Matthais Boehm et al. v. Phillip Mulligan et al.

Summary

The Vermont Superior Court, Washington Unit, denied Defendants’ motion to dismiss for improper venue. The court held that venue was proper in Washington under 12 V.S.A. § 402 and Bergeron v. Boyle because the parties resided outside Vermont and the action sought monetary relief without requiring the court to determine title to real estate. The court also noted that the motion’s reference to personal jurisdiction did not present a separately developed issue.

Holdings

1. An action seeking only monetary relief, in which no party disputes title and the court is not asked to establish, quiet, attach, transfer, or bestow title to real property, is not an action concerning real estate under 12 V.S.A. § 402(a) for venue purposes.
2. Venue was proper in the Washington Unit because none of the parties resided in Vermont and the action was not one concerning real estate; therefore, plaintiffs could file in any unit of the civil division.

Questions Presented

1. Whether an action involving a residential tenancy, alleged illegal eviction, and an alleged agreement to sell property, but seeking only money damages and not adjudicating title, is an action concerning real estate that must be brought in the unit where the property is located under 12 V.S.A. § 402(a).
2. Whether venue was proper in the Washington Unit when none of the parties resided in Vermont.

Disposition

dismissed