Richmond, VA _ A group of Monument Avenue residents has refiled their lawsuit to block removal of the Robert E. Lee statue.
Attorney General Mark Herring's office in a statement says "That means they have filed a lawsuit, dropped it, refiled their lawsuit, sought to consolidate it, decided not to consolidate it, opposed consolidation, dropped the suit, and now have refiled their suit again and apparently want to consolidate again. They also appear to want to participate in tomorrow’s 2:45pm hearing before Judge W. Reilly Marchant in the Gregory case."
The suit was filed by former Republican Party of Virginia Chair Patrick McSweeney representing plaintiffs Helen Marie Taylor, Evan Morgan Massey, Janet Heltzel, George D. Hostetler, and John-Lawrence Smith. The Group argues that the area they own property in is a National Historic Landmark District and that they enjoy certain tax incentives. They also argue that removal of the monument will lower their property value. In addition the plaintiffs have adopted the same argument from William C. Gregory, a descendant of two of the people who gave the deed to the land the monument sits on to the state, with the stipulation that the state agree to “faithfully guard and affectionately protect it.”
Richmond Circuit Court Judge W. Reilly Marchant is set to hear Gregory's request for a permanent injunction barring Governor Ralph Northam from removing the statue until all legal challenges are resolved Thursday. Richmond Circuit Judge Bradley Cavedo dismissed Gregory’s case for lack of standing last month, but extended an injunction barring removal of the statue so Gregory could amend his claim. Cavedo later recused himself from the case saying that he was unaware that he, himself, lived in the Monument Avenue National Historic Landmark District.