City of Benton v. Teeter
2017 Ark. 80
| Ark. | 2017Background
- In 2014 the City of Benton filed a condemnation (eminent-domain) action to widen Alcoa Road and obtained an ex parte possession order; it deposited $130,800 into the court registry.
- The Teeters (landowners) disputed compensation; a jury in August 2015 awarded them $300,000.
- After verdict, the Teeters timely moved for assessment of attorney’s fees and expert-witness fees under Ark. Code Ann. § 18-15-307 and related statutes.
- The City argued that the statutory term “costs” did not include expert-witness fees and that the statute did not authorize attorney’s fees.
- The Saline County circuit court awarded the Teeters $11,431.38 in attorney’s fees but denied $7,991.49 in expert-witness fees.
- The City appealed the attorney-fee award; the Teeters cross-appealed the denial of expert fees. The Supreme Court reversed the attorney-fee award and affirmed the denial of expert fees (see companion opinion City of Benton v. Alcoa Storage, 2017 Ark. 78).
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Ark. Code Ann. § 18-15-307 authorizes recovery of attorney’s fees in a condemnation action | Teeters: statute mandates award of fees (attorney’s fees included as part of costs) | City: statute’s "costs" does not encompass attorney’s fees; no statutory authorization for attorney fees | Court: reversed circuit court — attorney’s fees not recoverable under the statute |
| Whether "costs" under § 18-15-307 includes expert-witness fees | Teeters: expert fees are part of recoverable costs under the statute | City: expert fees are not included in statutory "costs" language | Court: affirmed denial — expert-witness fees not recoverable |
| Whether circuit court abused discretion in awarding fees after jury verdict | Teeters: award appropriate under statutory scheme | City: award exceeded statutory authority | Court: agreed with City; reversed attorney-fee award |
| Whether cross-appeal challenging denial of expert fees should succeed | Teeters: denial was erroneous; expert fees should be paid | City: denial correct under statute | Court: cross-appeal denied; affirmed denial of expert fees |
Key Cases Cited
- No officially reported cases with Bluebook citations are relied on in this opinion beyond the companion decision (City of Benton v. Alcoa Storage), which is reported as 2017 Ark. 78 but lacks an official reporter citation in this opinion.