BAS, LLC v. Tommy Land, in His Official Capacity as Commissioner of State Lands for the State of Arkansas
DueProcess FifthAmendment Takings Privacy JusticiabilityDoctri
Does a state's Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment obligation to pay just compensation waive sovereign immunity when it takes private property?
To collect an unpaid $9,897.88 property tax bill, the Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands foreclosed and auctioned an office building and land owned by BAS worth over $1,500,000. To avoid violating the Fifth Amendment for an unconstitutional taking, the Commissioner was obligated to return the equity to BAS. Tyler v. Hennepin County , 598 U.S. 631 (2023). When the Commissioner did not do so, BAS sued in an Arkansas court for a de facto taking. The Arkansas Supreme Court, however, categorically barred BAS’s federal takings claim because the Commissioner had not waived sovereign immunity under the Arkansas Constitution. The question presented is: Does a state’s Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment obligation to pay just compensation waive sovereign immunity when it takes private property?