreement between the insurer and the beneficiary is executed, interest accrues from thirty days after the beneficiary files proof of loss. VT. STAT. ANN. tit. 8, § 3665(d) (2014). The interest rate imposed is the judgment rate allowed by law. Id.
© 2015 Behman Hambelton LLP.