{"id":281,"date":"2013-11-14T04:51:25","date_gmt":"2013-11-14T04:51:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/leehallfarm.com\/?p=281"},"modified":"2014-06-09T00:04:14","modified_gmt":"2014-06-09T05:04:14","slug":"a-suit-better-to-be-dressed-than-be-redressed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leehallfarm.com\/?p=281","title":{"rendered":"A Suit: Better To Be Dressed In One Than Be Redressed In One"},"content":{"rendered":"

Or how many fat ladies does it take to sing that it’s over, before it really, really is over.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Mid-September had John and me believing we were happier than pigs in slop due to the September 10 approval of our variance application by the county\u2019s BZA (Board of Zoning Appeals).\u00a0 Work on Stella was again in full force.\u00a0 Accepting of all the attention being paid her, Stella responded with striking beauty.<\/p>\n

As the hand-cut cedar shake siding began to cover more and more of Stella, we became more and more delighted with having chosen it.\u00a0 Stunning was our favorite description.\u00a0 A drain field is dug and a septic system is installed.\u00a0 Long awaited cement trucks return to Lee-Hall Farm’s driveway and porches are poured. Finally we can get into the house through the front, back, and side entrances – woo hoo!\u00a0 Woo hoo indeed!\u00a0 When the bead board front and back porch ceilings were completed, we felt as tickled as a child finding proof of the tooth fairy\u2019s existence under the pillow the morning after losing that first tooth.<\/p>\n

Our favorite mason returned to lay the brick fa\u00e7ade on the front A-frame.\u00a0 We were reminded how beautiful the Farmington brick was and our 2012 brick was finally getting its showcase resting place.\u00a0 A 2012 brick for a house still not complete in November 2013?\u00a0 The simple explanation is that John and I began to give Stella life in 2012.\u00a0 After our June\u00a0 Revolutionary and Civil War History vacation in Virginia that year, we began looking for suitable house plans and a general contractor.\u00a0 Although it was never intended that Stella would be completed in 2012, work on the house was initially thought to begin later that fall.<\/p>\n

\"Stella<\/a><\/p>\n

In the evening of Wednesday, September 25, 2013 John and I had gone interior doorknob shopping at the request of our builder.\u00a0 We\u2019d gone to dinner first and then shopping.\u00a0 On our way home at approximately 9:20 pm the car starts quacking, quacking because I set a duck\u2019s quack as the builder\u2019s ringtone when all it did in the earliest stages of construction was rain and rain some more.<\/p>\n

John and I were startled that our builder would be calling at such an hour in the night.\u00a0 Our state of startle was justified.\u00a0 Bad news was on the other end of that quacking ringtone.\u00a0 Our builder was calling to inform us that the county Board of Supervisors had had a closed session meeting earlier in the evening and the result was that they had voted 5-2 to repeal the decision made earlier in the month by the BZA.\u00a0 Further, they had voted to instruct the county attorney to file suit against the builder and me and, to issue a restraining order against me, meaning construction on Stella must cease.<\/p>\n

Apparently the fat lady did not sing on September 10, although we could have sworn we heard her sing.<\/em><\/p>\n

Never could we have imagined a scenario like this.\u00a0 It made no sense to us nor would it ever make sense as legally, an explanation was not due us.<\/p>\n

In short order we were back in the attorney\u2019s office planning strategy and trying to guess the order of events within the county\u2019s court system.\u00a0 We quickly learned that the county wastes little time in suing its citizens.\u00a0 Within two weeks I was served and the restraining order was in place.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m as innocent as the driven snow, just ask my Sunday school teacher. Were she still alive today, there’s no doubt she’d tell you!
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Branch<\/a><\/p>\n

Complete, utter innocence does little to deflect despondence and innocence does little to keep one from apprehensively looking over one’s shoulder, curious as to from where the next wrench will be thrown or how much further the county will pursue something so incomprehensible.<\/p>\n

