1
The court uses first names, rather than surnames, to refer to the suit parties in this opinion for
ease of quick reference. The parties include two Severance brothers.
7. Jim worked in the business of buying and selling cars in Massachusetts. After he acquired
the Subject Property, at some point he started to transport the cars intended for re-sale, to
the Subject Property, to store them. Cars continued to be stored at the Subject Property
for sale for an extended, and undefined, period. It is not clear exactly where and when
such cars were placed on the property. As noted, after the parties entered their Life Lease
relationship, Mr. Moorcroft bought out Mr. Hebert’s gravel pit lease rights and stored
cars in the gravel pit area. Eventually (and at present) there were and are as many as 800
vehicles located on the property.
8. Jim continued to buy and sell used cars after acquiring the Subject Property. In or around
1998, Jim met John and John’s brother, Steve. Soon thereafter, Steve came to work for
Jim as a salesman in what was Jim’s car sale business, then known Pride Auto Sales.
9. At this time, John owned a Berlin, Vermont farm. (Note this Berlin farm was not the
Subject Property that is part of this dispute).
10. Steve and Jim started to store and sell cars from the Berlin farm property John owned. It
is unclear if Jim had also stored cars on the Subject Property during the time Jim stored
cars on John’s Berlin farm. John also eventually also became involved in selling cars. In
any event, John Severance let Jim and Steve run the car sale business from his farm
property. After a time the town officials complained about a business being run from the
farm property, perhaps because it was not zoned or permitted for such commercial, non-
agricultural use.
11. The Pride Auto Sales business moved to the Montpelier-Barre area. It operated out of two
successive locations on Route 2 and Route 302 and later became inactive. In these
locations (as opposed to the Berlin, Vermont farm property) the Pride Auto business also
could operate a repair shop and office.
12. At or around the time that the auto sale business was moved from John’s Berlin farm –
John sold his Berlin farm. He netted $90,000 or so from the farm property sale.2 John
was looking ideally for someplace where both he and his brother Steve (and Steve’s wife,
Barbara) could live, but he only had $90,000 or so to spend.
13. Jim was looking for help with his finances at this time. He not only owed his parents
money from their financial assistance (or informal loan) when he acquired the Subject
Property, but they had given him advances to use in his Pride Auto Sales business.
14. From at least the time Jim acquired the Subject Property, until 2015 or so, Jim’s parents,
Shirley and Arthur, advanced him funds. Many, but not all, of the advanced funds, were
intended for Jim’s businesses buying and selling autos (including Pride Auto Sales and
the subsequent company Pride Auto East, discussed below).
15. As Jim obtained these advances from his parents, their mutual intent was for Jim to pay
Shirley and Arthur back. The advances were intended as loans, not gifts. Jim and his