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DRAFT FOR ATTORNEY REVIEW — NOT FINAL

lizabeths pine west v francis, No. 25-cv-4941 (Vt. Super. Ct. 2026)

Citation
lizabeths pine west v francis, No. 25-cv-4941 (Vt. Super. Ct. 2026)
Parent Document
lizabeths pine west v francis, No. 25-cv-4941 (Vt. Super. Ct. 2026)
Jurisdiction
Vermont (state)
Effective Date
2026-02-09

Full Text

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and when the proposed amendment is not obviously frivolous nor made as a dilatory maneuver
in bad faith, it is an abuse of discretion to deny the motion.’”) (quoting Bevins v. King, 143 Vt.
252, 254–55 (1983)). The prejudice to the Francises comes from allowing this eviction
proceeding to continue even though Lizabeth’s has failed to fulfill its “punctilious compliance”
obligations under Vermont’s Residential Rental Agreements Act. Because 9 V.S.A. § 4467(k)
requires a landlord to commence eviction proceedings no later than 60 days from the termination
date in the notice, allowing Lizabeth’s to amend its complaint would mean that it could maintain
the current eviction proceeding, originally commenced for cause, despite a notice for no cause,
by correcting its complaint to match the notice. For this court to allow that maneuver would not
comport with the Vermont Supreme Court’s “punctilious compliance” mandate on landlords like
Lizabeth’s.