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DRAFT FOR ATTORNEY REVIEW — NOT FINAL

Fletcher Hill, Inc. v. Crosbie, 178 Vt. 77 (2005)

Citation
Fletcher Hill, Inc. v. Crosbie, 178 Vt. 77 (2005)
Parent Document
Fletcher Hill, Inc. v. Crosbie, 178 Vt. 77 (2005)
Jurisdiction
Vermont (state)
Effective Date
2005-01-14

Other Sections in This Document (57)

Full Text

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¶ 46. The result of the majority decision is that the trial court will have unlimited discretion to deny fees if a contractor recovers anything short of 100% of its claims. In essence, the majority has rewrit-, ten the entitlement of the statute into a mere authorization. The Legislature could have written the statute to authorize an award of fees, rather than to contain a command. Under such a statute, the trial court would have had exactly the authority it claimed here. See Gold Kist, Inc. v. Williams, 332 S.E.2d 22, 24 (Ga. Ct. App. 1985) (noting that, under Georgia law, trial court has discretion in assessing costs). The exercise of discretion under our statute is inconsistent with its plain meaning.