A fence that had been treated as a property boundary since 1967 has been upheld as the dividing line between two Arkansas properties, after a dispute over trees and fencing reached the state Court of Appeals.
asserted
dispute → treat → Appeals
The ruling in Floyd v. Bowlin-Lemon, reported by Justia, Leagle and Case Law Wire, affirmed the Bowlins’ boundary claim, a $12,000 treble-damages award and an order requiring the neighbouring owners to rebuild the fence.
uncertain
ruling → report → fence
The case involved adjoining properties in Crawford County and centred on a fence line that the Bowlin family had treated as its southern boundary for decades.
asserted
family → involve → decades
According to the Arkansas Court of Appeals, Joy Bowlin-Lemon’s family acquired the property in 1967.
uncertain
family → accord → 1967
The family was shown the existing fence lines when it purchased the land and subsequently used those fences as practical boundaries.
asserted
it → show → boundaries
The property was used for livestock, including cattle and horses, while the family also maintained the land up to the fence by brush hogging and cutting hay.
asserted
family → use → hay
That arrangement remained unchallenged for decades.
asserted
arrangement → remain → decades
The dispute emerged after Ty Floyd, Kristy Floyd and Cottage Creations LLC acquired the neighbouring property.
asserted
Floyd → emerge → property
The court record says portions of the longstanding fence were removed beginning in 2017, with the fence eventually torn down.
asserted
fence → say → 2017
Trees in the disputed area were also cut down.
asserted
Trees → dispute → area
The Bowlins eventually filed a lawsuit in 2023, alleging trespass and destruction of their fencing and trees.
asserted
Bowlins → file → fencing
A Crawford County Circuit Court trial followed in October 2024.
asserted
trial → follow → October
The fence became more than just a fence
asserted
fence → become → fence
The central legal question was whether years of treating the fence as the boundary could establish a legally recognised boundary even if the fence did not precisely match the surveyed property line.
uncertain
fence → treat → line
The appeals court said yes.
asserted
court → say → ?
Under Arkansas law, a boundary by acquiescence can arise when neighbouring landowners tacitly accept a particular line as the dividing boundary for a long period.
asserted
landowners → arise → period
The court noted that an express agreement is not required, nor does there need to have been an earlier dispute over the property line.
asserted
agreement → note → line
In this case, the decades of maintenance and use along the fence, combined with the absence of objections from neighbouring owners, provided sufficient evidence for the lower court’s decision.
asserted
decades → combine → decision
The court also noted that the southern fence extended roughly 30 to 40 feet beyond the surveyed property line.
asserted
fence → note → line
Despite that discrepancy, the long-established conduct surrounding the fence supported its recognition as the boundary.
asserted
conduct → establish → boundary
Tree removal resulted in $12,000 damages
The dispute also became costly for the Floyds.
asserted
dispute → result → Floyds
The circuit court determined that the trees removed from the disputed area were worth $4,000.
asserted
trees → determine → area
The Arkansas Court of Appeals upheld that valuation, finding that testimony about the number and type of trees, photographs of the property and evidence of the clearing provided enough support.
asserted
testimony → uphold → support
The court also upheld treble damages, bringing the total award to $12,000.
asserted
court → uphold → 12,000
Arkansas law allows treble damages when someone cuts, destroys or removes trees belonging to another person.
asserted
someone → allow → person
The appeals court found enough evidence to support the finding that the tree removal was intentional or, at minimum, sufficiently reckless or negligent to trigger the statute.
asserted
removal → find → statute
Among the evidence considered was the presence of no-trespassing signs along the fence and Ty Floyd’s admission that he removed trees and portions of the fencing.
asserted
he → consider → fencing
The fence must be rebuilt
asserted
fence → rebuild → ?
The lower court also ordered the Floyds to rebuild fencing along the eastern and southern boundaries.
asserted
court → order → boundaries
The appeals court left that order intact.
asserted
court → leave → order
It noted that Ty Floyd had indicated during the trial that he was willing to rebuild the fence, while his attorney did not object when the Bowlins requested the injunction.
asserted
Bowlins → note → injunction
That meant the Floyds could not later challenge the fence-rebuilding requirement on appeal.
uncertain
Floyds → mean → appeal
There was, however, one issue the appeals court sent back to the circuit court.
asserted
court → be → court
The original judgment did not contain a sufficiently precise legal description of the boundary.
asserted
judgment → contain → boundary
The appeals court therefore remanded the case for the limited purpose of adding a specific description that would allow the established boundary to be identified directly from the judgment.
asserted
boundary → remand → judgment
The decision underscores how decades of conduct can matter in property disputes.
asserted
decades → underscore → disputes
A fence may begin as a practical marker, but when generations of adjoining owners consistently treat it as the dividing line, that conduct can ultimately carry legal weight, even when a later survey points somewhere else.
uncertain
survey → begin → weight
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