diff --git a/docs/releasenotes.html b/docs/releasenotes.html
index 180374ad7..08163f755 100644
--- a/docs/releasenotes.html
+++ b/docs/releasenotes.html
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@
     <td valign="top" align="left" nowrap="true" bgcolor="#EEEEEE">
       <p>Checkstyle 2</p>
       <ul>
+        <li><a href="#release2_4">Release 2.4</a></li>
         <li><a href="#release2_3">Release 2.3</a></li>
         <li><a href="#release2_2">Release 2.2</a></li>
         <li><a href="#release2_1">Release 2.1</a></li>
@@ -36,6 +37,30 @@
     <!--Content-->
     <td width="100%" valign="top" align="left">
 
+      <a name="release2_4"></a>
+      <h2>Release 2.4</h2>
+      <p class="body">
+        New features:
+        <ul>
+          <li class="body"> .</li>
+        </ul>
+      </p>
+
+      <p class="body">
+        Resolved bugs:
+        <ul>
+	  <li class="body">Incorporate a patch from Ronald Hastings (Boeing) to correctly handle C++ style comments being between Javadoc comments and declarations.</li>
+        </ul>
+      </p>
+
+      <p class="body">
+        API changes (only relevant for IDE plugin authors):
+        <ul>
+	  <li class="body">ANY CHANGES....</li>
+        </ul>
+      </p>
+
+
       <a name="release2_3"></a>
       <h2>Release 2.3</h2>
       <p class="body">
diff --git a/src/checkstyle/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/Verifier.java b/src/checkstyle/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/Verifier.java
index 9f9243c1b..db581fe6d 100644
--- a/src/checkstyle/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/Verifier.java
+++ b/src/checkstyle/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/Verifier.java
@@ -49,6 +49,16 @@ class Verifier
     /** compiled regexp to match Javadoc tags that take an argument **/
     private static final RE MATCH_JAVADOC_ARG = createRE(MATCH_JAVADOC_ARG_PAT);
 
+   /**
+    * the pattern to match a single line comment containing only the comment
+    * itself -- no code.
+    **/
+    private static final String MATCH_SINGLELINE_COMMENT_PAT
+      = "^\\s*//.*$";
+   /** compiled regexp to match a single-line comment line **/
+    private static final RE MATCH_SINGLELINE_COMMENT =
+      createRE(MATCH_SINGLELINE_COMMENT_PAT);
+
    /**
     * the pattern to match the first line of a multi-line Javadoc
     * tag that takes an argument. Javadoc with no arguments isn't
@@ -1157,7 +1167,7 @@ class Verifier
         int lineNo = aLineNo - 1;
 
         // skip blank lines
-        while ((lineNo > 0) && lineIsBlank(lineNo)) {
+        while ((lineNo > 0) && (lineIsBlank(lineNo) || lineIsComment(lineNo))) {
             lineNo--;
         }
 
@@ -1175,6 +1185,17 @@ class Verifier
         return "".equals(mLines[aLineNo].trim());
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Checks if the specified line is a single-line comment without code.
+     * @param aLineNo  the line number to check
+     * @return if the specified line consists of only a single line comment
+     *         without code.
+     **/
+    private boolean lineIsComment(int aLineNo)
+    {
+      return MATCH_SINGLELINE_COMMENT.match(mLines[aLineNo]);
+    }
+
     /**
      * Returns the tags in a javadoc comment. Only finds throws, exception,
      * param, return and see tags.
diff --git a/src/tests/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/InputTags.java b/src/tests/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/InputTags.java
index 28640674e..d9aee888a 100644
--- a/src/tests/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/InputTags.java
+++ b/src/tests/com/puppycrawl/tools/checkstyle/InputTags.java
@@ -160,4 +160,16 @@ class InputTags
 
     /** getting code coverage up **/
     static final int serialVersionUID = 666;
+
+    //**********************************************************************/
+    // Method Name: method16
+    /**
+     * handle the case of an elaborate header surrounding javadoc comments
+     *
+     * @param aOne valid parameter content
+     */
+    //**********************************************************************/
+    void method16(int aOne)
+    {
+    }
 }