This morning, June 6, 2024, the Supreme Court of Virginia issued an important decision concerning the construction and modification of restrictive covenants. In Todd J. Westrick et al. v. Dorcon Group, LLC, available...more
Wells v. Beville, Record No. 210469 - Yesterday, in an unpublished order, the Supreme Court of Virginia held that a covenant restricting the sale of property on Smith Mountain Lake was unenforceable due to changed...more
On Friday, June 4, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia modified the “stranger to the deed” rule by holding in Klein v. McCulough, No. 19-0888, 2021 WL 2284071 (W. Va. Jun. 4, 2021) that the “stranger to the deed”...more
In legislative action that will be welcomed by Virginia landlords and their mortgage lenders, the Virginia General Assembly, in its most recent session, amended the Virginia Statute of Conveyances (Va. Code Ann. § 55-2) to...more
Last May, the Virginia Supreme Court issued its’ opinion in Game Place, LLC v. Fredericksburg 35, LLC, which in many ways upset the proverbial apple cart within Virginia’s real estate industry. In the Game Place case, the...more
On February 13, 2019, the Governor signed into law House Bill 2287. This legislation negates the potential adverse consequences of the Virginia Supreme Court’s May 2018 decision in The Game Place, L.L.C. v. Fredericksburg 35,...more
Virginia’s General Assembly recently approved House Bill 2287 amending the Statute of Conveyances to remove the requirement that the conveyance of an estate in land for a term of more than five years must be in the form of a...more
Virginia’s General Assembly recently approved a bill amending the Statute of Conveyances to remove the requirement that the conveyance of an estate in land for a term of more than five years must be in the form of a deed and...more
Tenants (as well as landlords) seeking an early exit from a Virginia lease of more than 5 years have been given an assist by the Virginia Supreme Court in a recent case causing consternation among commercial real property...more
A recent ruling by the Supreme Court of Virginia may invalidate hundreds of leases because they are not under "seal" and therefore do not meet Virginia's "Deed of Lease" requirement. Landlords and tenants should review their...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Supreme Court of Virginia issued a unanimous opinion recently holding a 15-year commercial lease unenforceable since it was not executed with the formalities of a deed as required under Virginia law. ...more