Vt. Memo to the Bar, Feb. 10, 2025

SUPREME COURT OF VERMONT

OFFICE OF THE COURT ADMINISTRATOR

THERESE CORSONES, ESQ. Mailing Address

State Court Administrator Office of the Court Administrator

Therese.Corsones@vtcourts.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: Teri Corsones, Esq., State Court Administrator

RE: Promulgated and Proposed Rules, Court Administrator Directive TC-5, eFile and Serve

and Public Portal Information, Filing of Exhibits & Other Miscellaneous Info

DATE: February 10, 2025

For your information, please find:

• Promulgation Order Amending Administrative Order No. 24 (Advisory Committee on the

Rules of Probate Procedure)

• Promulgation Order Deleting V.R.C.P. 11(e) and amending V.R.C.P. 43(d) and Rule 43(h);

V.R.C.P. 56(c)(1), (2), and (6); and Rule 56(d) and Rule 56(h)

• Promulgation Order Amending Rules 3, 4(a)(2), (d)(6)(A), (e)(5), 5(a)(2), (b)(1), (b)(4)(A), (c),

(f), (h)(1)(A) and (k)(1), of the Vermont Rules for Environmental Court Proceedings

• State Court Administrator Directive TC-5—2025 Update to Appendices to Rules 5 and 6 of

the Rules for Public Access to Court Records

• Proposed Order Amending Rule 30(b) and (e) of the Vermont Rules of Appellate Procedure

• Proposed Order Amending Rule 65(b)(1) of the Vermont Rules of Civil Procedure

• Proposed Order Amending Rule 106 of the Vermont Rules of Evidence

• Proposed Order Amending Rules 2(a), 9(b), 9(c)(7)(D), 11, 12, 13, 15(b) and (c), and 20(c) of

the Vermont Rules of Admission to the Bar of the Vermont Supreme Court

I. PROMULGATED RULE AMENDMENTS

a. Promulgation Order Amending A.O. 24 (Advisory Committee on the Rules of Probate

Procedure)

https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/PROMULGATED--AO24Amendment--STAMPED

This Order was promulgated on February 3, 2025, effective immediately.

Administrative Order 24, § 1 is amended to add a superior court clerk to the committee,

increasing the overall size of the committee from eleven to twelve members. The addition of a

superior court clerk will provide helpful insight on court processes across divisions.

b. Promulgation Order Deleting V.R.C.P. 11(e) and amending V.R.C.P. 43(d) and Rule 43(h);

V.R.C.P. 56(c)(1), (2), and (6); and Rule 56(d) and Rule 56(h)

https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/PROMULGATED--VRCP-

Deleting11(e)Amending43(d)(h)56(c)(1)(2)(6)(d)(h)--STAMPED

This Order was promulgated on February 3, 2025, effective July 1, 2025.

The amendments involve the use of a declaration in place of an affidavit or notarized statement.

Rule 11(e), which authorized use of a declaration in lieu of a statement made under oath, an

affidavit, or a notarized document is deleted. Rule 11(e) did not apply when an oath, affidavit, or

notarization was required by statute. Amendments to 4 V.S.A. § 27b by 2023, No. 46, § 4, permit a

broadening of the declaration rule. The changes simultaneously adopt Rule 43(h) and authorize

use of a declaration without exception whenever the rules or a court order require filing or service

of an affidavit or a statement signed under oath. Rule 56 is amended to refer to a “declaration,”

an unsworn document signed subject to the penalties of perjury under these rules or applicable

law. Under Rule 56(b)(6), a declaration used to support or oppose a summary judgment motion

must be based on personal knowledge.

c. Promulgation Order Amending Rules 3, 4(a)(2), (d)(6)(A), (e)(5), 5(a)(2), (b)(1), (b)(4)(A), (c),

(f), (h)(1)(A) and (k)(1) of the Vermont Rules for Environmental Court Proceedings

https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/PROMULGATED--VRECP3etal--STAMPED

This Order was promulgated on February 3, 2025, effective July 1, 2025.

