Petitioner, Thomas D. Coates, proceeding pro se, states as follows:
Petitioner Thomas D. Coates is an adult resident of the City of Virginia Beach, Virginia, and was the defendant in General District Court cases GV25031521-00, GV25031898-00, and GV25037264-00 involving landlord–tenant disputes with Rose Hall Village / Rose Hall Apartments, LLC.
Respondent Rose Hall Apartments, LLC is a landlord entity that filed and prosecuted unlawful detainer proceedings against Petitioner in the Virginia Beach General District Court relating to the premises located at 3416 Warren Place, Apt. 201, Virginia Beach, Virginia 23452.
To the extent necessary to effect the supervisory and ministerial relief requested herein, Petitioner also names as Respondent the Clerk of the Virginia Beach General District Court, in official capacity only, concerning the issuance and processing of writs of possession and eviction described below.
This is a civil action seeking declaratory judgment and injunctive / supervisory relief under the Court’s general equity powers and under Virginia’s declaratory judgment authority, to determine the legal validity of certain writs and orders and to direct their treatment going forward.
Petitioner does not seek an appeal of any General District Court judgment, and does not seek to litigate an unlawful detainer action in this Court. Instead, Petitioner seeks declarations and supervisory directions concerning writs and ministerial actions that are alleged to be void on their face because they preceded any lawful judgment for possession and bypassed statutory protections.
Petitioner does not demand a jury trial and seeks purely equitable and declaratory relief.
The amount in controversy in terms of declaratory and injunctive relief is not a specific sum of money; Petitioner seeks no money judgment in this action. The appropriate case classification is therefore Declaratory Judgment — No Monetary Damages.
Petitioner has no adequate remedy at law for the ultra vires issuance and execution of writs without a judgment, and faces ongoing harm in future proceedings if the legal status of those writs is not clarified.
On October 21, 2025, in case GV25031521-00, the Virginia Beach General District Court entered judgment in favor of Petitioner on possession in an unlawful detainer proceeding brought by Rose Hall Village / Rose Hall Apartments.
Thereafter, Rose Hall Apartments, LLC initiated a new unlawful detainer action against Petitioner, docketed as GV25037264-00, with the first merits hearing set for March 10, 2026.
As of January 13, 2026, no merits hearing had been held in GV25037264-00 and no written judgment for possession had been entered in that case.
On January 12, 2026, Petitioner filed a written motion for continuance of the January 13 setting, supported by serious cardiac and medical issues that limited his ability to appear, and requesting that the matter be continued to the March 10 date.
On January 22–23, 2026, Petitioner filed additional emergency motions and notices in the General District Court, including challenges to the timing and legality of any writs, objections to docket acceleration, and further medical documentation.
Despite the absence of a merits hearing and despite these filings, a court clerk issued a writ of possession and writ of eviction on or about January 13, 2026, purportedly based on a “judgment for possession” that did not exist on the docket at that time.
The General District Court subsequently set or confirmed March 10, 2026 as the hearing date on the unlawful detainer, but the sheriff executed an eviction at Petitioner’s residence on February 4, 2026, physically removing Petitioner before any full merits hearing or meaningful appeal opportunity on GV25037264-00.
As a result, the usual sequence required by the unlawful detainer statutes—judgment for possession, appeal window, and then, if appropriate, writ issuance and execution—was inverted: Petitioner was evicted first, and the first full merits hearing on the unlawful detainer is still noticed for March 10, 2026.
A fuller description of the January 12–February 4, 2026 events and the judgment–writ–eviction sequence is set forth in Exhibit A — Declaration and Timeline Regarding Judgment–Writ–Eviction Sequence, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Under Virginia’s unlawful detainer scheme, a writ of possession or eviction may issue only after a judgment for possession has been entered and subject to the statutory appeal period and protections built into Virginia Code § 8.01-126 et seq.; writs issued in the absence of a qualifying judgment, or before a hearing, are void or voidable.
Issuing writs of possession and eviction on or about January 13, 2026, before any merits hearing in GV25037264-00 and without a valid judgment for possession, exceeded the lawful authority of the court’s ministerial officers and deprived Petitioner of the process contemplated by the statutes and by due process.
