Inverse Condemnation Complaint - Arkansas

COMPLAINT FOR INVERSE CONDEMNATION — ARKANSAS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Caption
2. Parties, Jurisdiction, and Venue
3. Background Facts
4. Count I — Inverse Condemnation / Taking, Appropriation, or Damage (Ark. Const. art. 2, § 22)
5. Count II — Federal Taking (Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments) (Optional)
6. Damages and Just Compensation
7. Prayer for Relief
8. Demand for Trial by Jury
9. Verification
10. Signature and Service Blocks
11. Certificate of Service
12. Arkansas Practice Notes
13. Sources and References

1. CAPTION

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF [COUNTY NAME] COUNTY, ARKANSAS

[____] DIVISION

NO. [________________________________]

COMPLAINT FOR INVERSE CONDEMNATION

Plaintiff, for its Complaint against Defendant, states:

2. PARTIES, JURISDICTION, AND VENUE

2.1. Plaintiff [PLAINTIFF NAME] ("Plaintiff") is [an individual residing in / a [entity type] organized under the laws of] [COUNTY/STATE] and owns the real property located at [ADDRESS / LEGAL DESCRIPTION] in [COUNTY] County, Arkansas (the "Subject Property"), more particularly described in Exhibit A.

2.2. Defendant [GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY] ("Defendant") is [a state agency / a municipality / a county / an improvement district / a public utility] authorized to exercise the power of eminent domain under Ark. Code Ann. § 18-15-101 et seq.

2.3. This Court has subject-matter jurisdiction under Ark. Const. amend. 80, § 6 (circuit court general jurisdiction) and over the constitutional claim arising under Ark. Const. art. 2, § 22.

2.4. Venue is proper in this County because the Subject Property is located here and a substantial part of the events giving rise to the claim occurred here. See Ark. Code Ann. § 16-60-101; Ark. Code Ann. § 16-60-112 (actions concerning real property).

2.5. Defendant has not initiated a formal condemnation proceeding and has not paid Plaintiff just compensation.

3. BACKGROUND FACTS

3.1. Plaintiff owns the Subject Property in [fee simple / other interest], which prior to the events below had a fair market value of approximately $[AMOUNT] and was used for [USE].

3.2. On or about [__/__/____], in connection with [PUBLIC PROJECT — e.g., highway, drainage system, levee, utility, public works], Defendant intentionally and affirmatively [DESCRIBE GOVERNMENTAL ACTION — e.g., constructed and placed a drainage culvert, raised a roadbed, installed a public improvement].

3.3. Defendant undertook the foregoing action knowing it was substantially certain to result in the taking, appropriation, or damaging of Plaintiff's property.

3.4. As a direct and proximate result, Plaintiff's property has been:

☐ Physically taken or appropriated for public use

☐ Physically damaged by a public improvement

☐ Subjected to recurring flooding or water invasion caused by a permanent public structure

☐ Deprived of access

☐ Other: [________________________________]

3.5. Defendant's actions were undertaken for a public use, namely [PUBLIC PURPOSE].

3.6. Defendant has neither filed a condemnation action nor paid just compensation.

4. COUNT I — INVERSE CONDEMNATION / TAKING, APPROPRIATION, OR DAMAGE (Ark. Const. art. 2, § 22)

4.1. Plaintiff incorporates paragraphs 2.1 through 3.6.

4.2. Ark. Const. art. 2, § 22 provides: "The right of property is before and higher than any constitutional sanction; and private property shall not be taken, appropriated or damaged for public use, without just compensation therefor."

4.3. Defendant, by intentional affirmative governmental action, took, appropriated, or damaged Plaintiff's property for a public use without instituting condemnation proceedings and without payment of just compensation.

4.4. Inverse condemnation is the established remedy in Arkansas when property is taken or damaged for public use without formal condemnation. The elements are: (1) the property was taken or damaged in fact; (2) by a governmental defendant with the power to condemn; (3) without the use of eminent-domain procedures; and (4) the taking resulted from intentional affirmative governmental action for a public use. See Robinson v. Arkansas State Highway Comm'n, 195 Ark. 27, 110 S.W.2d 1075 (1937).

4.5. Article 2, § 22 is self-executing and overrides sovereign and municipal immunity (Ark. Const. art. 5, § 20; Ark. Code Ann. § 21-9-301) for a genuine constitutional taking.

4.6. Plaintiff is entitled to just compensation in an amount to be proven at trial, together with interest from the date of taking.

5. COUNT II — FEDERAL TAKING (FIFTH AND FOURTEENTH AMENDMENTS) (OPTIONAL)

5.1. Plaintiff incorporates paragraphs 2.1 through 4.6.

5.2. The Fifth Amendment, applicable to the States through the Fourteenth Amendment, prohibits the taking of private property for public use without just compensation.

5.3. Defendant's conduct constitutes a [physical taking under Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid, 141 S. Ct. 2063 (2021) / a categorical regulatory taking under Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council, 505 U.S. 1003 (1992) / a partial regulatory taking under Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New York City, 438 U.S. 104 (1978)].

5.4. Under Knick v. Township of Scott, 139 S. Ct. 2162 (2019), Plaintiff may pursue this federal takings claim without first exhausting state remedies.

6. DAMAGES AND JUST COMPENSATION

6.1. As a result of Defendant's taking, appropriation, or damaging, Plaintiff has suffered damages:

6.2. Just compensation is measured by the difference in the fair market value of the property before and after the taking, including damage to the remainder. See Ark. Code Ann. § 18-15-103.

6.3. Plaintiff is entitled to interest on just compensation from the date of taking, [__/__/____], to the date of payment.

