Answer: International Paper Company v. County of Isle of Wight 09/17/2020 In an action under Code § 58.1-3984(A) by a New York-based international paper production company for relief from a county’s tax assessment on machinery and tools in a Virginia factory, the circuit court did not err in sustaining a motion to strike the taxpayer’s claims regarding vested rights, separation of powers, and the county’s alleged lack of statutory authority. However, the circuit court did err in granting a motion to strike two counts of the taxpayer’s application for correction of the machinery and tools tax assessment that on the grounds that a tax increase accompanied by a tax relief program for certain taxpayers, that operated as a partial tax exemption, resulted in an assessment of plaintiff’s property which was non-uniform, invalid, and illegal. The judgment of the circuit court is reversed in part, and the case is remanded to the circuit court for further proceedings in accordance with this opinion.
191194 Hampton v. Meyer 08/27/2020 Misidentification in an initial complaint of the identity of the defendant driver of a large sport utility vehicle that struck plaintiff’s vehicle was a misnomer, rather than a misjoinder, and the filing of a new complaint to correct it after a nonsuit was not barred by the statute of limitations. The judgment of the circuit court dismissing a personal injury action on limitating grounds is reversed and the case is remanded for further proceedings.
190331 Berry v. Fitzhugh 08/20/2020 In a partition action, the circuit court did not err in refusing to award the plaintiff recovery of attorney’s fees against her four defendant siblings under Code § 8.01-92, which only requires an award of fees when they are incurred for services rendered to unrepresented parceners, and the circuit court found as a fact that no services were rendered to the defendants here. Code § 8.01-31 authorizes an accounting in equity against a tenant in common or coparcener for receiving more than a just share or proportion, but a court acting in equity has discretion in the award of costs, and absent a showing that it abused its discretion, the decision will be affirmed. The ruling on non-recovery of costs is also affirmed because the unchallenged finding that two of the siblings provided upkeep for the property provided a separate and independent legal basis for affirming the trial court’s ruling on this issue. The judgment is affirmed.
191723 Baumann v. Virginia State Bar 07/30/2020 In an attorney’s appeal challenging a decision of the Virginia State Bar Disciplinary Board, it is determined that certain challenged provisions of the Virginia attorney disciplinary system are not unconstitutional, and that the Board applied the correct legal standard when it reviewed the District Committee’s decision imposing discipline. Substantial evidence in the record supported the Board’s determination that the attorney violated Rules 1.2, 1.4, and 1.5 of the Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct, and the decision is affirmed.
191159 Wal-Mart Stores East, LP v. State Corporation Commission 07/09/2020 In consolidated appeals challenging the disposition of the State Corporation Commission denying petitions filed pursuant to Code § 56-577(A)(4) seeking permission to combine the electric-energy demand of separate business locations to qualify to buy electricity from sources other than the incumbent public utilities, the Commission exercised its delegated discretion in a manner consistent with its statutory authority, and its order denying the petitions is affirmed. The statute provides the Commission with discretion to grant or deny such requests, and the contentions that it erred as a matter of law or acted arbitrarily and capriciously in denying the petitions, or in denying a motion for reconsideration, are rejected. Combined case with Record No. 191160