A court order requiring a property owner to cure residential zoning violations gave him sufficient notice that he must remove “junk” not only from his front and side yards but also from his back yard. Background In April 2005, Henrico ...

Tagged with: Administrative Constitutional Due Process Judge Mary Grace O'Brien Municipal Real Estate Real Property Virginia Court of Appeals Zoning

Under clearly established law, publication of public safety officers’ allegedly defamatory termination letters to the media before holding a name-clearing hearing supported the officers’ claims of due process violations. Background During the summer of 2014, Officers with the Bald Head ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Constitutional Defamation Due Process First Amendment Fourteenth Amendment Judge James A. Wynn Jr. Tort

A bank’s suit seeking a determination that tax liens against a foreclosed property must be discharged was a quiet title action for which the United States has waived sovereign immunity. Background The Knapps, who owned real property in Richlands, Virginia, ...

Tagged with: Banking Constitutional Judge James P. Jones Mortgage Real Property Taxation U.S. District Court - Western District

A Charlottesville counter-protester who claimed law enforcement stood by and watched white nationalist protesters assault him and others had no constitutional right to have officers intervene in the third-party misconduct. Background In response to Charlottesville’s renaming of Lee Park, Jason ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Equal Protection Fourteenth Amendment Judge Norman K. Moon U.S. District Court - Western District

When a BMW store applied for a renovation permit but then performed a demolition instead, the City of Rockville, Maryland, revoked the previously-granted permit. The company’s initial permit applications contained material misrepresentations, so it had no property interest that could ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Business Law Constitutional Due Process Judge Glen E. Conrad Municipal Real Estate

The automobile exception to the Fourth Amendment does not permit a police officer, uninvited and without a warrant, to enter the curtilage of a home in order to search a vehicle parked therein. Background Albemarle Police Officer McCall saw the ...

Tagged with: Constitutional Justice Sonia M. Sotomayor Search & Seizure U.S. Supreme Court

When a jury asked whether they could award “legal fees” as compensatory damages, the circuit court abused its discretion by declining to answer the question and simply telling them they had to enter a numeral on the verdict form. Background ...

Tagged with: Attorneys Fees Constitutional Per Curiam Opinion Supreme Court of Virginia

Gavin Grimm, who attended a Virginia public high school and was prohibited from using the boys’ bathroom because he was identified as female at birth, sufficiently alleged discrimination claims against the school under both Title IX and the Equal Protection ...

Tagged with: Civil Rights Constitutional Education Equal Protection Judge Arenda L. Wright Allen Municipal U.S. District Court - Eastern District

Waterfront property owners who brought a groundless claim against their neighbor for working as a state agent to create a special tax district are liable for his attorneys’ fees. Background In this action, the Plaintiffs allege that Defendant Frank Gurdziel ...

Tagged with: Attorneys Fees Civil Practice Constitutional Due Process Judge Robert G. Doumar Municipal Real Estate Real Property U.S. District Court - Eastern District

This case arises out of a constitutional challenge to Virginia Code § 46.2-395, pursuant to which anyone who fails to pay court costs or fines imposed after a conviction is subject to suspension of his or her driver’s license. The ...

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Civil Procedure Constitutional Due Process Equal Protection Judge Henry F. Floyd