Construction company’s legal battle with Christiansburg entering fifth year
A state appeals court dismissed parts of a lawsuit brought by Allegheny Construction against the town of Christiansburg and other defendants — but the case remains active and is now stretching into its fifth year.
Allegheny claims the town owes it more than $700,000 in a breach of contract filed in 2021. The lawsuit involves Allegheny’s work on the Cambria Street intersection and North Franklin Street corridor. The town also hired McCormick Taylor as a design engineer and NXL Construction Services as construction engineer and inspector on the project — and Allegheny sued the town, those firms and some individual town employees as well.
Allegheny decided to sue the numerous defendants after it claimed disputes arose over the quality of project designs and corresponding work delays. The parties conspired to deny Allegheny what it said it was owed due to the project problems, according to its lawsuit.
In December 2025, the Virginia Court of Appeals ruled that three employees, consultants hired by the town, and the town’s project manager could not individually interfere with the contractual duties of the town as a single governmental entity.
“I don’t see it come up often on this scale,” said Teddy Paisley, a lawyer with the law firm Gentry Locke, who also wrote an article for his firm assessing the cases’ legal ramifications. “The legal doctrines that were at play in this case are at play in a lot of construction projects and especially when there’s more than one entity involved.”
On May 26, the Christiansburg Town Council met with legal counsel in a closed session to discuss the ongoing case, which still includes whether the town owes Allegheny the money.
In response, the town has filed a counterclaim and seeks $288,900 in damages for project delays, according to Reid Broughton, who represents the town.
“The town denies Allegheny’s claims and will continue to defend itself,” said Broughton.
Allegheny’s lawyer, Stan Barnhill, did not respond to messages left for comment.
Montgomery County Commonwealth’s Attorney Pettitt retiring, Jensen to run
As Montgomery County Commonwealth’s Attorney Mary Pettitt announced her retirement, her chief deputy, Patrick Jensen, said he will run to succeed her.
A special election is scheduled for Nov. 3.
Pettitt, a Republican, announced on June 1 that she will retire in August after serving since 2012.
“I have every confidence that he is going to be able to continue the good things that the office has done,” said Pettitt of Jensen. “I had to wait until I was elected before I could pick who I wanted as my chief deputy and that was an easy decision, quite honestly. Patrick is very skilled, he’s very smart. He works hard.”
Jensen, who said he will run as a Republican, has worked in the office since 2007. He will serve as interim commonwealth’s attorney starting in August.
“Throughout her tenure here, Mary has hired good prosecutors who make smart decisions and I fully expect that is going to continue after she retires,” said Jensen.
The winner of November’s special election will fill the remainder of Pettit’s term, which ends Dec. 31, 2027.
“I am going to continue prosecuting cases like I have for the last 20 years,” said Jensen. “Victims of crime will have a voice. Law enforcement officers that we partner with here in Montgomery County, we are here to be their partner. I think my office, just as in Mary’s, justice will be administered fairly with consistency and with integrity.”
New River Abortion Access Fund to dissolve by end of June
The New River Abortion Access Fund announced on May 31 that it is ceasing operations.
The nonprofit organization was first established in 2019 and provided $1,356,000 of funding and over $55,000 of practical support to 5,628 abortion seekers across Virginia, Appalachia and the Southeast, according to an update provided on its website.
Board members of the fund considered factors such as internal capacity, sustainability and the broader funding landscape of their organization before making the decision, according to the update.
In a post to its Instagram account, NRAAF encouraged people to support the Blue Ridge Abortion Fund, Richmond Reproductive Freedom Project, HR Repro Justice League, State Line Abortion Access Partners and Roanoke Alliance for Reproductive Rights, identifying them as sister funds.
“While our doors are closing, many incredible sister funds across the state continue to take the work forward,” NRAAF said in the Instagram post. “We hope that you’ll consider directing your time, resources, and support to them, as their work is more critical now than ever before.”