Executing an eviction at Petitioner’s residence on February 4, 2026, based on such writs, further entrenched this defect by removing Petitioner from his home before the scheduled March 10, 2026 merits hearing and before he had any realistic opportunity to litigate the unlawful detainer or pursue effective appeal remedies.
The question whether these writs and the resulting eviction were legally valid is separate from any dispute over rent amounts or landlord–tenant money issues; it concerns the face of the writs, the timing of their issuance, and compliance with statutory preconditions for dispossessing a tenant.
Petitioner therefore seeks declaratory judgment and narrowly tailored supervisory / injunctive relief to clarify that such writs are void on their face and to direct how they may be treated in future proceedings involving Petitioner.
WHEREFORE, Petitioner respectfully requests that this Court:
Respectfully submitted,
Thomas D. Coates
Petitioner Pro Se
3416 Warren Place, Apt. 201
Virginia Beach, VA 23452
Phone: 757-374-3539
Email: tdcoates@gmail.com
Date: February 17, 2026
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that on this 17th day of February, 2026, a true and correct copy of the foregoing Petition for Supervisory and Injunctive Relief and for Declaratory Judgment, together with Exhibit A, was served upon:
Rose Hall Apartments, LLC
c/o Registered Agent
3301 Eamon Ct.
Virginia Beach, VA 23452
and
Clerk of the Virginia Beach General District Court
2425 Nimmo Parkway, Building 10A
Virginia Beach, VA 23456
by [first-class mail / certified mail, return receipt requested / or personal service via sheriff or private process server].
/s/ Thomas D. Coates
Thomas D. Coates
…
I, Thomas D. Coates, hereby declare under penalty of perjury as follows:
1. I am the petitioner in the accompanying Petition for Supervisory and Injunctive Relief and for Declaratory Judgment and the former tenant of 3416 Warren Place, Apt. 201, Virginia Beach, Virginia 23452.
2. This declaration is submitted to provide a concise, chronological summary of the General District Court proceedings and the subsequent writ-and-eviction sequence in case GV25037264-00.
3. The dates and events set forth below are based on my personal knowledge, my filings, and court and sheriff’s records available to me.
4. In GV25031521-00, an earlier unlawful detainer action brought by Rose Hall Village / Rose Hall Apartments, the General District Court entered judgment in my favor on possession on October 21, 2025.
5. Rose Hall Apartments, LLC later filed a new unlawful detainer action against me, docketed as GV25037264-00, again relating to the premises at 3416 Warren Place, Apt. 201.
6. The first merits hearing in GV25037264-00 was scheduled for March 10, 2026, as reflected on the General District Court docket.
7. On January 12, 2026, I filed a written motion in GV25037264-00 requesting a continuance of the January 13 setting due to serious, documented cardiac and medical issues that limited my ability to appear in court.
8. In that motion, I requested that the matter be continued and aligned with the March 10, 2026 date, which the court had already set or noticed for a fuller hearing.
9. As of the morning of January 13, 2026, no merits hearing had taken place in GV25037264-00, and there was no written judgment for possession entered on the docket.
10. Nonetheless, on or about January 13, 2026, a writ of possession and writ of eviction were issued out of the General District Court clerk’s office, referencing a “judgment for possession” that did not, to my knowledge and on the face of the docket, yet exist.
11. On January 22–23, 2026, I filed additional emergency motions, notices, and supporting materials in GV25037264-00, including:
a. Objections to the issuance of any writs of possession or eviction before a lawful judgment for possession and before the scheduled March 10, 2026 merits hearing.
b. Objections to any acceleration or alteration of the docket that would deprive me of a meaningful opportunity to be heard on the unlawful detainer or on any post-judgment remedies and appeal rights.
c. Additional medical documentation and explanation of my cardiac and health issues, which affected my ability to appear and required reasonable accommodations in scheduling.
12. These filings were intended to put the court and clerk on notice that issuing or executing writs before a merits judgment for possession would be inconsistent with the statutory sequence and with due process.
13. Despite the absence of a merits hearing and my January filings, the sheriff executed an eviction at my residence on February 4, 2026, based on the previously issued writ(s) of possession and eviction tied to GV25037264-00.
14. During that eviction, I was physically removed from the premises at 3416 Warren Place, Apt. 201, and my possession was terminated before any full merits hearing on the unlawful detainer and before any meaningful opportunity to seek appellate review.
