Villeneuve v. Town of Essex

The majority has determined its view of what 19 VS.A. § 971 should mean, but neither the plain language nor the history of the statute supports the inferred construction. Accordingly, I dissent.

Since the late nineteenth century, Vermont has had in place a statute allowing three citizens or taxpayers to petition town officials for repair of a highway or bridge. In its earliest form, the statute allowed the petitioning citizens to file a written complaint with the county road commissioners “if such town neglects for thirty-six hours thereafter to commence work upon said highway or bridge, or…