STATE COURT ANSWER – GENERAL DENIAL

Vermont Superior Court – [UNIT/CIVIL DIVISION]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Caption ................................................................................................................. 2
2. Preliminary Statement & Timeliness ................................................................ 2
3. General Responses to Complaint Allegations .............................................. 3
4. Affirmative Defenses .......................................................................................... 4
5. Counterclaims (if any) ........................................................................................ 6
6. Prayer for Relief .................................................................................................. 7
7. Reservation of Additional Defenses ................................................................ 7
8. Verification (optional) ........................................................................................ 8
9. Certificate of Service ......................................................................................... 8

[// GUIDANCE: Delete the Table of Contents for shorter Answers if not required by local practice.]

1. CAPTION

text
STATE OF VERMONT
SUPERIOR COURT ― [COUNTY] UNIT
[CIVIL] DIVISION
Docket No.: [DOCKET #]

[PLAINTIFF NAME(S)],
Plaintiff(s),

v.

[DEFENDANT NAME(S)],
Defendant(s).

2. PRELIMINARY STATEMENT & TIMELINESS

1. Defendant [DEFENDANT NAME] (“Defendant”), by and through undersigned counsel, hereby answers the Complaint filed by Plaintiff [PLAINTIFF NAME] (“Plaintiff”) as follows.
2. This Answer is timely filed pursuant to Vt. R. Civ. P. 12(a) (21-day response period).
3. Unless expressly admitted herein, every allegation of the Complaint is denied.

[// GUIDANCE: If service occurred through waiver or if the case is governed by a statute altering the response period, update paragraph 2 accordingly.]

3. GENERAL RESPONSES TO COMPLAINT ALLEGATIONS

[// GUIDANCE: Option A – Global / “Short-Form” General Denial]
Defendant denies each and every allegation of the Complaint pursuant to Vt. R. Civ. P. 8(b)(3).

[// GUIDANCE: Option B – Paragraph-by-Paragraph Responses.
If the Court’s standing order or strategic considerations favor specific admissions/denials, use the structure below and delete Option A.]

¶ 1: Admitted.
¶ 2: Denied.
¶ 3: Defendant lacks knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of the allegation and therefore denies the same pursuant to Vt. R. Civ. P. 8(b)(5).
… continue sequentially …

[// GUIDANCE: Retain the paragraph numbers used in the Complaint to avoid ambiguity.]

4. AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES

Without assuming any burden of proof not imposed by law, and expressly reserving the right to amend, Defendant asserts the following defenses under Vt. R. Civ. P. 8(c):

1. Failure to State a Claim
   The Complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.

2. Statute of Limitations
   One or more causes of action are barred by the applicable statutes of limitation contained in 12 V.S.A. §§ [INSERT SECTIONS].

3. Lack of Standing
   Plaintiff lacks standing to assert the claims alleged.

4. Comparative Negligence
   Recovery, if any, must be reduced or barred pursuant to Vermont’s comparative negligence principles, 12 V.S.A. § 1036.

5. Failure of Condition Precedent
   Plaintiff has not satisfied contractual and/or statutory conditions precedent.

6. Accord and Satisfaction / Release
   Plaintiff’s claims are barred by accord and satisfaction, settlement, and/or release.

7. Estoppel, Waiver & Laches
   Plaintiff’s claims are barred, in whole or in part, by estoppel, waiver, and laches.

8. Unclean Hands
   Equitable relief is barred by the doctrine of unclean hands.

9. Mitigation
   Plaintiff failed to mitigate alleged damages.

10. Reservation
    Defendant reserves the right to assert additional defenses that become available through discovery.

[// GUIDANCE: Delete, add, or reorder affirmative defenses to fit the facts. Place any fact-specific defenses (e.g., Truth, Privilege, Product Misuse) after the generic list.]

5. COUNTERCLAIMS (IF ANY)

Pursuant to Vt. R. Civ. P. 13:

1. Nature of Counterclaim
   Defendant asserts the following counterclaim(s) against Plaintiff:
   a. [COUNTERCLAIM 1 – e.g., Breach of Contract]
   b. [COUNTERCLAIM 2 – e.g., Declaratory Judgment]

2. Jurisdiction & Venue
   This Court has subject-matter jurisdiction under 4 V.S.A. § 31 and venue is proper in this Unit under 12 V.S.A. § 402.

3. Factual Allegations
   [Set forth concise statements of all material facts supporting each counterclaim.]

4. Demand for Relief
   WHEREFORE, Defendant demands judgment in its favor on the counterclaim(s) as set forth in Section 6 below.

[// GUIDANCE: If no counterclaims are asserted, replace this entire section with:
“Defendant asserts no counterclaims at this time but reserves the right to do so pursuant to Vt. R. Civ. P. 13 and any applicable scheduling order.”]

6. PRAYER FOR RELIEF

WHEREFORE, Defendant respectfully requests that the Court:

A. Dismiss the Complaint with prejudice;
B. Enter judgment in favor of Defendant on all claims;
C. Award costs, reasonable attorney’s fees, and such further relief as the Court deems just and proper; and
D. Grant Defendant relief on any asserted counterclaims.

7. RESERVATION OF ADDITIONAL DEFENSES

Defendant reserves the right to amend this Answer to assert additional defenses, cross-claims, third-party claims, and/or counterclaims as discovery and investigation warrant, pursuant to Vt. R. Civ. P. 15.

8. VERIFICATION (OPTIONAL)

text
I, [DEFENDANT REPRESENTATIVE NAME], being duly sworn, depose and say that I have read the foregoing Answer and that the facts stated therein are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief.

[NAME], [TITLE]
[DATE]

State of Vermont
County of ____, SS.

Subscribed and sworn before me this ___ day of __, 20__.

Notary Public
My commission expires: ____

[// GUIDANCE: Verification is not required under Vt. R. Civ. P. unless a statute or the Complaint itself is verified. Include only if strategically advantageous.]

9. CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

text
I certify that on [DATE] I caused a true and correct copy of the foregoing Answer to be served upon the following counsel of record via [METHOD – e.g., Odyssey File & Serve / first-class mail]:

[OPPOSING COUNSEL NAME]
[LAW FIRM]
[ADDRESS]
[EMAIL]

[ATTORNEY NAME] (Bar No. ____)
Counsel for Defendant

SIGNATURE BLOCK

text
Respectfully submitted,

[ATTORNEY NAME] (Vermont Bar No. ______)
[FIRM NAME]
[ADDRESS]
[PHONE] | [EMAIL]
Attorney for Defendant [DEFENDANT NAME]

Dated: [DATE]

[// GUIDANCE: Confirm that the attorney’s e-mail address on the signature block matches the one registered with e-filing, per Vt. R. Civ. P. 11(a).]