Virginia Lawyers Weekly VA Lawyers Weekly

Prospective buyers had only three days to rescind a purchase agreement after receiving the statutorily-required property owners’ association disclosures. The rescission period is not extended due to incomplete information in the disclosures as submitted. Background Plaintiffs Liam and Brandee Daly ...

Tagged with: Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge David A. Oblon Real Estate Real Property Virginia Circuit Courts

In a takings dispute as to the damage value to the remainder property, the trial court erred in excluding only the government’s appraiser, when the property owner’s expert’s opinion was admitted without a superior basis. Background In 2014, the Commissioner ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Eminent Domain Evidence Justice D. Arthur Kelsey Real Estate Real Property Supreme Court of Virginia

Farmers held to be working in concert with anonymous people in trees for the purpose of blocking construction of a pipeline, in violation of a prior order of the court, are in contempt of court and subject to fines. Background ...

Tagged with: Civil Procedure Eminent Domain Judge Elizabeth K. Dillon Real Estate Real Property U.S. District Court - Western District

The owner of a tract of land housing a marine container terminal challenged municipal tax assessments on both real and personal property. Neither party presented credible expert testimony on real property value, and the court rejected the owner’s calculation of ...

Tagged with: Evidence Municipal Portsmouth Circuit Court Real Estate Real Property Taxation Virginia Circuit Courts

A property owner couldn’t be convicted of providing free waterskiing lessons to disabled veterans without having obtained a conditional use permit, as the cited zoning ordinance spoke to recreational “facilities” rather than uses. Background Defendant Witchduck Lake Enterprises Inc. is ...

Tagged with: Judge William R. O'Brien Municipal Real Estate Real Property Virginia Beach Circuit Court Virginia Circuit Courts Zoning

In an action for unlawful detainer, defendants occupying their deceased mother’s home could not effectively challenge title by affirmative defense only; any title disputes needed to resolved by separate lawsuit or counterclaim. Background Sometime prior to November 28, 2016, at ...

Tagged with: Civil Procedure Judge David B. Carson Mortgage Real Property Roanoke Circuit Court Virginia Circuit Courts

In a judicial proceeding to sell tax-delinquent realty, the Commissioner of Accounts cannot enter a decree of confirmation of sale until the value of liens against the property being sold are determined. Background This court appointed a Special Commissioner to ...

Tagged with: Judge David Bernhard Municipal Real Property Virginia Circuit Courts

A property sales agreement, which set forth a mathematical formula for apportioning increases to local development-density rights between the property owners, was rendered impossible to calculate when the county removed the density limit entirely. Background In 2000, Appellant WG Land ...

Tagged with: Contract Justice Elizabeth A. McClanahan Land Use & Zoning Municipal Real Estate Real Property Supreme Court of Virginia

Lured by the prospect of protecting his real estate from creditors, an elderly property owner’s sale of his land to a “holding entity” – which he was (wrongly) told would hold the property in trust – was not voidable on ...

Tagged with: Contract Per Curiam Opinion Real Estate Virginia Court of Appeals Wills & Trusts

In October 2015, wind and rain damaged Plaintiff Constance Moss’s home. Moss’s homeowner’s insurer soon issued a claim check for over $15,000. In a move she has lived to regret, Moss sent the check to her mortgage company, Defendant Manufacturers ...

Tagged with: Consumer Protection Contract Insurance Judge John A. Gibney Jr. Mortgage Real Property U.S. District Court - Eastern District