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ANALYSIS
I. The Circuit Court Properly Sustained Appellees’ Demurrer and Plea in Bar Because
Adams Is Entitled to Neither Declaratory nor Mandamus Relief
A. Standard of Review
“At the demurrer stage, it is not the function of the trial court to decide the merits of the
allegations set forth in a complaint, but only to determine whether the factual allegations pled
and the reasonable inferences drawn therefrom are sufficient to state a cause of action.” Friends
of the Rappahannock v. Caroline Cnty. Bd. of Supervisors, 286 Va. 38, 44 (2013) (quoting
Riverview Farm Assocs. Va. Gen. P’ship v. Bd. of Supervisors of Charles Cnty., 259 Va. 419,
427 (2000)). “To survive a challenge by demurrer, a pleading must be made with ‘sufficient
definiteness to enable the court to find the existence of a legal basis for its judgment.’” Id.
(quoting Eagle Harbor, L.L.C. v. Isle of Wright Cnty., 271 Va. 603, 611 (2006)). “A trial court’s
decision sustaining a demurrer presents a question of law which we review de novo.” Harris v.
Kreutzer, 271 Va. 188, 196 (2006).
“A plea in bar asserts a single issue, which, if proved, creates a bar to a plaintiff’s
recovery.” Massenburg v. City of Petersburg, 298 Va. 212, 216 (2019) (quoting Hawthorne v.
VanMarter, 279 Va. 566, 577 (2010)). Where, as here, “the ‘parties present[ed] evidence on the
plea ore tenus, the circuit court’s factual findings are accorded the weight of a jury finding and
will not be disturbed on appeal unless they are plainly wrong or without evidentiary support.’”
Id. (quoting Hawthorne, 279 Va. at 577).
B. Adams Is Not Entitled to a Declaratory Judgment
In its complaint, Adams sought a declaratory judgment establishing that (1) appellees’
authority was limited to enforcing the zoning ordinance in effect at the time the applications
were submitted; and (2) appellees “exceeded their authority when they withheld certification that Jump to an indexed page (13 of 13)