VA Supreme Court finds restrictions unenforceable

[Peter Walther]

Here's a VA Supreme Court decision I found interesting and thought some of you might also. It goes to show why I doubt title insurance can ever be eliminated based on a blockchain type software program.

In the case of Wells v. Beville, the Bevilles purchased Lots 1&2 in a s/d.  The property was encumbered by several restriction including two that read:

 Lots 1and 2 shall be considered one lot.

Lot No. 1 herein conveyed shall not be sold unless Lot No. 2 is sold to the same person at the same time.

The Bevilles then sold Lot 2 but not Lot 1 to the Wells.  Sometime later the Belvilles contracted to sell Lot 1 to a third party and the Wells objected and attempted the purchase Lot 1 themselves.  The Belvilles refused to sell to the Wells and this suit followed with the Court finding in part:

The restrictive covenants at issue here, viewed in light of the appellants’ argument, suffer from a fatal flaw. Specifically, while the restrictive covenants expressly require Lot 1 to be sold contemporaneously with Lot 2, the covenants do not contain any reciprocal language requiring Lot 2 to be sold contemporaneously with Lot 1. Under the terms of the restrictive covenants, then, Lot 2 may be sold separately from Lot 1. Thus, the Bevilles did not violate the restrictive covenants when they sold Lot 2 to the appellants.

210469.pdf (vacourts.gov)