John R. Walk

Experience

Land Use Litigation

John regularly handles appeals of zoning and other land use decisions, including defending approvals obtained by the Land Use Team which are appealed by others.  Several of these cases have gone all the way to the Virginia Supreme Court and are now leading precedents on standing, assessment of connection fees, spot zoning and other land use issues.  John was also lead counsel on the Fairfax (“C&I”) litigation involving over 300 suits with 40 law firms opposing the County.  John successfully argued two appeals on behalf of the County.

Tax Assessment Appeals

John also frequently appeals assessments of real estate and taxable equipment.  This practice has included cases involving assessments in excess of $100 million.  In addition, John has successfully defended tax collection proceedings, including a major decision dismissing efforts to collect on behalf of a CDA which resulted in “emergency” legislation by the General Assembly.

Condemnation Litigation

John has represented many landowners in condemnation litigation against VDOT and other condemning authorities and has secured substantial increases over pre-litigation offers. He is also one of the few attorneys to defeat a condemnation for lack of public purpose in a case cited to the U.S. Supreme Court in Kelo as the leading authority in Virginia on point.

Environmental Matters

John has handled a variety of cases involving environmentally sensitive materials. In one case, a local government attempted to block relocation of a transformer recycling business due to its handling of small levels of PCBs. John was successful in forcing issuance of all necessary permits.

Estates and Trust Litigation  

Another area of concentration in John’s practice is litigation involving estates and trusts, including construction of wills and trusts, estate tax allocation, fiduciary misconduct, and aid and guidance litigation.  He has been involved in litigation regarding the administration of several multimillion dollar estates.  One in particular involved the distribution of an approximately $19 million net estate and resulted in rulings on issues of first impression in Virginia in favor of our clients.

Class Actions

John served as one of the lead attorneys in a major class action resulting in a $25 million settlement and later served as trustee of the settlement fund in disbursing the proceeds of the case to hundreds of class members.  This case was reported in the Wall Street Journal and other major financial publications.

Appellate Litigation

The Virginia Supreme Court hears all civil appeals on a discretionary basis, many seasoned trial attorneys have not argued a single Virginia Supreme Court case.  Rarely does an attorney in private civil practice argue more than one or two in a lifetime. To date, John has handled over 20 appeals before the Virginia Supreme Court*:

Fox Spring Farm LP v. Caroline County Board of Supervisors, Record No. 181276 (Unpublished Opinion, April 16, 2020).

Dominion Resources, Inc. v. Alstom Power, 297 Va. 262; 825 S.E.2d 752 (2019).

Western Refining Yorktown, Inc. v. County of York, Virginia, 804, 793 S.E.2d 777 (2016).

CVAS 2, LLC v. City of Fredericksburg, 289 Va. 100, 766 S.E.2d 912 (2015).

Friends of the Rappahannock, et al. v. Caroline County Board of Supervisors, et al., 286 Va. 38, 743 S.E.2d 132 (2013).

Russell Realty Associates, et al. v. C. Edward Russell, Jr., 283 Va. 797, 724 S.E.2d 690 (2012).

Riverside Healthcare Association, Inc., et al. v. Sarah E. Forbes, Former Trustee of the Sarah E. Forbes Riverside Trust, et al., 281 Va. 522, 709 S.E.2d 156 (2011).

Eagle Harbor, LLC v. Isle of Wight County, 271 Va. 603, 628 S.E.2d 298 (2006).

Cangiano v. LSH Building Co., LLC, 271 Va. 171, 623 S.E.2d 889 (2006).

Chesterfield Meadows Shopping Center Associates, L.P. v. Smith, 264 Va. 350, 568 S.E.2d 676 (2002).

Smith v. Chesterfield Meadows Shopping Center Associates, L.P., 259 Va. 82, 523 S.E.2d 834 (2000).

Board of Zoning Appeals of James City County v. University Square Associates, 246 Va. 290, 435 S.E.2d 385 (1993).

County of Fairfax v. Fleet Indus. Park Ltd. Partnership, 242 Va. 426, 410 S.E.2d 669 (1991).

County of Fairfax v. Southern Iron Works, Inc., 242 Va. 435, 410 S.E.2d 674 (1991).

Barrick v. Board of Supervisors of Mathews County, 239 Va. 628, 391 S.E.2d 318 (1990).

Counts v. Stone Container Corp., 239 Va. 152, 387 S.E.2d 481 (1990).

Fidelity and Guaranty Insurance Underwriters, Inc. v. Allied Realty Co., Ltd., 238 Va. 458, 384 S.E.2d 613 (1989).

J.W. Woolard Mechanical & Plumbing, Inc. v. Jones Development Corp., 235 Va. 333, 367 S.E.2d 501 (1988).

City of Charlottesville v. DeHaan, 228 Va. 578, 323 S.E.2d 131 (1984).

Hening v. Maynard, 227 Va. 113, 313 S.E.2d 379 (1984).

*CASE RESULTS DO NOT GUARANTEE A SIMILAR RESULT IN ANY FUTURE CASE.

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