Pinnacle Bank Responds to Legal Complaint from Homebuilder

Pinnacle Bank of Rogers recently filed a counterclaim in Washington County Circuit Court in its quarrel with Fort Smith-based homebuilder Rouse Walker Properties Inc.

The legal action surrounds an undeveloped, 34-acre subdivision just north of Farmington called Windsor.

In its original complaint, RWP, which does business as Cobblestone Homes, contends it executed a contract on June 9 to buy the property for $635,000. RWP’s complaint states that the deal was set to close in September, but on Dec. 9 the bank said it was backing out of the deal, with plans instead to sell the land to a third party.

In its counterclaim, filed Feb. 19, Pinnacle Bank argues that it moved on to another buyer after RWP failed to meet several requirements before the deal closed, including having a preliminary plat approved by the city.

But as part of its lawsuit, RWP filed a lis pendens on the property, a filing that  notifies potential buyers of an ongoing legal controversy over its rightful ownership. In Pinnacle Bank’s counterclaim, it says its new deal with the third-party buyer was set to close Feb. 29, but no title company would approve a sale unless the lis pendens gets cleaned up.

Pinnacle is seeking unspecified punitive damages and a court order voiding the lis pendens.

On Feb. 29, Benton County Circuit Judge Xollie Duncan ordered the RWP complaint transferred to Washington County, and once there, Washington County Circuit Judge John Threet consolidated the two complaints into one.

Fayetteville attorneys Dale Brown (Pinnacle Bank) and Curtis Hogue (RWP) are leading the litigation.