Payne v. City of Charlottesville

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Payne v. City of Charlottesville is a 2017 civil lawsuit in the Charlottesville Circuit Court that challenged the planned removal of Confederate monuments in Charlottesville, Virginia. The plaintiffs, including the Monument Fund Inc., the Sons of Confederate Veterans, and descendants of the statue’s donor and sculptor, filed the complaint on March 20, 2017. They sought a temporary injunction to stop the removal, arguing the Charlottesville City Council’s decision violated Virginia’s law meant to protect Civil War monuments and the terms of McIntire’s gift of the statue and Lee Park.

Background and timeline:
- In March 2016, Charlottesville Vice Mayor Wes Bellamy urged removing the Robert E. Lee statue and renaming Lee Park, saying the statue disrespected parts of the community.
- A Blue Ribbon Commission on Race, Monuments and Public Spaces studied the issue and, in November 2016, recommended removing Lee to McIntire Park while keeping the Stonewall Jackson statue.
- In February 2017, the City Council voted 3–2 to remove the Lee statue and unanimously to rename Lee Park.

Legal proceedings:
- The plaintiffs filed March 20, 2017, asking for a temporary injunction to block removal. The city argued the state law protecting Civil War monuments did not apply.
- In May 2017, a judge said the statues would not be moved before November 2017 at the earliest.
- In April 2017, the City Council again voted 3–2 to remove the Lee statue completely from Charlottesville and to sell it.
- On May 2, 2017, Judge Richard Moore issued a six‑month temporary injunction blocking the removal of the Lee statue.
- Sometime between July 7–8, 2017, the Lee statue was vandalized with red paint; the pedestal had previously been spray‑painted with “Black Lives Matter” in June 2016.
- On August 20, 2017, the City Council unanimously voted to shroud both the Lee and Jackson statues in black, directing the city manager to take steps to facilitate eventual removal of the Jackson statue. The shrouds were placed August 23, 2017.
- The shrouds were removed in February 2018 by order of a judge.

Later developments:
- In June 2018, the court ruled that city council members did not have personal legal immunity for certain decisions related to the case.