Turning the tables on VDOT March 28, 2020 MATHEWS COUNTY, VA. — It took five years, but a family-owned convenience store in the heart of Mathews County borrowed a page from VDOT’s condemnation playbook to save its business. By not giving up, Hyco Market owner Brian Lewis and his family drove up the cost of…
High Court 2nd Guesses Chesapeake March 28, 2020 CHESAPEAKE — The city’s decision to cripple a waterfront commercial project planned for Great Bridge has wound its way up to the Virginia Supreme Court. At issue is whether the city had the right to take away — without paying for it — one of the two…
HALIFAX COUNTY, July 2019 — For 10 years, sewage from South Boston regularly overflowed across five acres of Steve Salley’s land just north of town. Salley complained repeatedly to the Halifax County Service Authority about its malfunctioning sewer line running across his property. The Authority sent out a crew to spread lime to decontaminate the land.…
UPDATE: Judge makes VDOT keep its word A Mathews County judge has ordered VDOT to keep its promise to end a “nightmare” parking problem it created for a property owner. WAVY-10 originally reported on the dispute and covered its conclusion. https://www.wavy.com/news/local-news/beach-battle-verdict-limits-parking-on-gwynn-s-island/1325873085 What good is the word of the Commonwealth of Virginia? Not very…
Is your home your castle? Like so many Americans, Suzette Kelo thought so. Then her dreams collided with local politicians who condemned it then turned it over to a big drug company promising millions in taxes. Kelo took her fight to the Supreme Court and lost. But her battle sparked a nationwide political revolt against…
December 1, 2017 The biggest eminent domain story in Virginia concerns the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Dominion, the utility building it, will use its condemnation powers to acquire a ribbon of land running hundreds of miles through Virginia from West Virginia to North Carolina. One stretch collides with the secluded mountainside Wintergreen Resort community. A thousand…
October 24, 2017 The American Law Institute has elected Joseph T. Waldo to its exclusive membership as it embarks on a major study of property law in America. Waldo, the president of Waldo & Lyle, is the only Virginian among the 37 new members selected by the ALI. ALI is composed of attorneys, judges and…