Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook. BURLINGTON â A Vermont Superior Court judge agreed Friday to conduct a trial in late January on whether municipal clerks must keep offices open to the public in need of access to government records during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nine Vermont municipalities â ranging from tiny Whiting in Addison County to bustling South Burlington in Chittenden County â are named in a lawsuit that maintains that they are among a large number of communities that have made it impossible or hard to get access to important land records required for real estate sales. The plaintiff, the Connecticut Attorneys Title Insurance Company in South Burlington, maintains that various lawyers need full access to the public records to complete research for real estate deals in communities throughout Vermont. The lack of access can block both buyers and sellers and those trying to refinance.