City of Benton, Appellant/cross-Appellee v. Alcoa Road Storage, Inc., Appellee/cross-Appellant

Summary

The court held that the eminent-domain statute requiring a municipality to pay costs occasioned by the assessment does not authorize an award of attorney's fees because Arkansas follows the American rule and the statute does not expressly provide for them. It also held that expert-witness fees incurred to establish just compensation are not taxable costs absent statutory authority. The attorney's-fee award was reversed, and the denial of expert-witness fees was affirmed. Justice Hart, dissenting, would have construed the statute to require payment of both types of fees as part of just compensation.