Bank Ozk v. Robert L. Tanner, as Trustee of the Robert L. Tanner Revocable Trust Dated August 19, 1994

── Bank Ozk v. Robert L. Tanner, as Trustee of the Robert L. Tanner Revocable Trust Dated August 19, 1994 ── Court: Court of Appeals of Arkansas Date: May 20, 2026 Category: General Cite as 2026 Ark. App. 339 ARKANSAS COURT OF APPEALS DIVISION IV No. CV-23-814 BANK OZK Opinion Delivered May 20, 2026 APPELLANT APPEAL FROM THE BOONE COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT V. [NO. 05CV-18-214] ROBERT L. TANNER, AS TRUSTEE OF HONORABLE JOHNNIE A. THE ROBER L. TANNER REVOCABLE COPELAND, JUDGE TRUST DATED AUGUST 19, 1994; AND TANNER FAMILY, LLC, ON AFFIRMED BEHALF OF THEMSELVES AND ALL OTHER TAXPAYERS SIMILARLY SITUATED; OZARK MOUNTAIN SOLID WASTE DISTRICT; BOONE COUNTY TAX COLLECTOR AMY JENKINS; ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY; AND LESLIE RUTLEDGE, ARKANSAS ATTORNEY GENERAL APPELLEES WENDY SCHOLTENS WOOD, Judge Boone County taxpayers successfully challenged an $18 charge that was added to their ad valorem tax bills in 2018. The purpose of the $18 charge was to repay bonds issued to the Ozark Mountain Solid Waste District (the “OMSWD”). 1 In this appeal, Bank OZK 1 The OMSWD provided trash-disposal services to Baxter, Boone, Carroll, Marion, Newton, and Searcy Counties, and there were illegal-exaction lawsuits in each of those counties. challenges a garnishment order resulting from the illegal-exaction order entered by the Boone County Circuit Court. We affirm. As explained in Summers v. Bank OZK, 2026 Ark. App. 352, ___ S.W.3d ___, which is also handed down today, Bank OZK filed a complaint in the Pulaski County Circuit Court for the appointment of a receiver over OMSWD in December 2014. A consent order was entered in May 2015 appointing a receiver. In April 2017, the Pulaski County Circuit Court entered an order approving the receiver’s report that recommended OMSWD assess the $18 charge and instructing the receiver to cause the Boone County tax collector to deposit the proceeds from the charge into an account with Bank OZK annually so that Bank OZK could act as a payment agent. Boone County taxpayers filed their illegal-exaction lawsuit in the Boone County Circuit Court on May 18, 2018. During the pendency of the litigation, the Boone County Circuit Court entered an order finding that Bank OZK was a necessary party, and the taxpayers added the bank as a defendant. Bank OZK moved to dismiss, arguing that it was not a necessary party because “complete relief can be granted among the original parties to this litigation.” Bank OZK also argued, “Further, all proper claims related to this determination can be resolved without [Bank OZK], and [Bank OZK’s] absence will not impair this determination nor leave any other party subject to a substantial risk of incurring multiple or inconsistent obligations.” On December 17, 2021, the Boone County Circuit Court granted Bank OZK’s motion to dismiss. 2  In a different order also entered on December 17, the Boone County Circuit Court held that the $18 charge was an illegal exaction. The order stated that “[a]ny payments of the $18.00 collected by the Tax Collector or Boone County Treasurer . . . prior to or subsequent to this Order, if any, should be paid into the Registry of the Boone County Circuit Clerk.” No party appealed this order. At the time, Bank OZK had already filed the motion for interpleader in the Pulaski County Circuit Court receivership action discussed in Summers, and that court had granted the relief. The Boone County taxpayers served a writ of garnishment on Bank OZK on June 10, 2022. The day before, the Pulaski County Circuit Court had entered an order finding that none of the six county courts, including the Boone County Circuit Court, had jurisdiction to determine