15. As of the date of that eviction, the March 10, 2026 hearing date remained set or noticed as the first full merits hearing in GV25037264-00.
16. The effect of this sequence was that the writs and eviction preceded, rather than followed, a judgment for possession and the statutory appeal window, inverting the usual order contemplated by Virginia’s unlawful detainer statutes.
17. In summary, the relevant sequence is:
a. October 21, 2025 — Judgment in my favor on possession in GV25031521-00.
b. Filing of new unlawful detainer GV25037264-00 by Rose Hall Apartments, LLC, with a first merits hearing set for March 10, 2026.
c. January 12, 2026 — My motion for continuance and accommodations, requesting alignment with March 10, 2026.
d. January 13, 2026 — Issuance of writ(s) of possession and eviction, despite no merits judgment for possession on the docket.
e. January 22–23, 2026 — My emergency motions and notices objecting to premature writs and docket changes and providing further medical documentation.
f. February 4, 2026 — Sheriff’s execution of eviction at my residence under those writ(s), removing me before the March 10, 2026 merits hearing.
18. The accompanying Petition for Supervisory and Injunctive Relief and for Declaratory Judgment asks the Circuit Court to address the legal validity of the January 13, 2026 writs and the February 4, 2026 eviction in light of this sequence.
19. I make this declaration to assist the Court in understanding the timeline and to provide a clear foundation for the request for declaratory and supervisory relief.
20. I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief.
Executed: February 17, 2026
Thomas D. Coates
Petitioner / Declarant
Formerly of 3416 Warren Place, Apt. 201
Virginia Beach, VA 23452
Phone: 757-374-3539
Email: tdcoates@gmail.com
The following checklist and index are provided to assist the Clerk and the Court in confirming that the initial petition packet is complete and organized.
| Filed | Document | Notes / Description |
|---|---|---|
| Petition for Supervisory and Injunctive Relief and for Declaratory Judgment | Original signed petition (no monetary damages requested), captioned for the Circuit Court for the City of Virginia Beach. | |
| Exhibit A — Declaration and Timeline Regarding Judgment–Writ–Eviction Sequence | Sworn declaration by Petitioner summarizing the sequence of events, including the October 21, 2025 judgment, January 12–13 filings and writs, and February 4, 2026 eviction. | |
| Civil Cover Sheet / Circuit Court Cover Information (if required) | Completed form designating case type as Declaratory Judgment — No Monetary Damages and identifying parties and counsel (pro se Petitioner). | |
| Filing Fee / In Forma Pauperis Application | Payment of the applicable filing fee, or a completed fee waiver / in forma pauperis application with supporting financial information, if applicable. | |
| Proposed Order (Optional at Initiation) | If submitted, a proposed order setting the matter for hearing and/or directing preservation of clerk and sheriff records and writ-processing logs. | |
| Service Information for Respondents | Addresses and preferred method of service for Rose Hall Apartments, LLC and official-capacity respondents (Clerk and Sheriff), to assist with issuance of process. |
| Exhibit | Title | Brief Description |
|---|---|---|
| Exhibit A | Declaration and Timeline Regarding Judgment–Writ–Eviction Sequence | Sworn narrative setting out the October 21, 2025 judgment, the January 12–13, 2026 filings and writ issuance, the late January emergency motions, and the February 4, 2026 eviction. |
| Exhibit B (Reserved) | Certified Docket Sheets and Case Entries | To be supplied as certified copies from the General District Court docket for GV25031521-00, GV25031898-00, and GV25037264-00, including any judgment and writ entries. |
| Exhibit C (Reserved) | Copies of Writ(s) of Possession and/or Eviction | To be supplied as clerk- or sheriff-certified copies of the writs issued on or about January 13, 2026, in GV25037264-00. |
| Exhibit D (Reserved) | Medical Documentation | To be supplied as redacted medical records and physician letters supporting Petitioner’s January 12, 2026 motion for continuance and accommodations. |
| Exhibit E (Reserved) | Sheriff Records and Eviction Log | To be supplied as records from the Sheriff’s Office documenting the February 4, 2026 eviction, including any return on writ and internal scheduling entries. |
The following space may be used by the Clerk’s Office for internal notations regarding fee receipt, service of process, or other administrative actions concerning this filing.
Clerk notes: