Title: Hebert v. State

State: vermont

Issuer: Vermont Supreme Court

Document:

Hebert v. State  (95-121); 165 Vt 557; 679 A.2d 887

[Opinion Filed 18-Apr-1996]


                               ENTRY ORDER

                      SUPREME COURT DOCKET NO. 95-121

                             JANUARY TERM, 1996


Harold Hebert                        }     APPEALED FROM:
				     }
				     }
     v.                              }     Franklin Superior Court
				     }
State of Vermont, et al.             }
				     }     DOCKET NO. S60-93Fc


       In the above-entitled cause, the Clerk will enter:

       Plaintiff, the administrator of the estate of Rose Ann LaPlant, who
  committed suicide in 1991 while incarcerated at the Chittenden Community
  Correctional Center, brought suit against the State of Vermont and several
  corrections employees and officials under the Vermont Tort Claims Act, 12
  V.S.A. § 5601, and 42 U.S.C. § 1983.  Defendants moved for judgment on the
  pleadings on the ground that both the State and the individual defendants
  had immunity from suit.  The trial court denied the motion, holding that 12
  V.S.A. § 5601 permitted the suit against the State, and that the individual
  defendants could be sued in their personal capacities under 42 U.S.C. §
  1983.  Defendants sought and received permission to file an interlocutory
  appeal.  We affirm in part and reverse in part.

       A court should grant a motion for judgment on the pleadings only if
  the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law on the basis of the
  pleadings.  Bressler v. Keller, 139 Vt. 401, 403,