Jury Awards BLG Client $1.5 Million, finds Mother & Daughter were Maliciously Prosecuted, Defamed, and Harassed by Neighbors
A Virginia jury awarded almost $1.5 million in damages to Bosson Legal Group’s clients, a Loudoun mother and daughter, after finding a neighboring couple’s campaign of harassment violated Virginia law. Following closing arguments by Bosson Legal Group trial attorneys Timothy Bosson and Arie Jones, the jury found the couple liable for malicious prosecution, defamation, and private nuisance. The jury also awarded punitive damages, ruling the couple’s harassment, which included false criminal charges, swarms of bees, defamatory signs, and surveillance with over 75 cameras, was malicious or in willful and wanton disregard of their neighbors’ rights.
“The jury’s verdict sends an important message...that the community will not tolerate the harassment of neighbors or the abuse of our criminal justice system.”
According to BLG’s lead counsel on the case, Attorney Tim Bosson, the verdict was everything the Plaintiffs were hoping for. “The jury’s verdict sends an important message to Loudoun and Virginia residents, namely, that the community will not tolerate the harassment of neighbors or the abuse of our criminal justice system,” he said.
The mother-daughter Plaintiffs, 24-year residents of Loudoun County’s Luckett’s neighborhood, had a falling out with the couple, Moataz and Shareen Warshanna, in the Summer of 2019. Soon afterwards, what Plaintiffs described as “a living nightmare,” began. According to the Plaintiffs, the Warshannas would spend the next five years and tens of thousands of dollars doing everything in their power to make their neighbors miserable.
It started with filing dozens of frivolous administrative complaints with County and State agencies. These accused Plaintiffs of everything from animal cruelty, to zoning violations, and pollution. Though each complaint was found meritless, the Warshannas sent dozens of letters and emails refiling the claims in an effort to get Plaintiffs fined by the government. When administrative complaints failed the Warshannas turned to weaponize the courts.
In a two-year span, the Warshannas filed four criminal cases against Plaintiffs, wrongfully accusing them of trespassing, assault and battery, and conspiracy to injure business reputation. The couple would call the police to the property over as little as receiving a text message from the Plaintiffs. Though each case was either never prosecuted by the state, or dismissed for lack of evidence, Plaintiffs were forced to spend tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees. Meanwhile, the charges appeared in federal background checks, causing potential employers to pull job offers and threatening a security clearance held by one of the Plaintiffs.
The Warshannas printed their allegations on dozens of custom signs, which they set up at 10-foot intervals on the property line along the Plaintiffs’ driveway, barn, and home. The signs implied Plaintiffs engaged in animal cruelty, bestiality, white supremacy, public nudity, and even terrorism. Plaintiffs were constantly asked to explain the signs, which were visible to anyone who visited Plaintiffs’ property.
While threatening Plaintiffs’ reputations, the Warshannas transformed their property into the next front of their harassment campaign. They installed over 75 cameras to record Plaintiffs’ activities and conversations. Dozens of high-power floodlights were set up shining directly into the Plaintiffs’ house. Worse, the Warshannas set up 20 beehives just 25 feet from the Plaintiffs’ barn. They frequently provoked the bees to swarm whenever the Plaintiffs tended their horses. One of the plaintiffs had to seek extensive counseling and mental health treatment due to the constant anxiety caused by the harassment
Unwilling to engage in tit-for-tat retaliation, Plaintiffs turned to the courts for relief and filed a civil suit against the Warshannas in 2022. The jury verdict concludes a 2-year long legal battle. Meanwhile, the Plaintiffs have spent the last five years in constant fear of harassment and unable to enjoy their longtime-home.
The six-day jury trial saw testimony from numerous witnesses, including an attorney fee expert, a healthcare provider, and Plaintiffs’ veterinarian. The defense defended the case on technical and damages issues, suggesting Plaintiffs were responsible for provoking the Warshannas, who had reasonable grounds for pursuing criminal cases. The jury rejected these claims and found both Moataz and Shareen Warshanna liable for counts of Malicious Prosecution, Defamation per-se, and private nuisance.
In his closing argument, Attorney Bosson requested a verdict of $800,000 for the Plaintiffs. After deliberating for six hours, the jury returned a verdict for $1,491,619.00. The damages award included $283,029.00 in compensatory damages, $208,590.00 in attorney’s fees, and $1,000,000.00 in punitive damages. Virginia caps punitive damages at $350,000.00, meaning the final award will likely be reduced.
Attorneys Timothy Bosson and Arie Jones represented the Plaintiffs.
For more information see Victoria and Melissa Fox v. Moataz and Shareen Warshanna, CL22006084-00, Loudoun County Circuit Court.