An Augusta County judge on Wednesday granted a defense motion to continue the construction fraud case of realtor Amy Argenbright until May.
Defense attorney Thomas Weidner IV, who was hired by Argenbright in December, told Judge Shannon Sherrill that he continues to review large amounts of discovery in the case. He told the judge the material represents the most discovery he has had to review.
“There are two boxes of material to evaluate and respond to,’’ Weidner said.
Assistant Augusta County Commonwealth’s Attorney Caleb Kramer did not object to Weidner’s request.
Following the hearing, Weidner said he does not believe the case is criminal, and in his opinion, it should be handled as a civil breach of contract matter. He also said he does not think his client breached a contract.
Virginia law is specific on what is needed to prove breach of contract. Under Virginia code, a breach of contract happens when a party fails to perform a contractual obligation without legal excuse, repudiates the contract or exceeds authorized use terms. Civil damages may be awarded.
Argenbright was originally charged in July with one count of felony construction fraud tied to her company, A&Co 2002 LLC. The indictment alleges she was paid $366,000 for the construction of an Augusta County single-family residence she failed to build.
Two more felony construction fraud charges against Argenbright were brought by grand jury indictment in November for failing to perform work her company was paid to do.
A status hearing on the case is set for May 19 at 9 a.m. in Augusta County Circuit Court.
Weidner said the legal options at that time include a plea, a bench trial before a judge or a jury trial.
Should a trial take place, another consideration is whether to separate the cases or try all three charges together.
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