On June 9, 2011, the Virginia Supreme Court held that whether equipment within a condemned business is personal property (therefore not valued as part of the take) or a fixture (therefore valued as part of the take) is a question for the condemnation jury, not the trial court.   The holding was the crux of its opinion in [...]

The Virginia Supreme Court issued these new opinions affecting Virginia local government law on June 9, 2011: 100347 Riverside Owner v. City of Richmond 06/09/2011 In a taxpayers’ action for relief from allegedly erroneous assessment of taxes on real property under Code § 58.1-3984, seeking a refund of overpayments, and recovery of attorney’s fees, the [...]

Looks like blight. Or is it? And what can a locality do about it? One of the problem issues for Virginia local governments and their officials and employees across the state is how to deal with blight. Such structures, singular or in groups, can become a large problem to a community.  Often, historic structures fall [...]

Businesses seeking a local government approval (or a denial for someone else’s proposal) may need some guidance. Local governments behave in a way that is different than businesses behave, for legal and political and many other reasons. As an attorney who has practiced local government law most of my career, I have seen approaches to [...]