CHRISTIANSBURG -- A long-running land dispute between a Shawsville lawyer and his neighbor has culminated in a $5.35 million lawsuit against Montgomery County and seven people, including the sheriff.

Lawyer B.K. Cruey, representing himself, filed the 29-page suit in Montgomery County Circuit Court, claiming that his neighbor, Bruce Nester, has conspired with the others to shut down his law practice and deny him access to his home.

The suit names Bruce Nester and his brother, Roger Nester; Sheriff Tommy Whitt and two of his deputies, R.J. Kirby and D.L. Conner; and two Montgomery County magistrates, Elinor Williams and K.S. Garnand.

Bruce Nester said Friday he thinks Cruey filed the suit against the county employees because "he can't get the sheriff's office to do what he wants them to do anymore."

Cruey couldn't be reached for comment Friday.

Cruey has sworn out at least 16 warrants against Bruce Nester since 2000, according to online court records. Nester was found guilty of trespassing once; in all the other cases he was found not guilty or the charges were dismissed.

According to Cruey's lawsuit, the road that leads to his home off Ironto Road in Elliston has been in place for 100 years and is the only access to the property he leases from Scott and Pam Easter.

In 1999, a judge ruled that the road was owned by the Easters' predecessors at the property and that the Nesters had abandoned the road by failing to share in its upkeep, according to the lawsuit. Since then, the Nesters have refused to contribute to the maintenance of the road and a bridge that crosses the Roanoke River, the lawsuit says.

Bruce Nester said he would have contested the abandonment claim if he had known anything about it. He said part of the road is on his property and connects his home and his farm. He said Cruey built another driveway leading off the first road and left so many materials on the road that Nester wasn't able to use it.

"If you give him an inch, he takes 10 miles," Nester said.

Cruey delivered copies of the 1999 court order, the suit states, to Whitt and to each magistrate in the county.

The magistrates are included in the lawsuit because they issued warrants against him, the deputies because they arrested him and the sheriff because he supported the deputies.

At one point, the lawsuit states, an officer determined that the 1999 court order wasn't enforceable because it hadn't been recorded with the Easters' deed. But, the lawsuit states, the court found again in 2007 that the title to the roadway to the Easter residence had been established.

Cruey claims in the suit that the Nesters have tried to "intimidate, harass, and frighten" him, his family and his friends.

The lawsuit, in part, describes a Nov. 11, 2006, incident in which Cruey was handcuffed so tightly he claims it caused permanent damage to his left wrist.

That day, the lawsuit states, Cruey had workers come to his property to work on his well pump. A backhoe and a trailer were left at the road's bridge. Cruey's lawn mower and other items also were at the bridge.

About 3 p.m., the lawsuit claims, Cruey saw that several vehicles, including Roger Nester's, were lined up at the bridge and Kirby was at his back door. According to the lawsuit, Kirby told Cruey that Bruce Nester owned the bridge and the driveway.

Cruey said in the suit that he told Kirby the order had been entered by a substitute judge from Wytheville. Kirby demanded to see the order. Cruey told him a copy had been posted on a tree near the bridge but had been torn down by trespassers. Another copy was at his office, he told him.

Cruey told Kirby he did not wish to make any further statement.

Kirby placed him under arrest, for which he gave no reason, the suit claims.

Kirby placed handcuffs "as tightly as possible" on Cruey and refused to loosen them, it claims. Cruey was taken before Williams, who issued a warrant for his arrest for blocking the road.

Following an order issued by the magistrate, Kirby gave Cruey a breath-alcohol test. In the suit, Cruey says deputies and passing vehicles were able to see him handcuffed and being tested.

The charges against Cruey were later dropped.

Cruey claims in the suit that he had to wear a brace for several weeks as the nerve damage slowly subsided in his wrist, which had been indented to the bone by the handcuffs. He said he has constant pain in his left hand and wrist.

He claims that the defendants' conspiracy against him has caused his law practice to suffer.

"Due to the numerous times the Nesters have prevented plaintiff from leaving his residence," the suit reads, "appearance in court is no longer assured and plaintiff has been forced to curtail his trial practice."