Antony Sutton et al. v. Vermont Regional Center et al., 2019 VT 71A

Summary

HOLDINGS: [1]-The trial court did not err dismissing the investors' negligence claims against the individual defendants, current or former employees of the State, because the investors did not appear to contend, for purposes of Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 12, § 5602(a), that they were acting outside the scope of their employment; [2]-The investors asserted a viable negligence claim against the State, and therefore the trial court erred by dismissing the claim, because they alleged that the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD) induced the investors to invest in the project by representing that ACCD would provide an unusually high level of oversight of the project but ACCD failed to provide the promised oversight or compliance monitoring and increased the risk of harm to the investors. The State's immunity was waived under the Vermont Tort Claims Act.