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

Summary

The court affirmed dismissal of DeSoto's circuit-court appeal because its initial county-court petitions were filed on behalf of the corporations by a nonlawyer, constituting unauthorized practice of law and rendering the petitions nullities. Because the timely filing deadline had expired before counsel filed amended petitions, neither the county court nor the circuit court acquired jurisdiction, and the jurisdictional defect could be raised at any time. The court also held that its decision applied existing law rather than announcing a new rule requiring prospective-only application. Justice Hart, dissenting, would have held that the county-court tax-equalization proceeding was administrative or public rather than judicial and that the corporation's nonlawyer employee could initiate the appeal.