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Booker v. Old Dominion Land Co., 188 Va. 143, 49 S.E.2d 314

Facts

The plaintiffs owned two lots in the Parkview subdivision, which was developed by Old Dominion Land Company in 1937. The deeds for residential lots included restrictions on the types of buildings that could be erected and prohibited commercial use. The plaintiffs argued that significant changes in the surrounding area, including the establishment of a factory and a shopping center, had destroyed the purpose of these restrictions. However, the defendants contended that the restrictions were necessary to preserve the residential nature of the subdivision.

The ground alleged by the plaintiffs as entitling them to a cancellation of the restrictions is a change of conditions ‘so radical as to destroy the essential objective and purposes of the covenants, conditions and restrictions originally contained in the Old Dominion Land Company deeds.’

Issue

Whether the building and use restrictions on the plaintiffs' property in the Parkview subdivision should be canceled due to alleged changes in the neighborhood that rendered the restrictions unnecessary.

The question for decision now is whether the trial court correctly ruled that the evidence presented was not sufficient to warrant the granting of the relief prayed for.

Rule

The court applied the principle that restrictive covenants are enforceable unless there has been a radical change in conditions that destroys the essential purpose of the covenants.

It has been held to the contrary several times by this court and is generally so held.

Analysis

The court examined the evidence presented by the plaintiffs regarding changes in the neighborhood, including increased traffic and the establishment of commercial properties. However, it found that these changes did not fundamentally alter the character of the subdivision or the purpose of the restrictions. The court emphasized that the restrictions were intended to maintain a residential area and that the plaintiffs had purchased their lots with knowledge of these restrictions.

However, when the reasons for their views are examined, it is apparent that they rest upon the fact that the Parkview property, particularly the plaintiffs' property, is now more valuable for commercial uses than for residential purposes; not that the objects and purposes of the restrictions have been practically destroyed, or in fact that there has been any material change in them.

Conclusion

The court affirmed the lower court's decree, denying the plaintiffs' request to cancel the restrictions. It held that the evidence did not support the claim that the essential objectives of the restrictions had been destroyed.

The decree complained of reached the right of the matter and is Affirmed.

Who won?

Old Dominion Land Company prevailed in the case because the court upheld the validity of the building and use restrictions, determining that the changes in the neighborhood did not justify their removal.

The answer of the Old Dominion Land Company asserts, as stated, that the object and purposes of the restrictions were to promote the sale of the property and to preserve it for the stated time, primarily as a residential section.

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