Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Leader in the Law 2010

Recently, I was chosen by Virginia Lawyers Weekly as one of its “Leaders in the Law” for 2010.

 

Explosions and Evacuations

Thursday, October 7, 2010 was a normal, sunny blue-sky day in my firm’s high-rise office building, until it wasn’t. In mid-afternoon, it all started with hearing a loud bang, feeling a jolt through my chair and seeing the power flicker briefly, then no other sign of trouble. My Thursday was back to normal. Or so [...]

 

After Failure But Not Error: County of Albemarle v. Keswick Club (Keswick II)

The second significant local government law opinion from the Virginia Supreme Court in September was County of Albemarle v. Keswick Club, L.P. (Keswick II). This opinion addresses what happens after a finding that an assessor has failed to consider and properly reject alternate valuation methods. After such a “failure,” what is the “next step” a [...]

 

Arogas v. Frederick County BZA: Proffer Amendment After the Public Hearing

The Virginia Supreme Court handed down two significant cases on local government law on September 16, 2010. One was a proffered zoning case. Arogas v. Frederick County BZA deals with a proffer amendment made by the Board of Supervisors at the meeting but after the public hearing, and agreed to in writing by the landowner [...]

 

The Locality Strikes Back: Sanctions (Part 2)

In our September 10 post, we discussed Augusta County’s success in seeking sanctions against a pro se attorney for improper assessment challenge. This post will discuss how Louisa County, with help from Sands Anderson PC‘s Mike Charnoff, successfully obtained sanctions against an environmental group’s lawyer and some of his clients, and reference other successes that [...]

 

Virginia Supreme Court Opinions 9-16-10

The Virginia Supreme Court released two opinions directly impacting local government law today. Discussion of the two cases will follow in subsequent posts. Here is the Virginia Supreme Court’s summary of the case opinions: 091502 Arogas, Inc. v. Frederick County Board of Zoning Appeals 09/16/2010 In a certiorari and declaratory judgment challenge to an action [...]

 

The Locality Strikes Back: Sanctions (Part 1)

Localities infrequently seek sanctions. Why is this? In this author’s opinion, courts have traditionally been reluctant to grant motions for sanctions.

 

Virginia Local Government Law Blog’s First Anniversary

The one-year anniversary of the Sands Anderson Virginia Local Government Law blog came and went on July 24. Anniversaries, like birthdays, are opportunities to look back and celebrate.

 

Filming Day

Today is filming day at Sands Anderson! I spent about an hour being filmed for various video clips that will be used on my firm website page, and on this blog page, www.VaLocalityLaw.com. Other lawyers from various teams are also being filmed.

 

Misnomer: U.S. Supreme Court Holds Proper Defendant’s Knowledge is Key

Sands Anderson is a blogging law firm. If you go to our firm website home page, you will see the eleven blogs (at this time) supported by the lawyers of Sands Anderson PC. Although this is a Virginia local government blog, often the firm’s blogs will discuss a topic of interest to Virginia local government [...]