§ 5422 - Actions to recover profits from a crime - Vermont Statutes

§ 5422. Actions to recover profits from a crime

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including any statute of limitations, any crime victim shall have the right to bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction to recover money damages from a person convicted of that crime, or the legal representative of that convicted person, within three years of the discovery of any profits from the crime. Any damages awarded in such action shall be recoverable only up to the value of the profits of the crime. This section shall not limit the right of a victim to proceed or recover under another cause of action.

(b) The attorney general may, within three years of the discovery of any profits from the crime, bring a civil action on behalf of the state to enforce the subrogation rights described in section 5357 of this title.

(c) If the full value of any profits from the crime has not yet been claimed by either the victim of the crime or the victim's representative, the attorney general, or both, within three years of the discovery of such profits, then the state may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction to recover the costs incurred by providing the defendant with counsel, if any, and other costs reasonably incurred or to be incurred in the incarceration of the defendant.

(d) Upon the filing of an action pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, the victim shall deliver a copy of the summons and complaint to the attorney general. Upon receipt of a copy of the summons and complaint, the attorney general shall send written notice of the alleged existence of profits from the crime to all other known victims at their last known addresses.

(e) To avoid the wasting of assets identified in the complaint as newly discovered profits of the crime, the attorney general, acting on behalf of the plaintiff and all other victims, shall have the right to apply for all remedies that are also otherwise available to the victim. (Added 2009, No. 55, § 2, eff. June 1, 2009.)