Virginia Lawyers Weekly VA Lawyers Weekly

An oil-change company seeking to recover lost profits after access to its business was limited by the county’s alleged unreasonable delay in repairing a sinkhole has sufficiently pleaded an inverse condemnation claim. Overview Plaintiff PM Lube operates an oil change ...

Tagged with: Judge Jeanette A. Irby Loudoun County Circuit Court Real Property Virginia Circuit Courts

The circuit court incorrectly ruled that respondent property owners who paid property taxes for more than 15 years acquired a vested right to continue their illegal use of two buildings. Code § 15.2-2307(D) provides that buildings or structures may not ...

Tagged with: Justice S. Bernard Goodwyn Real Property Supreme Court of Virginia

A temporary injunction to block demolition of an arson-damaged house in a historic district is denied. Although irreparable injury will occur because the structure cannot be replaced if demolished, the risk of public harm caused by the house’s dilapidated condition ...

Tagged with: Judge David W. Lannetti Norfolk Circuit Court Real Estate Virginia Court of Appeals

Because nothing in the deed evidenced a contrary intent, the plaintiff had a right to the disputed portion of a road by operation of law. Background This case arises from a boundary dispute between Philip P. Ettinger and Oyster Bay ...

Tagged with: Justice William C. Mims Real Estate Supreme Court of Virginia

A condo developer successfully petitioned to invalidate a subcontractor’s mechanic’s lien on the individual condos after the general contractor reportedly went bankrupt. Though it had sold all the condos, the developer had standing to bring the petition by virtue of ...

Tagged with: Construction Judge Jeanette A. Irby Loudoun County Circuit Court Real Estate Real Property Virginia Circuit Courts

The City of Virginia Beach, which intended to perform dredging in the Lynnhaven River as a matter of public interest, could not do so in an area where a citizen had obtained a riparian lease for oysters. The City claimed ...

Tagged with: Administrative Judge Richard Y. AtLee Jr. Municipal Real Property Virginia Court of Appeals

A plaintiff allegedly trying to assume the loan obligations on a home owned by her late husband did not plausibly allege facts to support her breach-of-contract claims against the lender. The entity that conducted the foreclosure sale was dismissed as ...

Tagged with: Banking Contract Judge M. Hannah Lauck Mortgage Real Estate Real Property U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Despite skepticism about a plaintiff-debtor’s ultimate chances, the court declined to dismiss his Fair Debt Collection Practices Act claim alleging that his mortgage lender and loan servicer intentionally lied to him about whether a home foreclosure was scheduled. Background In ...

Tagged with: Consumer Reporting Judge John A. Gibney Jr. Mortgage Real Estate Real Property U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A circuit court had jurisdiction to decide a merger dispute between two churches. Resolution centered on the parties’ merger agreement, not their religious doctrines or other ecclesiastical questions. Background After falling behind on its mortgage payments, Pure Presbyterian Church of ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Contract Declaratory Judgment First Amendment Justice Stephen R. McCullough Real Property Supreme Court of Virginia

Rain-induced sediment flows that have overcome Mountain Valley Pipeline’s erosion controls might not recur in the future, especially in light of heightened oversight by state and federal agencies. Therefore, preliminary injunctive relief is not appropriate. Background The Plaintiffs are landowners ...

Tagged with: Environmental Judge Elizabeth K. Dillon Real Estate Real Property Tort U.S. District Court - Western District