John and I were devastated as was our builder, but for obviously differing reasons.\u00a0 We did share money as a common reason.\u00a0 With determination our builder set forth to contact each member of the Board of Supervisors.\u00a0 He learned that in our being denied due process, the board had not been presented all the facts of our case.<\/p>\n

We also learned that two weeks after voting to deny our variance appeal and sue me, the Board of Supervisors was presented another variance appeal that mirrored our case almost to a T.\u00a0 The board unanimously voted to grant this new appeal brought before them.\u00a0 Needless to say, the decision puzzled us and a feeling of inequity was glaring.<\/p>\n

Additional meetings with the attorney followed.\u00a0 There were an abundance of things we didn\u2019t understand; primarily among them was the absence of due process and inequity.\u00a0 The attorney filed an answer to the suit stating that I denied all items within the suit and that I demanded strictest proof of the claims.\u00a0 In the meantime, our builder continued to reach out to the members of the Board of Supervisors with intent to speak with each one prior to the next scheduled closed session on October 23.<\/p>\n

We also made the decision not to allow the county to proceed with suit against me.\u00a0 If the Board again ruled to stay their September decision, we would withdraw our variance appeal and the case would be dropped.\u00a0 We then would either move the house or alter it to comply with county code.\u00a0 We began brainstorming with the builder and his subcontractors and developed a pleasantly acceptable alteration plan.\u00a0 These decisions were made because we had no more time to give.\u00a0 Were we to lose and continue to fight the case, it was conceivable that the county could pursue this until it reached Virginia’s supreme court, a process that could take another 14 or more months.<\/p>\n

No, could not, would not do that.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, October 23, 2013 the Hanover County Board of Supervisors did a 180-degree turn around and voted 5-2 to drop the suit against me and revoke the restraining order.\u00a0 It was acknowledged that their prior ruling had been made without the privilege of all the facts concerning our appeal.\u00a0 It was acknowledged that the mistake of the builder and the county\u2019s decisions against me inflicted hardship upon me.\u00a0 It was acknowledged that the county had not uncovered the error, but rather the builder had blown the whistle on himself, reporting his error to the county on the first business day after discovery.<\/p>\n

The county attorney recommended to the judge that the case be dismissed with prejudice and the restraining order lifted.\u00a0 The judge accepted the recommendation, dismissed the case and lifted the order.<\/p>\n

\u201cFree at last<\/em>! Free at last<\/em>! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last<\/em>!” \u2013 Thank you, Dr. King<\/p>\n

I pull from Wikipedia and NOLO respectively, to explain \u201cwith predjudice\u201d \u2013<\/p>\n

“Prejudice<\/b> is a legal term with different meanings when used in criminal, civil or common law. In general, an action taken with prejudice<\/i> indicates misconduct on the part of the party who filed the claim and forbids that party from refiling the case, while without prejudice<\/i> often refers to procedural problems where the party may refile.”<\/p>\n

“When a lawsuit is dismissed with prejudice, the court is saying that it has made a final determination on the merits of the case, and that the plaintiff is therefore forbidden from filing another lawsuit based on the same grounds.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Construction is now underway after having endured two stop orders.\u00a0 The work taking place is bringing joy to our hearts once more.\u00a0 We have no idea when we\u2019ll move in, but it is beginning to look like it will actually happen rather than remain a dream.\u00a0 We now have real interior walls and doors!\u00a0 Real ones!<\/em><\/p>\n

S-t-e-l-l-a!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Breakfast<\/a>

Breakfast nook as seen from the dining room<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Reminder – picture links can be found on the right side of the page.\u00a0 Newest pictures can be viewed by clicking the link “Beginning Again.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Or how many fat ladies does it take to sing that it’s over, before it really, really is over. Mid-September had John and me believing we were happier than pigs in slop due to the September 10 approval of our … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/leehallfarm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/leehallfarm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/leehallfarm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leehallfarm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leehallfarm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=281"}],"version-history":[{"count":38,"href":"https:\/\/leehallfarm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":819,"href":"https:\/\/leehallfarm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281\/revisions\/819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/leehallfarm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leehallfarm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leehallfarm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}