Overview
Bryan is a Pender and Coward shareholder and focuses his practice in the areas of maritime and riparian law, eminent domain/right of way law, and worker’s compensation. A prolific author, Bryan has written articles on Virginia aquaculture and maritime law, including the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act, the Virginia Primary Sand Dune and Beaches Act, and the Virginia Tidal Wetlands Act. He has been published in a number of professional journals on a variety of topics, ranging from Virginia real property law to the Anti-Terrorism Act.
Bryan is a member of the firm's waterfront law practice group and writes blog articles devoted to waterfront (riparian) property rights law, maritime and admiralty law, and environmental law found on our law firm's blog and a blog focused specifically on waterfront law.
Before joining the firm in 2018, Bryan retired from the U.S. Navy after 22 years of service as a pilot. He completed seven combat deployments and served as the Commanding Officer of a helicopter squadron. His last assignment was Lead Rotational Planner for the Joint Staff, where he provided strategic advice to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the Secretary of Defense.
- Kooiman v. Ornoff, 2024 Va. App. LEXIS 42 (2024)(cert. denied by Supreme Court of Virginia): Successfully represented a homeowner seeking to enforce restrictive covenants against a neighbor who was operating an Air B&B in a finished basement. We received a favorable verdict in the Circuit Court for Isle of Wight County, which issued an injunction preventing the defendants from using the lower level of their home as a separate residence. The defendants appealed, and the Court of Appeals of Virginia affirmed the Circuit Court. The defendants then petitioned to the Supreme Court of Virginia, but their petition was denied.
- Pretty Lake 5757 LLC v. City of Norfolk., 2024 Va. Cir. LEXIS 186 (Va. Cir. 2024): We represented private landowners in a property dispute with the City of Norfolk. The Court ruled that a “right-of-way” which had been established in the 1930s for the purposes of constructing a road (which was never built) does not empower the City to use private land for any and all purposes. Instead, the “right-of-way” must be used for its intended purpose, or at least for something closely related to the intended purpose. Specifically, the Court found that the “right-of-way” vests the City with authority to use the land for public transit, but not for other purposes such as operating a public park on private property.
- Martin v. Va. Beach Pub. Sch., 2020 Va. App. LEXIS 88 (2020): Represented Virginia Beach City Public Schools in a workers’ compensation case concerning an employee who was injured when a gust of wind blew her into a metal gate. We received a favorable opinion from the Virginia Workers Compensation Commission, and the employee appealed. The Court of Appeals of Virginia affirmed, finding that the injuries were caused by a “act of God” and therefore not compensable under the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act.
- Polozzi v. Va. Beach City Pub. Sch., 2021 Va. App. LEXIS 229 (2021): Represented Virginia Beach City Public Schools in a workers’ compensation case concerning an employee claiming multiple injuries arising from a minor workplace accident. We received a favorable opinion from the Virginia Workers Compensation Commission, and the employee appealed. The Court of Appeals of Virginia affirmed, finding that the employee’s alleged injuries were not causally connected to the workplace accident.
- Wilson v. City of Chesapeake, 2019 Va. App. LEXIS 250 (2019): Represented the City of Chesapeake in a workers’ compensation case concerning an employee claiming that the City had fraudulently underpaid his disability benefits. We received a favorable opinion from the Virginia Workers Compensation Commission, and the employee appealed. The Court of Appeals of Virginia affirmed, finding that the City had not committed fraud or mistake.
- American Bar Association
- James Kent Inn of Court
- Maritime Law Association of the United States
- Virginia Maritime Association
- Phi Alpha Delta
- Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, Environmental Law, 2021-2025, Workers' Compensation Law - Employers, 2022-2025, Litigation - Environmental, 2024 and 2025
- Coastal Virginia's Top Lawyers, Land Use & Environment, 2022-2025
- Virginia Super Lawyers Rising Stars, 2021-2025
- Virginia's Legal Elite, Young Lawyer, 2021, Environmental Law, 2022-2024
- Honorable Richard T. Kellam Professionalism Award
- 12 Ronald L. Fick Book Awards, Regent University School of Law
- Defense Meritorious Service Medal
- Air Medal
- Navy Helicopter Association East Coast Pilot of the Year, 2002
- Navy Commendation Medal, Awarded Five Times
- LEAD 757, Class of 2022
- VMA Maritime Leadership Certification Program, Class of 2023
- Citizens for a Better Eastern Shore
- Lynnhaven River Now, Waterway Cleanup Volunteer
- Elizabeth River Project, Waterway Cleanup Volunteer
Articles
- Restrictive Covenants Prohibiting Short-Term Rentals Upheld by Virginia Court of Appeals - March 2024
- Civil Liability for Property Damage, Death, or Injury Near Waterfront Property - July 2023
- Virginia Law and Regulation Regarding Dam Safety - June 2022
- How Do I Seize Assets after I Win a Civil Lawsuit? - May 2021
- How to Build a Pier in Virginia: Five Things Waterfront Property Owners Need to Know - April 2020
- How do I Recover Money Damages If I’ve Been Injured in An Act of International Terrorism? - September 2019
- What to Do if You Have Been Charged with a Tidal Wetlands Violation - April 2019
- Waterfront Property Owners: Riparian Rights vs. Oyster Aquaculture Companies - June 2018
- Legal Remedies Available to Persons Who Are Injured or Whose Property Is Damaged by 94,000 Gallons of Aviation Fuel Released at Naval Air Station Oceana on May 11, 2017 - May 2017
- Supreme Court of Virginia Shifts Jurisdiction of Some Actions of Unlawful Detainer - April 2017
- Environmental Law: The Supreme Court’s Hawkes Co. Decision May Help Save Your Project When Wetlands are Present - June 2016
- President Nixon as Midwife for the Birth of Enviromental Law - June 2016
- Environmental Law: An Oil Spill Could Cost Your Business - March 2016
- Oil Spills: The Clean Water Act to the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 - February 2016
- Environmental Law and the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act: Where Local Knowledge is a “Must” - October 2015
- How Citizens' Environmental Lawsuits Can Stop Pollution - September 2015
- As Coastal Migration Continues, Waterfront Property Owners Encounter Complicated and Costly Environmental Regulations - September 2015
- Riparian Rights When You Own Land in Contact with the Water: A Mix of Environmental, Admiralty and State Law - June 2013
- Vessel Operations & Environmental Law in the Chesapeake Bay: Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act - June 2012