2011 Annual Report - Virginia Attorney General

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2011 REPORT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB), the Department of Motor Vehicles, the
Commission on the Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program (VASAP), the
Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT), the Virginia Port Authority,
the Virginia Port Authority Board of Commissioners, the Virginia Department of
Aviation, the Virginia Aviation Board, the Motor Vehicle Dealer Board, the Board of
Towing and Recovery Operators, the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority
and the Office of Transportation Public-Private Partnerships for the Commonwealth
of Virginia. The Section also advises and acts as counsel to the Secretary of
Transportation.
The Section attorneys serve the transportation client agencies and entities in
numerous administrative, regulatory, transactional/contractual and litigation matters.
Those matters include: land use issues; outdoor advertising and highway sign issues
relating to right of way; personnel issues; environmental issues; procurement
disputes; titling and registration of automobiles; licensure and regulation of drivers;
motor fuels tax collection and enforcement; licensure and regulation and discipline of
motor vehicle dealers; administration of motor vehicle dealer franchise laws and
regulation of disputes between franchise dealers and manufacturers; licensure and
regulation of towing and recovery operators; administration of the VASAP program;
transportation legislative reviews; freedom of information requests; conflict of
interest questions; and administrative hearings involving a wide array of issues and
several different transportation agencies and entities.
In 2011, attorneys in the Section appeared in state and federal courts throughout
Virginia, including the Supreme Court of Virginia, to represent and protect the
Commonwealth’s transportation interests in litigation. For example, the Section
defended the Commonwealth in a number of National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) cases brought by individuals and nonprofit interest groups challenging
transportation projects such as the I-81 widening and the I-95/I-395 High Occupancy
Toll Lanes project. The Section also defended the arrest and seizure of a Chinese
container crane manufacturer’s vessel after the Chinese vessel owner refused to post a
letter of undertaking when the vessel struck and damaged both the wharf and new
cranes being delivered to the APM Terminal in Hampton Roads (currently leased by
the Virginia Port Authority). Another significant case involved an inverse
condemnation claim asserted by over 100 landowners in Fairfax County seeking $9
million in damages sustained after a severe rain event in 2006 caused flooding
throughout Northern Virginia and in the District of Columbia. Eminent domain
proceedings included issues related to landowners’ claims for damages from road
projects that had resulted in (i) changes in access to a shopping center and an
apartment complex and (ii) a restaurant chain’s claim for compensation for personal
property in a restaurant when the real property was taken for a road widening project.
In 2011, the Public-Private Transportation Act (PPTA) provided significant,
complex work for the Section. The Secretary of Transportation established a separate
independent Office of Transportation Public-Private Partnerships (OTP3) for the
Commonwealth of Virginia. The Section advised and assisted with the
implementation of OTP3 and also advised this new office with respect to three
significant PPTA projects for which PPTA agreements were negotiated and signed in
2011: (i) to advance the Coalfields Expressway and the Route 58 Corridor
Improvement projects ($124 Million); (ii) to begin a new Portsmouth - Norfolk