Case Name: In re Trust Estate of Armand C. ARCHAMBAULT
Court: Vermont Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Vermont
Decision Date: 1986-11-06
Citations: 147 Vt. 649
Docket Number: No. 85-511
Parties: In re Trust Estate of Armand C. ARCHAMBAULT
Judges: 
Reporter: Vermont Reports
Volume: 147
Pages: 649–649

Head Matter:
In re Trust Estate of Armand C. ARCHAMBAULT
[520 A.2d 154]
No. 85-511
November 6, 1986.

Opinion:
Actions concerning the settlement of trust accounts are equitable in nature, and, when appealed from probate court, are to be heard by the superior court sitting as a court of equity. In re Weatherhead, 53 Vt. 653, 658 (1881).
Once invoked, equity retains jurisdiction over the entire action to see that complete relief is administered. Soucy v. Soucy Motors, Inc., 143 Vt. 615, 617, 471 A.2d 224, 225 (1983) (citing LaMantia v. King, 129 Vt. 628, 634-35, 285 A.2d 741, 745 (1971)). Entitlement to a jury trial is not determined by the presence of a legal issue in a case, but rather is dependent upon the relief requested; if the relief requested is equitable, no right to a jury trial exists. Merchants Bank v. Thibodeau, 143 Vt. 132, 134, 465 A.2d 258, 260 (1983).
Here, the ultimate relief requested is the approval (or disapproval) of the trustee's accounting, a matter that is equitable in nature. There is no right to a jury trial on legal issues raised in connection therewith.
Affirmed. Remanded for further proceedings.