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Judge tells Flint Hill court rivals: ‘Communicate’

by | Jun 16, 2026

Close up on the scales of justice on a small bronze statue over a blue background with copy space conceptual of law and order
(Courtesy/Adobe Stock)

After an hour-long hearing, the chief judge of Rappahannock County Circuit Court sent the attorneys involved in a lawsuit over the Flint Hill Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company’s ousted leaders away with a simple directive — talk to each other.

“Communicate. Talk,” Judge Douglas Fleming told the three attorneys.

The Monday hearing centered on a motion filed by attorney David Konick, who represents the former officers and directors of the Flint Hill company, asking the court to implement a decision by the Court of Appeals of Virginia and immediately reinstate his clients.

The appellate court ruled last August that the Rappahannock County Board of Supervisors (BOS) did not have the authority under state law to remove the company’s elected leadership, a decision the Virginia Supreme Court upheld in December.

Konick argued the appellate rulings settled the matter as a question of law and that reinstatement should follow without further proceedings. Attorneys Jeremy Capps, representing the Board of Supervisors, and Richard Bartels, representing the people appointed to replace the ousted leaders, pushed back, arguing that while the ruling was a reversal it did not guarantee reinstatement.

“The law expressly prohibits [reinstatement] and the Court of Appeals has not instructed that,” Bartels said.

The Circuit Court’s prior ruling in favor of the BOS was thrown out, but Fleming declined to go further and order reinstatement of the officers. He said that a different motion would need to be filed and properly argued before he could go further. But first, he said, the attorneys needed to get together, work out what the remaining issues in the case are and come back with a plan.

“Determine what all you think the issues [of the case] should be,” the judge said.

Whether the case goes to trial remains to be seen. Fleming said it would first need a properly-argued motion, with a bench trial possible if that motion doesn’t resolve the matter.

“The case today … it can’t end today by virtue of that [Court of Appeals] opinion,” he said. “I think a judge could make a ruling on this … but it’s premature for the court to say today.”

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.
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By Ireland Hayes

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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.