Carroll County Circuit Judge Scott Jackson on Tuesday ordered Bank OZK, headquartered in Little Rock, to remit more than $400,000 to the registry of the county circuit clerk.

The funds, totaling $433,987.10, were collected from Carroll County taxpayers in 2018 and 2019 through an $18 annual fee imposed by the Ozark Mountain Solid Waste District for each real estate parcel in the county. The fee was intended to repay bondholders who bought more than $12 million in bonds issued by the solid waste district in 2005 to finance the purchase of a now-defunct landfill in Baxter County. Revenue generated through the fee, which had been expected to continue for 30 years or more, also was intended to repay the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality for a portion of the costs of cleaning up the discarded landfill.

Fayetteville attorneys Matt Bishop and Wendy Howerton filed successful class-action lawsuits in each of the six counties where the fee was imposed. Jackson ruled in April 2020 that the $18 fee was actually an illegal tax. That ruling was not appealed and the fee is no longer being collected.

After hearing arguments from Bishop and Bank OZK attorney Lance Miller on Tuesday at the Carroll County Eastern District Courthouse in Berryville, Jackson said the money collected from Carroll County taxpayers should be remitted to the circuit clerk’s registry and ultimately to the taxpayers.

“That money’s held by (Bank OZK),” Jackson said. “It’s traceable. It’s being kept separate, and it has been awarded to the taxpayers of Carroll County.”

Before Jackson’s ruling, Miller acknowledged that Bank OZK has possession of the money. Bank OZK is the trustee for the bondholders.

“The last time I saw it, it was still a check,” he said. “I’m not sure where those monies are, but we didn’t pay it out to the bondholders.”

After the ruling, Bishop said Bank OZK has 30 days to file an appeal.

“I would say we’re not even close to the final step,” Bishop said.