63°F
Waitsfield
Cloudy
Wind: 10 mph
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22 May 2013
74°F
61°F
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23 May 2013
75°F
55°F
The Valley Reporter
P.O. Box 119
Waitsfield, VT 05673
802-496-3928
CONTACT INFORMATION
63°F
Cloudy
Wind: 10 mph
74°F
61°F
75°F
55°F
The Valley Reporter
P.O. Box 119
Waitsfield, VT 05673
802-496-3928
CONTACT INFORMATION
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06/23/2011
It is the opinion of the Warren Select Board that the recent article in The Valley Reporter regarding the Warren School path needs clarification.
The town of Warren is not attempting to take land from the Carter estate. There will be no condemnation or adverse possession pleadings. That has never been the intention of the town. What the town has asked the court to ascertain is whether an existing town right of way already exists at the location of the path.
The town asked the court for a declaratory judgment to settle the question. From existing documentation, there is a belief that the townspeople have the right to cross these properties where the path exists, from the town highway (aka Brook Road) to the Warren Elementary School. The deeds concerning this right of way are convoluted and date back to the Civil War era, which is why the court is now involved.
Instead of deciding the question at hand, the Vermont Superior Court found no way to resolve the issue because the Veda Carter estate is the true owner of the property and, although she passed many years ago, the estate was never settled. Therefore, the Carter estate must now be established in probate court. This may be a long process.
Other facts in this case: The path runs at the edge of the Carter property causing minimal loss of use to the owners. A settlement was proposed by Carter's attorney previously, which the town accepted but Carter then withdrew. The town has voluntarily stopped using the path during these discussions.
The case being labeled “dismissed” per the article headline is technically correct; however, the matter is still being vigorously pursued and only the jurisdiction has changed. (The Carter estate must be probated first, a more efficient process then what had been established by the Superior Court.)
Warren Select Board
