BURLINGTON â A Vermont Superior Court judge agreed Friday to conduct a trial in late January about 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 they are among a large number of communities that have made it impossible or difficult to get access to important land records required for real estate sales. The plaintiff, the Connecticut Attorneys Title Insurance Co. 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 buyers and sellers and those trying to refinance.