Court Opinion

ID: 9755708
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-28 20:48:09.353326+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:28:10.343087
License: Public Domain

Robert L. Brown, Justice, concurring. I concur in the majority’s result and write only to emphasize certain points. First, the majority states that this court is reviewing the circuit court’s order, but, in truth, we are only reviewing that part of the order, which declares that § 15-4-1704(b)(7) applies to nonprofit business corporations. There is no review of the Arkansas Department of Economic Development’s (ADED’s) denial to the Foundation of a sales-and-use-tax refund, which was the second part of the circuit court’s order. As a second point, we are deciding this issue solely on undisputed facts. The parties filed cross motions for summary judgment, indicating that there were no issues of material fact in dispute. The trial court then said, “[t]he parties agree that there are no genuine issues of material facts in dispute.” Thus, the standard of review cited in the majority opinion for summary judgment relating to genuine issues of material fact is inapplicable. On a related point, the trial court wrote, later in its order, that the ADED did not reject the Foundation’s application based on the fact that it was not a corporate or regional headquarters under § 15 — 4— 1704(b) (7). As a consequence, the court concluded that the ADED is banned from making that argument now. Furthermore, the trial court emphasized that the ADED failed to present any proof to contradict the Foundation’s contention that the Foundation’s building project was a corporate headquarters. Thus, the trial court concluded that the Foundation complied with one category for refund, § 15-4-1704(b) (7), which relates to corporate headquarters. Finally, counsel for the ADED did not dispute at oral argument before this court that the Foundation, as a nonprofit corporation, qualifies for a refund under the plain language of subsection (b)(7). I mention all this to underscore that it is really beyond debate that the Foundation’s project, albeit a nonprofit business, qualifies for a refund under subsection (b)(7). In short, because the Foundation’s project qualifies as a nonprofit corporate headquarters under § 15 — 4—1704(b)(7), and because the project is one class of a “legitimate business enterprise” under § 15-4-1704(a), that decides the matter for me. For these reasons, I concur.