Vermont Statutes Title 5 Sec. 3455
Terms Used In Vermont Statutes Title 5 Sec. 3455
- Agency: means the Agency of Transportation. See
- Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
- Board: means the Transportation Board. See
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Municipality: means a county, city, village, town, or any other political subdivision of this State and any public corporation, authority, or district of this State that is or may be authorized by law to acquire, establish, construct, maintain, improve, or operate transportation facilities or services. See
- Person: means an individual, firm, partnership, corporation, company, association, joint stock association, or body politic, including a trustee, receiver, assignee, or other similar representative. See
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States may apply to the District of Columbia and any territory and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. See
§ 3455. Unlawful acts; petitions to Board; hearings
In a matter over which the Board has jurisdiction, a person that claims to be injured by the unlawful action or neglect of a railroad in this State may commence proceedings by petition to the Board, with a copy to the Agency, briefly setting forth the cause of complaint. The State’s Attorney of the county in which a matter arises, the Attorney General, the legislative body of a municipality, or any 10 freeholders of the county by such complaint may bring before the Board any matter in which they claim the public safety is endangered or the charter or statutory law regulating railroads is being violated. When it has information that any railroad in this State is operating in violation of its charter or of the statutory law, the Board shall call the same to the attention of the Attorney General or the State’s Attorney of the county where the matter arises. The Attorney General or the State’s Attorney shall inquire into the same and, if in that individual’s judgment the matter should be investigated, that individual shall bring the same before the Board by proper complaint. On receipt of the complaint, the Board shall summon the person or persons complained of to appear before it and to make answer to the complaint. When issue is taken to the facts set out in the complaint, the Board shall appoint a time and place for hearing the same in the county where the matter arises and shall then and there hear and determine the matter complained of. Nothing in this section shall be construed to empower the Board to award monetary damages to any person or entity, except as expressly provided by law. (Amended 1959, No. 329 (Adj. Sess.), § 39(b), eff. March 1, 1961; 1993, No. 172 (Adj. Sess.), § 42; 2021, No. 105 (Adj. Sess.), § 24, eff. July 1, 2022.)