Jury finds neighbors engaged in 2-year campaign of harassment — $1,491,619 verdict

Name of case: Fox v. Warshanna

Court: Loudoun County Circuit Court

Case no.: CL22006084-00

Tried before: Jury

Name of judge: Judge Matthew P. Snow

Date resolved: Nov. 20, 2024

Attorneys for plaintiff: Timothy Bosson and Arie Jones, Bosson Legal Group, Fairfax

Description of case: A jury awarded almost $1.5 million in damages to a Loudoun mother and daughter after finding a neighboring couple’s campaign of harassment violated Virginia law. After a six-day trial, the jury found the couple liable for malicious prosecution, defamation and private nuisance.

The mother-daughter plaintiffs, 24-year residents of Loudoun County’s Luckett’s neighborhood, had a falling out with the neighboring couple in the summer of 2019. Shortly thereafter, the plaintiffs said their “living nightmare” began, starting with the filing of dozens of frivolous administrative complaints with county and state agencies accusing them of conduct from animal cruelty to zoning violations and pollution. Though each complaint was found meritless, the couple sent dozens of letters and emails refiling the claims to try to get the plaintiffs fined by the government.

In a two-year span, the defendants filed four criminal cases against the plaintiffs, wrongfully accusing them of trespassing, assault and battery, and conspiracy to injure business reputation. The couple would call the police to the property something as minor as receiving a text message from the plaintiffs.

Though each case was either never prosecuted by the state or dismissed for lack of evidence, the plaintiffs were forced to spend tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees. Meanwhile, the charges appeared in federal background checks, causing potential employers to pull job offers and threatening a security clearance held by one of the plaintiffs.

The defendants printed their allegations on dozens of custom signs, which they set up at 10-foot intervals on the property line along the plaintiffs’ driveway, barn and home. The signs implied that the plaintiffs engaged in animal cruelty, bestiality, white supremacy, public nudity and terrorism. The plaintiffs were constantly asked to explain the signs, which were visible to anyone who visited the property.

The defendants installed more than 75 cameras to record the plaintiffs’ activities and conversations. Dozens of high-power floodlights were set up, shining directly into the plaintiffs’ house. The defendants also erected 20 beehives 25 feet from the plaintiffs’ barn. They frequently provoked the bees to swarm whenever the plaintiffs tended their horses.

One of the plaintiffs sought extensive counseling and mental health treatment due to the constant anxiety caused by the harassment.

The plaintiffs filed a civil suit against the defendants in 2022. The six-day jury trial saw testimony from numerous witnesses, including an attorneys’ fee expert, a health care provider, and a veterinarian.

The defense defended the case on technical and damages issues, suggesting that it was the plaintiffs who were responsible for provoking the defendants and that the defendants had reasonable grounds for pursuing the criminal cases.

The jury rejected the claims and found both defendants liable for counts of malicious prosecution, defamation per-se and private nuisance.

In his closing argument, plaintiffs’ counsel requested a verdict of $800,000. After deliberating for six hours, the jury returned a verdict for $1,491,619. The damages award included $283,029 in compensatory damages, $208,590 in attorneys’ fees, and $1 million in punitive damages. Virginia caps punitive damages at $350,000 per plaintiff, meaning the final award will likely be reduced.

Plaintiffs’ counsel Timothy Bosson and Arie Jones provided case information.

[024-T-154]