Meanwhile, dissatisfied with OCS's handling of the case, Noble filed a grievance in November 1994. Unsatisfied with this response, Noble requested a fair hearing before the Human Services Board under 3 V.S.A. 3091. Following the Board's order, Noble filed this action against OCS, alleging that it owed her and her children a duty to diligently pursue their entitlement to child support and that it had negligently failed to do so. The State moved for summary judgment on the basis of sovereign immunity. This appeal followed.
Sovereign immunity protects the state from suit unless immunity is expressly waived by statute.
We find the court's reasoning to be unpersuasive. A collection agency is a person or firm engaged primarily in the business of collecting debts owed to others. Its sole contractual duty is to utilize its best efforts to collect the debt. See, e.g., People v. Datacom Sys. As explained below, the interests and duties of OCS are not analogous to those of a collection agency except in the most superficial sense.