Alexander Rives
How Judge Rives rules, drawn from 12 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
Judge Rives no longer hears cases. This profile is preserved as a historical record of how they ruled.
How Judge Rives decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In a mineral-lease dispute, Rives treated the owner's acquiescence and the practical difficulty of developing inaccessible coal fields as relevant to the lessee's reasonable performance time.
“Michael has acquiesced in the delay of Nicholas. He would have been unreasonable if he had not.”
Procedural preferences
For civil-rights removal, Rives required concrete facts showing a denial or inability to enforce rights, rather than a generalized fear of prejudice.
“The petition must state ‘the facts; of what?’ manifestly of ‘the denial or inability to enforce;’ not merely of a belief or suspicion of these facts.”
Cautions
In an insurer's restitution suit, Rives required proof of knowing falsity before treating an application answer as fraud.
“To constitute such fraud, the falsity of the answer is not sufficient of itself; it must be combined with the guilty knowledge of its falsity.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“The court is constrained, therefore, in this view of the case, to *957decree tlie nullity of the deed from Moses Lipse, executor, to Glasgow, and tlie cancellation of the same;”
“Decree: That complainant, D. H. Lipse, surviving executor of Moses Lipse, deceased, recover of William A. Glasgow, executor of C. 0. Spears, deceased, the sum of $9,905.32, with interest thereon from the 3d day of March, 1862, and costs, and that unless said debt, interest, and costs be paid within 60 days, the lands in the bill mentioned be sold.”
“doth direct said causes, upon the petition aforesaid, to be docketed in this court for trial;”
“The plaintiff, therefore, must be decreed his debt and costs against Gibboney’s executrix, and the cross-bill must be dismissed with costs.”
“But, in no event can the defendants, Palmer, Stuart & Co. be held responsible;”
“For these reasons, I think, relief should be given to the plaintiffs; but, inasmuch as defendant has not yet had reasonable time, under all the circumstances of this case, to begin the farming of these minerals, he should be allowed the term of two year’s from the first day of this month to elect whether he will execute or abandon his lease; and in the meantime this cause shall be retained on the docket, so that said contract of lease may be rescinded in case of his failure fairly and bona fide, and with adequate capital and force, to commence operations for the raising and sale of these coals.”
“It only remains for me to announce my judgment that the bill must be dismissed with costs, and the injunction against the bankers dissolved, so that they may pay the deposits to the defendant, George W. Harper.”
Rives instructed a grand jury on federal civil-rights protections, nondiscriminatory jury selection, and enforcement of federal criminal law.
“The demurrer, therefore, to the sufficiency of the hill must be sustained, and the bill dismissed.”
“refuses to docket the case, and directs it to be remitted to the circuit court of Pittsylvania.”
“I have been asked for the allowance of homestead out of the proceeds of sale. I refuse it.”
“he applies to me for a restraining order, under the allegation he is entitled to a homestead out of the lands, I feel constrained to grant it.”
“the stay is denied and the parries left to legitimate their further proceedings by making the assignee a party, with his consent and the consent of this court.”
“For these reasons I am of opinion that the petitions of W. W. Kean, discharged 17th September, 1869, of Wm. Bison, discharged 16th September, 1869, of Decatur Jones, discharged 29th November, 1869, and of A. G. Lewis, discharged 28d March, 1870, should be dismissed, at their respective costs.”
Rives addressed whether Virginia's homestead exemption could operate retrospectively in pending bankruptcy cases, but the published text did not state discrete petitioner-by-petitioner decrees.
“For these reasons I declare the perpetuation j of the injunction, and order an account to be ' taken by a master of the profits made by the defendant from his sales under the simulated trademark aforesaid.”
“It is sufficient to justify a refusal of the preliminary injunction asked for.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
The reviewed decisions predate representative electronic case-level dockets. The profile therefore makes no claim about complete caseload mix, case duration, administrative dispositions, or motion timing.
A historical record
Judge Rives no longer hears cases. This profile stays available as a record of how they ruled. If you're preparing for a matter, start from the court's current bench.