I am often asked. “What kind of law do you practice?”  As a long-time local government attorney, most of my practice involves representing and defending litigation against governments, governmental entities, officials and their employees.  That is what I have done for most of my legal career in private practice and as a full-time attorney with Arlington, Culpeper [...]

When a court interprets or a locality applies a statute, the plain meaning controls as a general rule. The Riverside Owner L.L.C. v. City of Richmond case involved the appropriate amount for a tax exemption earned by a developer under Virginia Code § 58.1-3221 and Richmond City Code § 27-83.  These laws provided for a partial exemption [...]

Virginia Local Tax Assessment Appeals: State of the Law 2011 Register for this event May 4, 2011 Noon – 2:00 p.m. Presented by the Virginia Local Government Team of attorneys at Sands Anderson PC. Faculty: Mark Flynn, Director of Legal Services, Virginia Municipal League Andrew R. McRoberts, Local Government Attorney, Sands Anderson PC FREE SESSION [...]

The Virginia General Assembly adjourned on Sunday, and during its 2011 session, considered, amended, killed and/or adopted thousands of pieces of legislation, plus the Virginia budget.  During the session, the state legislature adopted some important changes in the law affecting local governments.  Over the coming weeks, I will be touching on some of the most significant bills.  [...]

Another opinion issued by the Virginia Supreme Court on November 4, 2010, TB Venture LLC v Arlington County involved the proper assessment of a 21-unit condominium development in urban Arlington County, which is a lot different

Quick question: What year is it? 1. The federal government has intervened in failing financial institutions. 2. Real estate prices which had been sky-high are lower than a year or so before. 3. Wall Street faces a bear market. 4. The incumbent party in the White House has just lost the presidential election. Answer: 2009? [...]

The Tale of 248 Erroneous Tax Assessment Cases: Round Four, The Second Appeal and the Supreme Court’s Opinion The stakes had never been higher. On appeal to the Virginia Supreme Court for a second time, the West Creek LLCs were asking for complete reversal of Circuit Court Judge Sanner’s comprehensive ruling in favor of the [...]

The Tale of 248 Erroneous Tax Assessment Cases: Round Three, The Second Trial (2004-2006) After having walked away from $34 million in assessment relief on appeal, the 144 West Creek plaintiff LLCs re-filed 159 lawsuits in December 2004. Some were later dismissed for various reasons. One hundred thirty (130) of these cases were later consolidated [...]

The Tale of 248 Erroneous Tax Assessment Cases: Rounds One and Two, The First Trial and Appeal (2001-2004) As County Attorney in Goochland County from 2001 to 2009, I was counsel in 248 erroneous assessment cases, resulting in two multi-day trials and two appeals to the Virginia Supreme Court, resulting in one incredible opinion issued [...]