Fair. Trusted. Reporting in Rappahannock County and across Virginia’s Piedmont.

Donate
Donate

Is Sperryville Volunteer Rescue Squad a public body?

by | Nov 1, 2025

focus on hammer, group of files on judge table covered with dust - concept of pending old cases or work at judicial court.
(Courtesy/Adobe Stock)

Judge to decide if it has to release records

A legal battle is underway in Rappahannock County Circuit Court to determine whether the Sperryville Volunteer Rescue Squad (SVRS) is a publicly-funded organization — and therefore required to provide its records under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (VFOIA).

The case stems from a lawsuit filed in September by local attorney David Konick on behalf of Brian Savage, a member of SVRS.

Konick filed the suit after Savage claimed he was denied information that he requested from SVRS about a 9-1-1 call he responded to at a home in Woodville on Aug. 10, according to court records. 

Savage said he was “physically assaulted” by the patient while trying to provide medical assistance, according to his lawsuit. According to the documents, the patient later alleged that Savage assaulted him, which Savage has denied. 

Savage then requested various records related to the 9-1-1 incident through a VFOIA request, according to court documents, and a formal response was returned by attorney Michael T. Brown, representing SVRS. Brown argued the rescue squad is not a public body, does not receive a majority of its funding from public dollars and is therefore not subject to a VFOIA request. The request for documents was denied.

In response, Konick filed subpoenas to three members of SVRS in an effort to get the requested documents. Attorneys representing SVRS filed a motion to quash, or to stop the subpoenas, and wrote that the subpoenas were issued to the members “in their individual capacities,” asking them to produce corporate records. 

One of SRVS’ attorneys Dawn Boyce said in court last Friday that the subpoenas were improper because individuals cannot be compelled to produce organizational or corporate records in their personal capacities.

“There was clearly an intent to circumvent the FOIA process,” SRVS attorney Dawn Boyce said.

Judge James Plowman agreed and granted SVRS’ motion to stop the subpoenas.

“I’m not going to have you subpoena someone in their individual capacity to use their authority to invade the corporate documents,” the judge told Konick. 

The issue of whether SRVS qualifies as a public body under VFOIA is scheduled to be addressed at a hearing on Nov. 21.

Author

  • Ireland Hayes

    Ireland joined Foothills Forum as a full-time reporter in 2023 after graduating from the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication with a degree in journalism and minor in music. As a student, she gained valuable experience in reporter and editor positions at The Red & Black, an award-winning student newspaper, and contributed to Grady Newsource and the Athens Banner-Herald. She spent three years as an editorial assistant at Georgia Magazine, UGA’s quarterly alumni publication, and interned with The Bitter Southerner.
    Growing up in a small town in Southeast Georgia, Ireland developed a deep appreciation for rural communities and the unique stories they have to tell. She completed undergraduate research on news deserts, ghost papers and the ways rural communities in Georgia are being forced to adapt to a lack of local news. This research further sparked her interest in a career contributing to the preservation of local and rural news.
Republish License

Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website. AP and Getty images may not be republished. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of any other photos and graphics.

By Ireland Hayes

Read more articles by Ireland Hayes
Ireland joined Foothills Forum as a full-time reporter in 2023 after graduating from the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication with a degree in journalism and minor in music. As a student, she gained valuable experience in reporter and editor positions at The Red & Black, an award-winning student newspaper, and contributed to Grady Newsource and the Athens Banner-Herald. She spent three years as an editorial assistant at Georgia Magazine, UGA’s quarterly alumni publication, and interned with The Bitter Southerner. Growing up in a small town in Southeast Georgia, Ireland developed a deep appreciation for rural communities and the unique stories they have to tell. She completed undergraduate research on news deserts, ghost papers and the ways rural communities in Georgia are being forced to adapt to a lack of local news. This research further sparked her interest in a career contributing to the preservation of local and rural news.