Opinion ID: 6111432
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Motion to Dismiss-Sovereign Immunity

Text: Under its first point on appeal, AGFC argues that the sovereign immunity of the State and its agencies under article 5, section 20 of the Arkansas Constitution bars the Hesleps' suit. The Arkansas Constitution provides that [t]he State of Arkansas shall never be made defendant in any of her courts. Ark. Const. art. 5, § 20. This court has extended the doctrine of sovereign immunity to include state agencies such as the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission. See Ark. Game & Fish Comm'n v. Eddings , 2011 Ark. 47 , at 4, 378 S.W.3d 694 , 697. Generally, a suit against the State is barred by the sovereign-immunity doctrine if a judgment for the plaintiff will operate to control the action of the State or subject the State to liability. Ark. State Med. Bd. v. Byers , 2017 Ark. 213 , at 3, 521 S.W.3d 459 , 462. There are, however, exceptions to that rule. Id. This court has held that a suit against the agency or officer is not prohibited if the state agency is acting illegally and that a state agency or officer may be enjoined from acting arbitrarily, capriciously, in bad faith, or in a wantonly injurious manner. See id. Regarding our standard of review, this court has stated that we apply the abuse-of-discretion standard of review. Ark. Lottery Comm'n v. Alpha Mktg. , 2013 Ark. 232 , at 6, 428 S.W.3d 415 , 419. On reviewing the denial of the motion to dismiss on sovereign-immunity grounds, we look to the pleadings, treating the facts alleged in the complaint as true and viewing them in the light most favorable to the party who filed the complaint. Id. ; Williams v. McCoy , 2018 Ark. 17 , at 3, 535 S.W.3d 266 , 268. For purposes of a motion to dismiss, we treat only the facts alleged in a complaint as true, but not a party's theories, speculation, or statutory interpretation. Fitzgiven v. Dorey , 2013 Ark. 346 , at 14, 429 S.W.3d 234 , 242. Turning now to the arguments on appeal, AGFC is correct that sovereign immunity would bar any claim for monetary damages. See Travelers Cas. & Sur. Co. of Am. v. Ark. State Highway Comm'n , 353 Ark. 721 , 727, 120 S.W.3d 50 , 53 (2003) (holding that sovereign immunity bars an action which will tap into the State's treasury for payment of damages); Ark. State Police Ret. Sys. v. Sligh , 2017 Ark. 109 , 516 S.W.3d 241 . AGFC points to Count IV of the complaint, which alleges that AGFC had effected a taking without just compensation in violation of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution and article 2, section 22 of the Arkansas Constitution. While Count IV of the complaint does state that AGFC should compensate Plaintiffs accordingly, the prayer for relief does not include a request for monetary damages, and the Hesleps state in their brief that they are not seeking monetary damages. There is simply no support for the argument that AGFC will suffer monetary damages where none have been requested. Accordingly, there is no basis for the State's assertion of sovereign immunity based on the fact that a plaintiff cannot seek monetary damages from the State. Next, AGFC argues that sovereign immunity bars the Hesleps' claims for injunctive relief because they attempt to control its actions by restricting its ability to manage this WMA and others. AGFC attempts to make a distinction between issuing an injunction to stop a pending action of an agency that is ultra vires and issuing an injunction to correct an action that has already occurred. It cites  Arkansas State Game & Fish Comm'n v. Eubank , 256 Ark. 930 , 931, 512 S.W.2d 540 , 541, (1974), in which this court stated that [a] state agency may be enjoined in a suit in equity if it can be shown the pending action of the agency is ultra vires or without the authority of the agency. Eubank concerned a proposed action by AGFC, and we do not read the case to stand for the proposition that only pending ultra vires actions may be the subject of injunctive relief against the State. The Hesleps respond that their request for injunctive relief does not seek to control the legal actions of AGFC. They do not seek to control the manner in which the road is used or maintained and, in fact, expressly recognize AGFC's regulatory authority over its property. Rather, they seek to enjoin only the (allegedly) illegal actions of AGFC in blocking their access to their property and accept reasonable restrictions on their use of the road. This is a continuing deprivation, not a one-time taking or one-time action by the State that was addressed in Eubank. On this record, we reject AGFC's argument that sovereign immunity bars the Hesleps' claims for injunctive relief because they attempt to control its actions. AGFC next argues that sovereign immunity bars the Hesleps' claims for declaratory relief. AGFC argues that declaring an easement over the WMA road and enjoining AGFC from restricting its use would operate to control the actions of the State by divesting AGFC of its fundamental property rights. As noted above, this argument is undercut by the allegations in the complaint. The Hesleps assert that they already have a legal right of access, and a declaration that AGFC exceeded its constitutional authority is not barred by sovereign immunity. Having determined that the Hesleps' claims for injunctive and declaratory relief are not necessarily barred by the doctrine of sovereign immunity, the only issue remaining is whether sufficient facts were pled to support an exception to sovereign immunity in this case. As noted above, this court has held that a suit is not prohibited by sovereign immunity if the state agency is acting illegally or in an ultra vires manner, and that a state agency or officer may be enjoined from acting arbitrarily, capriciously, in bad faith, or in a wantonly injurious manner. Amendment 35 to the Arkansas Constitution vests in AGFC the control, management, restoration, conservation and regulation of the wildlife resources of the State, including WMAs and other AGFC properties used for those purposes. See Ark. Const. amend. 35, § 1. In addressing the authority of AGFC under amendment 35, this court has written that the Commission cannot use its authority to deny the constitutional rights of others. Ark. Game & Fish Comm'n v. Lindsey , 299 Ark. 249 , 251, 771 S.W.2d 769 , 770 (1989). Even accepting as true AGFC's argument that the Hesleps failed to plead sufficient facts to support a finding that the road in question is a county road, we cannot say the same for the alternative claim regarding a prescriptive easement. See Owners Ass'n of Foxcroft Woods, Inc. v. Foxglen Assocs. , 346 Ark. 354 , 363, 57 S.W.3d 187 , 193 (2001) (stating that it is generally required that one asserting an easement by prescription show by a preponderance of the evidence that one's use has been adverse to the true owner and under a claim of right for the statutory period of seven years). In Arkansas Game & Fish Commission v. Eddings , 2011 Ark. 47 , 378 S.W.3d 694 , this court held that AGFC was entitled to sovereign immunity from a property owner's suit to establish a county road across land owned by AGFC. AGFC contends that Eddings is similar enough to the present case that it should control. However, in  Eddings , the issue on appeal was whether the State's sovereign immunity must yield to the constitutional authority of county courts over roads. Unlike in the present case, the plaintiff in Eddings had not pled as part of his petition to establish a road that AGFC was taking his property by withholding access in violation of the constitution. Here, the Hesleps did plead illegality and they do not seek to establish a new easement; rather, they seek to stop the illegal blocking of a long-established easement. The essence of the Hesleps' claims is that AGFC illegally blocked their access to the road that is their only access to their property. If taken as true, as we must at the motion-to-dismiss stage, the complaint alleges that AGFC acted illegally or in an ultra vires manner and is therefore not subject to dismissal under the doctrine of sovereign immunity. Thus, we affirm on this point.