Dave Arnold and Ross Greene will be presenting on two exciting topics at the 2026 Virginia Eminent Domain Conference at the Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Virginia, May 7-8, 2026. REGISTER HERE for the 2026 Virginia Eminent Domain Conference! Dave will be presenting the ethics panel along with Cheryl Walton, Esq., from the Prince William County Attorney's [...]
For a locality to be liable for failure to maintain an easement, does the locality have to hold the easement? Earlier this year, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals wrapped up an inverse condemnation case, Fernaays v. Isle of Wight County, No. 23-2296 (4th Cir. 2025), answering that question. The general thrust of the opinion [...]
This week we have a somewhat unusual case, where the Virginia Supreme Court has struck down a statute that does not on the face of it purport to involve the use of eminent domain power, as a violation of Article I, Section 11 of the of the Virginia Constitution, which we usually think of as [...]
As a certain horror writer often says -- welcome back constant reader -- this time to a story where opposing counsel tries to take advantage of a somewhat obscure code section that you need to be aware of if you are settling condemnation matters in Virgina. (However, unlike horror stories, this one has a happy [...]
We covered several of the changes the Virginia General Assembly made in its most recent session in SB1158 in our post last week. This week we're covering the rest of them. (The changes to 25.1-204 dealing with title reports that were made in HB1690 and SB1158 were covered in our post week before last here.) [...]
The Virginia General Assembly passed a number of different changes to Virginia’s eminent domain code this year, most of which are contained in SB1158. (The changes to 25.1-204 dealing with title reports were covered in our post last week here.) SB1158 makes a change to Va. Code 8.01-187. That code section already provides a statutory [...]
What has to be included in your title report in if you want to proceed to condemnation of a property in Virginia? This important but somewhat arcane technial point has been the subject of quite a bit of legislative change and litigation in Virginia in the last couple years. This year's General Assembly session has [...]
A recent Virginia circuit court opinion in City of Waynesboro v. Hopeman Land Company serves as a cautionary tale for condemning authorities, emphasizing the importance of precision, planning, and adherence to statutory requirements. At the heart of this case was a common municipal objective: stormwater management. The City of Waynesboro identified a parcel of land [...]
The 2025 Virginia Eminent Domain Conference , this year sub-titled "Furthering the Discussion About What is Working and What Isn't" will again be at the lovely Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Virginia. May 8-9, 2025 Dave Arnold and I will be presenting on two different interesting topics again this year. Dave will be presenting along with [...]
The Court of Appeals of Virginia issued a relatively recent decision in Town of Iron Gate v. Simpson, 82 Va. App. 38 (2024), which is essentially a primer on what not to do as a condemning authority facing an inverse condemnation case. Background of the Case The opinion indicates that Simpson owned property in the [...]