Vt. Memo to the Bar, July 10, 2019

SUPREME COURT OF VERMONT

OFFICE OF THE COURT ADMINISTRATOR

PATRICIA GABEL, ESQ. Mailing Address

State Court Administrator Office of the Court Administrator

patricia.gabel@vermont.gov 109 State Street

Montpelier, VT 05609-0701

Telephone (802) 828-3278

FAX: 802 828-3457

www.vermontjudiciary.org

TO: Members of the Vermont Bar

FROM: Patricia Gabel, Esq., State Court Administrator

RE: Promulgated Rules and Miscellaneous Information

DATE: July 10, 2019

For your information, please find the following information:

• Order Promulgating Amendments to the Comments to Rule 1.1 of the Vermont Rules of

Professional Conduct

• Order Promulgating Amendments to Rule 41 of the Vermont Rules of Civil Procedure

• Updated Court Forms

• Obligations Under A.O. 41

• eCabinet Registration

I. PROMULGATED RULE AMENDMENTS

a. Order Promulgating Amendments to the Comments to Rule 1.1 of the Vermont Rules of

Professional Conduct

This order was promulgated on July 9, 2019; effective September 9, 2019.

These amendments grew out of the work of the Vermont Commission on the Well-Being of

the Legal Profession. The Commission was created in response to The Path to Lawyer Well-Being: Practical Recommendations for Positive Change, a report issued by the National Task

Force on Lawyer Well-Being, http://lawyerwellbeing.net. The amendment recognizes that a

lawyer’s mental, emotional, and physical well-being may impact a lawyer’s ability to practice

law. The amendment is intended to remind lawyers that their behavioral health may impact

clients and the administration of justice, and to encourage lawyers to employ preventive

strategies and self-care.

b. Order Promulgating Amendments to Rule 41 of the Vermont Rules of Civil Procedure

This order was promulgated on July 9, 2019; effective September 9, 2019.

Rule 41(a) and (b) are reorganized and amended at the request of the Civil Division Oversight

Committee to conform to current practice and to eliminate outdated terminology.

Rule 41(a)(1) as amended continues to allow an action to be dismissed without order of court if

a notice of voluntary dismissal is filed at any time before an answer or motion for summary

judgment has been filed. The addition of “claim” makes clear that, as now provided in new

paragraph (a)(5), one or more claims that have been joined in a single action may be dismissed

without dismissal of the entire action.

Other provisions of former paragraph (a)(1) have been separated for clarity and set forth in new

paragraphs (a)(2)-(a)(6).

Former Rule 41(b)(1)(i), providing for involuntary dismissal of an action on a trial list that has

been pending more than two years, has been deleted. Former subparagraphs (b)(ii) and (iii) have

been renumbered as (i) and (ii) with language clarifications. Their time periods have been

shortened and made uniform to allow more expeditious elimination of stale actions. Language

has been added in (b)(ii) to make clear that the shorter time periods may be extended by the court

and that dismissal may be entered against defendants who have not been served, leaving the

action pending against those who have been served.

II. MISCELLANEOUS

a. Court Forms

Court forms are constantly being updated. Please refer to the judiciary website for the most up-to-date forms. https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/court-forms.

Please use the link below to report any form question, concern or issue

http://www.vermontjudiciary.org/website-feedback-form or you can access our Website

Feedback program at the bottom of each web page

b. Obligation under A.O. 41

Attorneys are reminded that an “attorney must report to the State Court Administrator within

thirty days any change of the office mailing or electronic mail address” and that “[n]otice sent to a

reported address is sufficient even if not received by the attorney because of failure to report the

proper address or failure of delivery not caused by the court.” A.O. 41, § 4(c); see A.O. 44, § 1.

Please email those changes to JUD.AttyLicensing@vermont.gov. Your cooperation is very

much appreciated.

To ensure you continue to receive these emails, please add JUD.AttyLicensing@vermont.gov

to your Safe Senders list.

c. eCabinet Registration

Administrative Order No. 44 requires attorneys in active status to register up to three email

addresses in eCabinet for purposes of receiving notices of hearing and other documents. You

may include staff email addresses in the three email addresses that you specify. eCabinet

registration is required whether you practice in court or not.

If you have already registered in eCabinet, the email address(es) you provided as part of that

process will be used.

If you have not already registered in eCabinet, please go to

https://efiling.eservices.crt.state.vt.us/, click Register Now, and follow the simple prompts.

Attorneys will need their attorney license numbers to register. Helpful information about the

Attorney Email Registration process is also available on the Electronic Filing page of the

judiciary website at https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/about-vermont-judiciary/electronic-

access/electronic-filing. Please contact jud.helpdesk@vermont.gov or call the Helpdesk at 802-

828-4357 with any questions in the meantime.

You are also reminded that you are required to update the email address(es) and other contact

information you have registered as soon as there are any changes, including changes to staff

email addresses you may have included with your registration. To revise the information, please

go to https://efiling.eservices.crt.state.vt.us/, log into eCabinet, click “Account,” choose “My

Profile,” and make the necessary changes to your contact information.

Notification to JUD.AttyLicensing@vermont.gov or in eCabinet of a change to your contact

information does not automatically notify the other. It is your responsibility to notify both. If you

are a member of the Vermont Bar Association, you will also need to separately notify the VBA.