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Code of Virginia

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Code of Virginia
Title 8.01. Civil Remedies and Procedure
Chapter 3. Actions
11/10/2024

Article 15.1. Waste.

§ 8.01-178.1. Waste; who is liable.

A. Any tenant of land or any person who has aliened land who commits any waste while he is in possession of such land, unless he has special license to do so, shall be liable for damages.

B. Any tenant in common, joint tenant, or parcener who commits waste, shall be liable to his cotenants, jointly or severally, for damages.

C. Any guardian or conservator who commits waste of the estate of his ward shall be liable to the ward, at the expiration of his guardianship or conservatorship, for damages.

Code 1919, §§ 5506 through 5508; Code 1950, §§ 55-211 through 55-213; 1997, c. 801; 2019, c. 712.

§ 8.01-178.2. Civil action for waste; double damages.

Any person who is injured due to another person's committing waste on his land may recover damages for such waste by initiating a civil action. If a jury finds that the waste was a result of wanton misconduct, judgment shall be for double the amount of damages assessed.

Code 1919, § 5509; Code 1950, § 55-214; 2019, c. 712.

§ 8.01-178.3. Waste for tenant to sell or remove manure from leased premises.

If a tenant at will or for years, without a special license to do so, sells or otherwise removes manure made on such leased premises in the ordinary course of husbandry, consisting of (i) ashes leached or unleached; (ii) collections from the stables, barnyard, or cattle pens or other places on the leased premises; or (iii) composts formed by an admixture of any such manure with the soil or other substances, such removal shall be deemed waste for the purposes of the provisions of this article.

Code 1919, § 5510; Code 1950, § 55-215; 2019, c. 712.

§ 8.01-178.4. Waste committed during pendency of action.

If a defendant who is a tenant in possession of land in an action initiated pursuant to § 8.01-178.2 commits any waste on the land, the court may, on petition of the plaintiff alleging such waste, verified by oath, and after reasonable notice to the tenant, prohibit the tenant from committing further waste on the land during the pendency of the action. Violation of such order by the tenant after he has been served with a copy may be punished as contempt. The order shall not be effective until the plaintiff gives bond with sufficient surety as prescribed by the court, with condition to pay to the tenant, in case the plaintiff does not succeed in recovering or charging the land, such damages as may accrue to the tenant as a consequence of such order. If the plaintiff succeeds in recovering or charging the land, he may recover three times the amount of the damages assessed for such waste.

Code 1919, § 5511; Code 1950, § 55-216; 2019, c. 712.