Favreau v. Miller, 591 A.2d 68 (1991)

Citation: Favreau v. Miller, 591 A.2d 68 (1991)
Parent Document: Favreau v. Miller, 591 A.2d 68 (1991)
Jurisdiction: Vermont (state)
Effective Date: 1991-03-29
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1996620/favreau-v-miller/ ↗

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Finally, plaintiff contends that the court erred in its discussion of the import of evidence of a violation of applicable housing codes. Plaintiff wished the court to say that the jury should presume negligence once a violation was found, subject to defendant's rebuttal. The court instead told the jury that they may consider a code violation, if they found one, as evidence that the stairs were unreasonably dangerous. Under V.R.E. 301(c)(3), however, the court must not instruct the jury on the presumption of negligence ("existence of the presumed fact") when the defendant "has met his production burden" ("burden of producing evidence sufficient to support a finding that the presumed fact does not exist," V.R.E. 301(a)). The defendant here met his burden of production, and the court correctly instructed the jury by not making reference to the presumption, V.R.E. 301(c)(3). Affirmed. PECK, Justice, concurring. I concur in the result only. DOOLEY, Justice, dissenting.

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