The amendment to Rule 5(b)(4)(A) requires service of the notice of appeal on the applicant

immediately after the appellant files the notice of appeal and mails a copy to the municipal panel.

The purpose of this proposed amendment is to provide sufficient notice to applicants and mitigate

delay while appellants are in the process of identifying other interested persons to notify.

References to the now-abrogated 2010 Vermont Rules for Electronic Filing, which were replaced

with the 2020 Vermont Rules for Electronic Filing, have been deleted.

II. STATE COURT ADMINISTRATOR DIRECTIVE

State Court Administrator Directive TC-5—2025 Update to Appendices to Rules 5 and 6 of the

Rules for Public Access to Court Records

https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/CourtAdministratorAdministrativeDirectiveTC5

This Directive was promulgated on January 29, 2025; effective immediately.

Vermont Rules for Public Access to Court Records 5 and 6 have accompanying appendices that

list provisions of statutes and court rules granting specific rights of access to otherwise nonpublic

information or limit access to judicial branch case records. The Court Administrator is obligated to

update the appendices each year. This directive provides amendments to those appendices.

III. PROPOSED RULE AMENDMENTS

(NOTE: THE FOLLOWING AMENDMENTS HAVE BEEN PROPOSED AND HAVE NOT BEEN

APPROVED BY THE SUPREME COURT.)

a. Proposed Order Amending Rule 30(b) and (e) of the Vermont Rules of Appellate Procedure

https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/PROPOSED--VRAP30(b)and(e)--FORCOMMENT

The proposed amendment adds Rule 30(e) to state the filing deadlines for a required printed

case and any optional printed case. These deadlines were inadvertently omitted when the

requirement of a printed case was reinstated in 2024. Rule 30(e) provides that the appellant must

file a required printed case, or any optional printed case, when the appellant’s principal brief is

filed. The deadline for an appellee to file any supplemental printed case, formerly subdivision (b),

is unchanged and is now in subdivision (e). Former subdivision (e), relating to costs of production

is relabeled as (f).

Comments on this proposed amendment should be sent by March 5, 2025, to Allan Keyes, Esq.,

Chair of the Advisory Committee on the Rules of Civil Procedure, at the following address:

Allan Keyes, Esq., Chair

Advisory Committee on the Rules of Civil Procedure

ark@rsclaw.com

b. Proposed Order Amending Rule 65(b)(1) of the Vermont Rules of Civil Procedure

https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/PROPOSED--VRCP65(b)(1)--FORCOMMENT

The proposed amendment to Rule 65(b)(1) deletes the option to apply for a preliminary

injunction in the complaint without a motion. Use of this option resulted in inadvertent scheduling

delays. Under the proposed rule, a motion is required. This brings an application for preliminary

injunction within the uniform motion practice of Rule 7, under which a party must apply for a

court order by motion stating the grounds with particularity and must request to present evidence

by motion stating the evidence the party wishes to offer. V.R.C.P. 7(b)(1) & (6). The proposed

amendment makes other changes for clarity and consistency intended to be stylistic only.

Comments on this proposed amendment should be sent by April 10, 2025, to Allan Keyes, Esq.,

Chair of the Advisory Committee on the Rules of Civil Procedure, at the following address:

Allan Keyes, Esq., Chair

Advisory Committee on the Rules of Civil Procedure

ark@rsclaw.com

c. Proposed Order Amending Rule 106 of the Vermont Rules of Evidence

https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/PROPOSED--VRE106--FORCOMMENT

The proposed amendment follows a similar amendment to the Federal Rules of Evidence, and

clarifies that, in situations where fairness requires completion, completing statements are

admissible over a hearsay objection. The rule of completeness is grounded in fairness and cannot

fulfill its function if the party that creates a misimpression about the meaning of a proffered

statement can then object on hearsay grounds and exclude a statement that would correct the

misimpression.

