Desoto Gathering Company LLC; Desoto Drilling, Appellants v. Angela Hill, Faulkner County Assessor; Faulkner County…

Summary

The court affirmed dismissal of DeSoto's tax appeal because a nonlawyer corporate employee initiated the county-court appeal, which constituted unauthorized practice of law and rendered the petitions a nullity. Because the amended petitions were untimely, neither the county court nor the circuit court had subject-matter jurisdiction, and the jurisdictional defect could be raised at any time. The court also held that its decision interpreted existing law rather than announced a new rule requiring prospective-only application. Justice Hart, dissenting, would have held that the county-court tax-equalization proceeding was administrative and that the circuit court could not dismiss the appeal based on the employee's filing.