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Shareholder

Bryan S. Peeples

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 regularly on the group's website devoted to waterfront (riparian) property rights law, maritime and admiralty law, and environmental law. Please click here to visit the waterfront law team's website.

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 49 (Cir., 2024): Represented private property owners in a land dispute with the City of Norfolk. The City filed a counter-claim on the basis of inverse condemnation.  We filed a demurrer to the counter-claim, and the Circuit Court for the City of Norfolk sustained our demurrer, holding that inverse condemnation cannot be brought by a City against a private citizen.
  • 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, 2022-2024
  • Virginia Super Lawyers Rising Stars, 2021-2024
  • Virginia's Legal Elite, Young Lawyer, 2021, Environmental Law, 2022 and 2023
  • 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
Bryan S. Peeples bpeeples@pendercoward.com Shareholder Pender & Coward, P.C. Phone / Fax: (757) 490-6283 https://www.pendercoward.com/media/1203/peeples-3-9164.jpg?width=350&height=274&rnd=133342424020870000&format=webp&quality=80