Newton H. Ancarrow and Josephine Ancarrow v. City of Richmond, Newton H. Ancarrow and Josephine Ancarrow v. City of Richmond

K. K. HALL, Circuit Judge:

Plaintiffs Newton H. and Josephine An-carrow filed suit in district court against the City of Richmond and various city officials, alleging that the city’s continuing pollution of the James River had rendered their property, developed as a marina, valueless for this particular use — a “taking” in the constitutional sense. Federal jurisdiction was invoked under admiralty law, federal common law, 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the fourteenth amendment. The district court held that a valid claim was stated under the fourteenth amendment, but abstained to allow the Virginia courts…