A dispute over a small strip of land in Conway, Arkansas, grew into a decade-long legal battle after a highway project restricted access to the remaining property.
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project → grow → property
The Arkansas Court of Appeals has upheld a jury's $3 million compensation award, rejecting the state's arguments that the verdict was excessive and that evidence about replacement roads should not have been admitted.
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evidence → uphold → roads
A government acquisition involving just 1.62 acres of land has resulted in a multimillion-dollar compensation dispute in Arkansas, highlighting how a small taking can affect the value and potential use of a much larger property.
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taking → involve → property
In a ruling delivered on October 28, 2026, the Arkansas Court of Appeals upheld a $3 million jury verdict awarded to the William Major Lewis Trust after a highway project restricted the property's direct access to Dave Ward Drive in Conway.
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project → deliver → Conway
The decision in Arkansas State Highway Commission v. Lewis, published by Justia, affirmed the trial court's judgment despite the commission's challenge to the award and the evidence considered by the jury.
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decision → publish → jury
The dispute began on August 7, 2015, when the Arkansas State Highway Commission condemned portions of two adjoining tracts belonging to the trust, whose co-trustees are William Lewis and Cody Lewis.
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trustees → begin → trust
The land was acquired for a road project involving the widening of Dave Ward Drive, also known as Highway 286, and the construction of roundabouts near its intersections.
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land → acquire → intersections
The commission initially deposited $417,825 with the court as its estimate of just compensation.
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commission → deposit → compensation
But the trust argued that the impact went beyond the land physically acquired.
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impact → argue → land
By restricting direct, unrestricted frontage access to Dave Ward Drive, the project affected how the remaining property could be accessed and commercially developed.
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property → restrict → Drive
The dispute was about more than the land taken
Before the acquisition, the trust and its tenant had used direct access points along Dave Ward Drive to reach the property.
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trust → take → property
After the project, the owners were left with alternative access routes, including an unimproved road on the eastern side and access through the old Amity Road on the western side of one tract.
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owners → leave → tract
The commission maintained that access to both tracts remained available.
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access → maintain → tracts
The property owners, however, argued that the remaining routes did not provide commercially equivalent access to land fronting a major road.
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routes → argue → road
That distinction became central to the case.
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distinction → become → case
According to the court's account, the trust said it could not develop the land as intended without building replacement roads.
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it → accord → roads
Cody Lewis testified that the City of Conway required the owners to construct a relocated Amity Road and an east-west connector road before they could make commercial use of the property adjoining Dave Ward Drive.
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they → testify → Drive
The trust said it spent approximately $4 million to $4.5 million on the roads and had to use seven acres of its remaining property for their construction.
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it → say → construction
The commission disputed the connection between those expenses and the taking.
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commission → dispute → expenses
It argued that the owners would have needed to undertake road construction to develop the property even if the highway project had not occurred.
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project → argue → property
The commission's appraiser valued the total compensation at $417,825, using comparable property sales without including a separate calculation for damage to the remaining land.
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appraiser → value → land
The trust's appraiser, Diana Thompson, estimated just compensation at approximately $3.8869 million.
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appraiser → estimate → million
Her assessment used comparable sales and, for one tract, an income-capitalisation approach that accounted for lost rental income after the tenant relocated.
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tenant → use → income
Cody Lewis also gave testimony about the property's market value before and after the acquisition.
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Lewis → give → acquisition
He said the loss of access and the need for additional roads reduced its commercial potential.
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loss → say → potential
The case proceeded to a jury trial in June 2024.
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case → proceed → June
The jury awarded the trust $3 million, an amount lower than its appraiser's estimate but substantially higher than the commission's valuation.
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jury → award → valuation
The trial court subsequently awarded interest on the compensation balance, along with attorney's fees, costs and appraiser's fees.
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court → award → fees
The commission appealed, challenging the admission of evidence about road-building costs, the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the verdict and the award of legal expenses.
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commission → appeal → expenses
Why the appeals court upheld the award
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court → uphold → award
The Court of Appeals rejected the commission's arguments.
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Court → reject → arguments
It said evidence about the cost of restoring access can be considered when determining how a partial taking affects the market value of the remaining property.
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taking → say → property
Such costs cannot automatically become the measure of compensation, but they can help a jury assess the difference in value before and after the acquisition.
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jury → become → acquisition
The jury had been instructed that road-restoration costs could be considered only as an aid in determining just compensation, not as the damages figure itself.
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costs → instruct → figure
The appeals court said the $3 million verdict fell within the range of valuations presented at trial and found no basis to overturn it.
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verdict → say → it
The court also upheld the related award of attorney's fees, costs and expenses.
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court → uphold → fees
Under the relevant Arkansas law, such fees may be awarded when a jury's compensation figure exceeds the amount deposited by the commission by more than 20%.
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figure → award → %
The threshold was met in this case.
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threshold → meet → case
The ruling does not mean the trust was awarded the full amount it claimed for road construction.
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it → mean → construction
Rather, the court found that the jury could consider the evidence when assessing the property's loss in value.
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jury → find → value
…and 6 more, not listed.
The Aporia
