Fort Smith School District; Greenwood School District; Alma School District; and Van Buren School District…

Summary

The Supreme Court of Arkansas affirmed the denial of Fort Smith’s motion to intervene as of right in Deer/Mt. Judea’s school-funding litigation. The court held that the motion was untimely because Fort Smith waited more than three years while the litigation materially progressed, and Fort Smith failed to justify the delay. The court also concluded that Fort Smith would not be bound by res judicata because the underlying action was an individual lawsuit rather than a class action, but it did not reach the remaining intervention requirements.