Sugarline Associates v. Alpen Associates

This case involves the 1985 purchase by plaintiff Sugarline Associates, a limited partnership, of a hotel and land in Waitsfield, Vermont, owned by defendant Alpen Associates, also a limited partnership. Sugarline sued for damages, claiming that Alpen fraudulently failed to disclose information about the site’s septic system, and Alpen counterclaimed to collect on a promissory note given to Alpen at the closing. The superior court awarded damages on the constructive fraud claim and set off that sum against the amount owed on the note, with a net award to Alpen. Both parties appealed, raising…