Causes

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Frank Washington, a trustee for Scott Cemetery, filed the suit against the county government and International Investments for the failure to protect and eventual desecration of Scott Cemetery, a private, historically recognized cemetery in Thoroughfare belonging to the families of freed slaves and indigenous Native Americans.

According to Prince William County's website, "The Thoroughfare community was established after the Civil War by African Americans and mixed-raced families, including Native American descent, from Fauquier, Culpeper, Rappahannock and Warren counties. The farming community here prospered through the 1940s. The community had its own school (North Fork School and church (Oakrum Baptist Church)."

History

The Scott Cemetery consists of parcels of land on the properties located at 16105 and 16109 John Marshall Highway near Haymarket. The two properties are just over two acres of land.

The property’s first owner, James Scott, died in 1970 without a will, and tax payments on the land stopped in 1994, according to the county.

The county started foreclosure proceedings in 2017 and brought the property to auction in 2020, ultimately selling the two parcels of land to International Investments, which owns and operates The Farm Brewery at Broad Run.

Washington’s lawsuit cites state code that prohibits the levy of taxes on cemeteries, arguing the property should never have reached foreclosure and been sold to International Investments.

Washington further alleges that neither he, nor any of the Scott family descendants, received tax bills, notices of delinquencies or notices of a tax lien.

The suit filed by Washington establishes six counts against the defendants:

• Count 1: Violation of Virginia Code 57-27.1 (against International Investments)

• Count 2: Declaratory Judgment Pursuant to Virginia Code 8.01-184

• Count 3: Violation of the Constitution of Virginia (Board and County)

• Count 4: Lack of authority for sale of Scott Cemetery (Board and County)

• Count 5: Gross Negligence (Elijah Johnson, Board and County)

• Count 6: Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress (International Investments)