FRANKLIN COUNTY, Va. – Rocky Mount Mayor Holland Perdue is accused of falsifying a court document in Franklin County Circuit Court. The case stems from a contested will where Perdue, whose day job is an attorney, was representing a widow in a dispute with her late husband’s estate.
The widow, Valerie Venning, was not named as an heir in her late husband Selby Gregorie “Greg” Venning III’s, estate after he died on January 4, 2024. Valorie Venning filed on February 16, 2024, to nullify a prenuptial agreement.
Through Perdue, Valerie Venning also filed a written claim at the courthouse, claiming a share of her late husband’s estate. This claim set up a six-month deadline to August 21, 2024, to submit a follow-up, document to determine the financial amount in this claim against the estate.
This deadline was missed, however, with a follow-up claim being submitted on September 23, over a month past the deadline. The next month, Lindsey Coley, the attorney for Greg Venning’s estate, filed a motion to dismiss the case.
According to Coley, Valerie Venning’s response to the motion was to allege that Perdue had filed the claim on August 20, a day before the deadline. The evidence used for this was a copy of a screenshot showing that date.
Coley also claims Perdue “directly asked” the court clerk to “backdate the filing” of the follow-up claim by a month to August 20. The alleged incorrect date appeared on the court’s online docket but was later corrected to show the apparent actual filing date of September 23.
Valerie Venning has since hired new counsel for the case. Judge William Broadhurst, who approved the counsel change for Valerie, says this does not relieve Perdue of any responsibility or obligation from Coley’s motion for sanctions.
Judge Broadhurst has since dismissed Valerie’s claim due to the missed deadline. Perdue’s legal battle, however, is just beginning
Based on similar cases, offending attorneys have been forced to pay thousands of dollars in legal fees over the falsified statements or documents submitted to court.
10 News placed calls into attorneys on both sides, the Rocky Mount Mayor’s office and Perdue’s attorney, but did not receive a response.