Comments on this proposed amendment should be sent by April 10, 2025, to the Hon. Dickson

Corbett, Esq., Chair of the Advisory Committee on Rules of Evidence, at the following address:

Hon. Dickson Corbett, Chair

Advisory Committee on Rules of Evidence

Dickson.Corbett@vtcourts.gov

d. Proposed Order Amending Rules 2(a), 9(b), 9(c)(7)(D), 11, 12, 13, 15(b) and (c), and 20(c) of

the Vermont Rules of Admission to the Bar of the Vermont Supreme Court

https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/PROPOSED--RulesofAdmission2(a)etal--FORCOMMENT

The Board of Bar Examiners recommend several changes to the rules of admission to encourage

new attorneys to stay and practice in Vermont. The proposed amendment to Rule 2(a)(8) removes

the requirement in the catch-all provision that the legal work must be performed in a jurisdiction

in which the applicant is admitted. The proposed amendment to Rule 9(b)(1) removes the

requirement that the UBE exam must be taken no later than 5 years after an applicant completes

the necessary educational requirements. To the Board’s knowledge, no other jurisdiction has such

a rule. The proposed amendment to Rule 9(c)(7)(D) allows an applicant who is denied admission

after achieving a passing score to use that score to satisfy the exam requirement for admission for

up to five years. Rule 11 requires an applicant to achieve a passing score on the MPRE within 3

years of passing the UBE and the proposed amendment removes the existing provision allowing an

extension for good cause.

The proposal makes several amendments to Rule 12 concerning CLEs and the mentorship

requirement. Under the proposed changes, applicants may commence their mentorship up to one

year prior to admission to the bar, which is parallel to the allowed timing of the CLE requirement

in Rule 12(a)(1). In addition, applicants may count CLEs towards their mentorship hours. This

change reflects the Board’s desire to lessen the post-admission burden to applicants admitted by

examination or transferred UBE score. Finally, the proposed amendment to Rule 12(b) changes

the result of a failure to complete the first-year requirements from suspension to a change to

inactive status, to reflect that some applicants may have a change of circumstances that make

completion of the Rule 12(a) requirements within the first year of admission impracticable or

impossible.

Rule 13, concerning admission by transferred UBE score, has several proposed amendments. The

amendment to Rule 13(b)(2) extends the age of a qualifying transferred UBE score to 5 years. To

conform to the Rule 9 changes, Rule 13(d) is deleted to remove the five-years-from-graduation

requirement. In conjunction with the proposed amendment to Rule 11, former Rule 13(e)

pertaining to the MPRE removes the good-cause extension. Also, the age of a usable MPRE score is

extended to 5 years, to match the age of a usable UBE score. The proposed amendment to Rule

15(b) requires attorneys seeking admission without examination to be in good standing in all

jurisdictions where they are admitted, not just in the jurisdictions where they practice. The

proposed amendment to Rule 15(c) simplifies the language and requires that an attorney

admitted without examination is subject to the post-admission CLE requirement detailed in Rule

12(a)(1). The proposed amendment to Rule 20(c) allows the Board to extend for good cause the

90-day time limit on completing an oath of admission, signing the licensing statement, and paying

the licensing fee.

Comments on these proposed amendments should be sent by April10, 2025, to Andrew Strauss,

Licensing Counsel of the Office of Attorney Licensing, at the following address:

Andrew Strauss, Licensing Counsel

Andrew.Strauss@vtcourts.gov

IV. eFILE & SERVE AND PUBLIC PORTAL INFORMATION

eFile and Serve has provided information for court users who are not receiving email notifications

and who question whether their email addresses have mistakenly been placed on a “Suppression

List.” Here’s a link to information in that regard Why was my email placed on the Suppression List?

– eFile (zendesk.com). Here’s another link for court users who wish to have their email addresses

“Safelisted” to ensure proper delivery https://odysseyfileandserve.zendesk.com/hc/en-

us/articles/360046887411.

