Saturday, March 29, 2003

Second suit claiming beach property fails, sanctions claim imminent

This account describes the dismissal of a second suit by a Virginia Beach land speculator who claimed to own part of the beach in Virginia Beach. In 2000, the circuit court judge dismissed the prior claim, concluding the plaintiff "had perpetrated 'a fraud of grand design' in making his claim." Donald Clark, representing the City, indicated the City would seek to recover $55,000 for its attorneys' fees and costs in defending the second action.

Under Va. Code § 8.01-271.1, every paper filed and every oral motion made in court could be the basis for sanctions if the Court concludes it was not "well grounded in fact and is warranted by existing law or a good faith argument for the extension, modification, or reversal of existing law."

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