The VLW Blog

A couple fighting city hall in Roanoke over the condemnation of their property has decided to end the battle and accept a $2.2 million valuation of their property set by a jury in March.
The Roanoke Times reports Jay and Stephanie Burkholder decided that financial considerations outweighed their desire to take the hotly disputed issue to [...]

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Over protests from homeowners, Chesapeake Circuit Judge Randall D. Smith has validated a jury’s determination that the owners were not entitled to any damages as a result of airport noise.
A jury found no evidence of damage to the value of a home near the Chesapeake Regional Airport in a March trial, despite a judge’s [...]

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The Supreme Court of Virginia has agreed to hear Montgomery County’s appeal of a circuit court decision allowing public funding for a Norfolk Southern rail yard project.
County supervisors are fighting the proposed freight yard near Elliston by attacking the state funding plan on state constitutional grounds. Richmond Circuit Judge Melvin R. Hughes Jr. rejected [...]

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Orange County Circuit Judge Daniel Bouton has refused to dismiss a lawsuit aimed at blocking a Walmart-based shopping center near a historic Civil War battlefield.
In the 10-page opinion, available here, Bouton finds local citizens have standing to challenge the project and rules that a hearing on the merits is required to resolve critical claims.
Citizens and [...]

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A William & Mary law professor used legal “mumbo jumbo” to undermine the authority of the Kingsmill Community Services Association, accused the group’s lawyer in a letter delivered by police . The professor fires back, saying the tactic is a “bush-league attempt at intimidation.”
The battle of legal letters has erupted as residents of James City [...]

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We hate to miss obvious opportunities for expert commentary, especially when they’re right under our nose.
We wrote last year about legal battles over the burgeoning wine industry in what used to be known as Northern Virginia’s “horse country.” Who knew that Washington & Lee University had its own Wine Law Society?
According to this news release [...]

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The Supreme Court of Virginia may get a say on whether the Virginia Constitution allows the use of public money for a Norfolk Southern rail project planned for Montgomery County.
The county supervisors, who oppose the proposed freight yard, are fighting the project by attacking the state funding deal.  Richmond Circuit Judge Melvin Hughes rejected the [...]

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The Roanoke landowner whose property was condemned, presumably for expansion of a privately-owned medical complex, is asking a judge to reconsider a key ruling in the case.
After Roanoke Circuit Judge William Broadhurst ruled against the owner last month, word came that neither the medical business nor the city had any real interest in the subject [...]

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A Roanoke-based healthcare business says, contrary to assumptions, it really doesn’t want a piece of land the city condemned as part of an effort to boost a bio-medical complex.  The lack of interest comes as news to the owners’ lawyer, who has battled the city over its right to take the property.
As we reported last [...]

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A circuit judge has turned aside Montgomery County’s objections to state funding for a Norfolk Southern Corp. intermodal rail facility in the county.
Richmond Circuit Judge Melvin Hughes ruled Nov. 18 that the state constitution does not bar public support of the private project under legislation aimed at reducing truck traffic on state highways.  Hughes’ letter [...]

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