All Superior Courts, including the Environmental Division, the Judicial Bureau, and the Supreme

Court use eFile and Serve. Please use the following links to access the electronic filing and portal

systems and for more information.

Reminders for eFile Users:

1) PDFs must be “flattened” prior to efiling through eFile and Serve

With the increased use in electronic signature tools, it is important for eFile filers to

remember that all PDFs must be flattened prior to filing in eFile. In order to eFile a form-

fillable PDF or a PDF that has been electronically signed, you must first save them as a flat

file. Otherwise, the filing will fail and you will need to refile.

Follow the steps below to "flatten" a completed PDF:

1. Open the completed PDF.

2. Right click on document and select Print. NOTE: if document opens in Adobe, Select

File and select Print.

3. Select the PDF printer. (The Adobe PDF printer is installed automatically with Adobe

Acrobat. Numerous free PDF printer

drivers are available for download from the Internet.)

4. Select OK.

5. Specify location to save the printed, "flattened" version of the form.

6. Select Save

2) Attorneys must select the party they represent as the “person responsible for fees” in the

Fee section of the filing process. Additionally, when the attorney represents more than one

party, attorneys should continue to select the same party as the “person responsible for

fees”; otherwise, the attorney will incur an additional efiling use fee.

eFile & Serve. eFile and Serve is the platform through which you electronically file with the courts.

To access eFile, please visit https://vermont.tylertech.cloud/OfsWeb/Home

You can access user guides through the “User Guides” link in the “Self Help” window. You can also

access docket-specific user guides and a new Frequently Asked Questions on the judiciary’s

website at www.vermontjudiciary.org/efiling

For technical support regarding eFile, please contact Tyler Technologies at 800-297-5377 or

efiling.support@tylertech.com

If you have procedural questions about eFile, please email the judiciary at

EFileSupport@vtcourts.gov

Odyssey Public Portal. The Odyssey Public Portal allows you to view your case files. To access the

portal, please visit https://portal.vtcourts.gov/Portal Before you can view your case files, you

must first register in the portal and then request elevated access. The Public Portal User Guide

contains instructions on how to register and request elevated access. You can read the user guide

on our website at https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/about-vermont-judiciary/public-portal

For technical support regarding the Public Portal, please contact the Vermont Judiciary’s HelpDesk

at itsupport@vtcourts.gov When emailing, please write “Public Portal” in the subject line.

V. FILING OF EXHIBITS FOR EVIDENTIARY HEARING

Per the 2020 Vermont Rules for Electronic Filing, all electronically filed documents (including

exhibit lists and exhibits) must be submitted in PDF format. The Vermont Judiciary’s website

provides detailed instructions on how to submit exhibits for use at trials and other kinds of

evidentiary hearings. https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/FilersGuidetoExhibitsforHearings

VI. 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). To update changes in

your contact information, please access your attorney account with the Attorney Portal

c. Receipt of Court Notices and Orders (eCabinet)

The Vermont courts send all court-issued documents (hearing notices, orders, etc.) to attorneys

by email using the email addresses registered in a system called eCabinet. Attorneys may register

up to three email addresses in the system and are responsible for keeping the information

updated. The email address(es) registered in eCabinet are not used for service of documents filed

by opposing parties, which is done through service contacts in Odyssey File & Serve.

To create an eCabinet account or update an existing account, attorneys must contact the

Judiciary helpdesk through one of the methods listed below. Please include your attorney bar

license number in your communication.

• Email itsupport@vtcourts.gov

• Telephone the Judiciary helpdesk at 802-828-4357

• Use the online form eCabinet Registration/Update (cognitoforms.com)

Updating information in the Attorney Portal or in eCabinet does not automatically notify the

other. It is your responsibility to update both. If you are a member of the Vermont Bar

Association, you will also need to separately notify the VBA.