AIA Vermont is pleased to share that a Statute of Repose bill (H.589) has been introduced in the Vermont House and is now under consideration by the House Judiciary Committee. The bill proposes a six-year statute of repose for construction-related claims. Vermont and New York are currently the only two states without a statute of repose, as shown in this 2025 AIA Compendium document. 

Last Thursday, January 22, the committee received a technical walkthrough from legislative counsel to understand the legal framework of the bill. Friday morning marked the first witness testimony, focused on the real-world impacts for architects and builders.

AIAVT Public Policy Committee member Matt Bushey of TruexCullins testified alongside Tim Frost of Peregrine Design Build (retired). Both firms were co-defendants in a lawsuit involving a Champlain Islands home.

TruexCullins designed an addition to a home in Grand Isle in 2002, which was constructed in 2003 by Peregrine Design Build. The home was sold to new owners in 2020. In 2024 — more than twenty years after construction — the new owners sued the original architect and contractor over alleged water damage around a second-floor deck. By the time the case was filed, the firm partner in charge of the project had passed away and the project architect had retired.

Nevertheless, the firms spent nearly a year in active litigation and approximately $35,000 in legal fees before the plaintiff ultimately dropped the case. This is precisely the kind of perpetual liability that statutes of repose in other states are designed to prevent.

AIA Vermont will continue to advocate for passage of this bill and will be working with legislators as the committee takes further testimony in the coming days.

Here’s how you can help:

• Contact your legislators and encourage them to support H.589 and to communicate that support to the House Judiciary Committee. (Find your legislators using this tool).
• If you have had experiences with lawsuits or claims where a statute of repose would have provided protection and would be willing to testify, please contact Sarah.
• Watch for Advocacy Alerts from AIAVT. When the time is right, we will ask members to reach out to legislators with letters, emails, and phone calls of support to help advance the bill through the legislative process.

Thank you for supporting this important public policy effort on behalf of Vermont’s design and construction community.