6.4. To the extent permitted, Plaintiff seeks recovery of appraisal costs, expert witness fees, and attorney's fees.

7. PRAYER FOR RELIEF

WHEREFORE, Plaintiff respectfully prays that this Court:

1. ☐ Adjudge that Defendant has taken, appropriated, or damaged Plaintiff's property for public use within the meaning of Ark. Const. art. 2, § 22;

2. ☐ Award just compensation in an amount determined by a twelve-person jury, but not less than $[____________];

3. ☐ Award interest from the date of taking, [__/__/____], and post-judgment interest at the legal rate;

4. ☐ Award appraisal costs, expert witness fees, and attorney's fees as permitted by Ark. Code Ann. § 18-15-103 (where the defendant is not an exempt county or city);

5. ☐ Award such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper.

8. DEMAND FOR TRIAL BY JURY

Plaintiff demands a trial by jury on all issues so triable. When trial is required to determine just compensation, the determination must be made by a twelve-person jury. See Ark. Code Ann. § 18-15-103(9); Ark. Const. art. 2, § 7; Ark. R. Civ. P. 38.

9. VERIFICATION

STATE OF ARKANSAS

COUNTY OF [COUNTY]

I, [PLAINTIFF NAME], state under oath that I am the Plaintiff (or authorized representative) in this action, that I have read the foregoing Complaint, and that the facts alleged therein are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief.

[________________________________]

[PLAINTIFF NAME]

Subscribed and sworn to before me this [____] day of [_______________], 20[____].

[________________________________]

Notary Public

(My Commission Expires: [_______________])

10. SIGNATURE AND SERVICE BLOCKS

Date: [__/__/____]

Respectfully submitted,

[LAW FIRM NAME]

By: [________________________________]

[ATTORNEY NAME], Arkansas Bar No. [________]

Counsel for Plaintiff

[STREET ADDRESS]

[CITY, STATE ZIP]

Telephone: [NUMBER]

Email: [EMAIL]

11. CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that on [__/__/____] a copy of the foregoing COMPLAINT FOR INVERSE CONDEMNATION was served on Defendant in accordance with Ark. R. Civ. P. 4 and 5 by [process server / certified mail, return receipt requested / the Court's electronic-filing system], addressed as follows:

[SERVICE LIST — for a state agency, serve as required by Ark. R. Civ. P. 4 and applicable statute; for a municipality, serve the mayor/clerk per Rule 4(f)]

[________________________________]

[ATTORNEY NAME]

12. ARKANSAS PRACTICE NOTES

• Constitutional basis. Ark. Const. art. 2, § 22 protects property from being "taken, appropriated or damaged for public use, without just compensation," and is self-executing. Article 12, § 9 separately addresses corporate/municipal takers. Inverse condemnation is the recognized remedy for an uncompensated taking or damaging.
• Intent / affirmative-action requirement. Arkansas requires an intentional taking by affirmative governmental action. Negligence, trespass, or mere approval of a third party's plans is insufficient. City of Sherwood v. Bearden (Ark. App. 2023). Plead that the government acted affirmatively and knew its action was substantially certain to cause the taking or damage (especially in flooding cases).
• Sovereign / municipal immunity. Although Ark. Const. art. 5, § 20 bars suits against the State and Ark. Code Ann. § 21-9-301 grants tort immunity to municipalities and political subdivisions, the self-executing just-compensation guarantee of art. 2, § 22 overrides immunity for a genuine constitutional taking. Frame the claim as a taking, not a tort. (Note: sovereign-immunity boundaries remain actively litigated in Arkansas; verify current law.)
• Statute of limitations. Arkansas has no single inverse condemnation limitations statute; courts look to the general real-property limitations framework, and accrual is fact-driven — typically the date the permanent taking/damage became apparent, with recurring invasions raising successive-accrual questions. The five-year period for actions on real property/written obligations and the longer adverse-possession-type periods have been referenced; confirm the controlling period and accrual rule for the specific facts. This is an area where Arkansas authority is comparatively thin — analyze carefully.
• Court / venue. File in the Circuit Court of the county where the property lies (Ark. Code Ann. § 16-60-101, § 16-60-112). Formal condemnation procedure is in Ark. Code Ann. § 18-15-101 et seq.
• Attorney's fees and costs. A prevailing landowner may recover appraisal costs, expert fees, and attorney's fees where the award exceeds the condemnor's deposit/offer by 20%, BUT counties and cities are exempt under Ark. Code Ann. § 18-15-103(b)(11). Eligible condemnors include ARDOT, utilities, and improvement districts.
• Jury / valuation. Just compensation, when tried, must be determined by a twelve-person jury (Ark. Code Ann. § 18-15-103(9)); measured by before-and-after fair market value including damage to the remainder.

13. SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• Ark. Const. art. 2, § 22 and art. 12, § 9 — https://arkansasconstitution.com/
• Ark. Code Ann. § 18-15-101 et seq. (eminent domain) — https://law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/title-18/
• Ark. Code Ann. § 18-15-103 (just compensation; twelve-person jury; fees)
• Ark. Code Ann. § 16-60-101 (venue) — https://law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/title-16/subtitle-5/chapter-60/subchapter-1/section-16-60-101/
• Ark. Code Ann. § 21-9-301 (political-subdivision immunity)
• Robinson v. Arkansas State Highway Comm'n, 195 Ark. 27, 110 S.W.2d 1075 (1937)
• City of Sherwood v. Bearden (Ark. App. 2023)
• Knick v. Township of Scott, 139 S. Ct. 2162 (2019)

Disclaimer: This template is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. An attorney licensed in Arkansas must review and customize this document before filing. Laws, citations, and court rules change frequently; verify all authorities before use.