2006

Bethel Inv. Co. v. City of Hampton

Supreme Court of Virginia

272 Va. 765, 636 S.E.2d 466

To mitigate the loss of wetlands at one location, the City made a twenty acre parcel into wetlands by the use of dams and berms. Work was started in 1998 and completed by 2001. Bethel owned six lots, which were zoned residential, adjacent to the wetlands. In 2004, Bethel brought suit alleging that the City’s actions had converted over 100 acres into commercially undevelopable wetlands. Bethel’s suit included a claim for inverse condemnation. The City raised a statute of limitations defense, stating that there was a three-year limit on inverse condemnation, and a five-year limit on damage to property. The City asserted that the causes of action accrued more than five years before Bethel filed suit. After a hearing, trial court agreed and dismissed all counts. Supreme Court reversed and remanded. The question of when the City’s action resulted in damage to Bethel’s property was a disputed issue of fact to be resolved by a jury, which Bethel had timely requested. However, the City’s evidence on when the injury occurred was so insufficient, it was not to be relitigated, and the remand was for a jury trial on the issues raised in Bethel’s motion for judgment.

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