Court Opinion

ID: 4268185
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2018-04-24 00:08:41.931595+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:51:15.319313
License: Public Domain

State of Vermont
                                    Superior Court—Environmental Division

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                     ENTRY REGARDING MOTION
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In re Lake Champlain Bluegrass Festival JO                                              Docket No. 204-11-10 Vtec
(Act 250 Jurisdictional Opinion)

Title: Motion to Dismiss (Filing No. 1)
Filed: February 14, 2011
Filed By: Liam L. Murphy, Attorney for Appellees/Applicants Steven Palmer and Haybale Entertainment,
   LLC

Response in Opposition filed on 2/23/11 by Joseph F. Cahill, Jr., Attorney for Appellants Rene R. Prairie and
  Louise Prairie
Reply filed on 4/1/11 by Liam L. Murphy, Attorney for Appellees/Applicants Steven Palmer and Haybale
  Entertainment, LLC

 ___ Granted                         ___ Denied                            X Other

        The Court is currently in the process of reviewing the parties’ pleadings on the pending motion and
conducting its own legal research. In the course of those deliberations, we concluded that it is appropriate to
convert the pending motion to dismiss to a motion for summary judgment on the question of the appellants’
standing to appeal. See V.R.C.P. 12(b) (“If, on a motion . . . to dismiss . . ., matters outside the pleadings are
presented to and not excluded by the court, the motion shall be treated as one for summary judgment . . . .”).
Here, Appellants Rene R. Prairie and Louise Prairie have submitted an affidavit with their response to the
motion to dismiss, providing evidence outside of the pleadings that we will consider as we rule on the
pending motion.
         We believe that we have sufficient legal memoranda and factual representations to decide the motion
as one requesting summary judgment. However, we want to give the parties the opportunity to submit any
further legal memoranda or affidavits that they would like the Court to consider. See V.R.C.P. 12(b)
(directing that when a trial court converts a pending motion to one requesting summary judgment, “all parties
shall be given reasonable opportunity to present all material made pertinent to such a motion by Rule 56”).
We therefore ask that the parties complete such filings by Wednesday, May 4.

_________________________________________              April 26, 2011_____
       Thomas S. Durkin, Judge                            Date
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Date copies sent to: ____________                                                  Clerk's Initials _______
Copies sent to:
  Joseph F. Cahill, Jr., Attorney for Appellants Rene Prairie, Jr. and Louise Prairie
 Liam L. Murphy, Attorney for Appellees Steven Palmer and Haybale Entertainment, LLC
  John H. Hansen, Attorney for the Vermont Natural Resources Board/Land Use Panel
  Appellee Loren Palmer