A protracted lawsuit involving the heirs of the historic Pike-Fletcher-Terry House, the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts and the city of Little Rock appears to be moving along, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported Sunday.
Sixty years ago this month, sisters Adolphine Fletcher Terry and Mary Fletcher Drennan passed ownership of the Terry House (411 E. 7th St.) to the city with the stipulation that it be used “exclusively for the advancement of the cultural, artistic, or educational interests of the community.”
The city, alongside the Arkansas Arts Center (now the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts), assumed responsibility for upkeep. That responsibility is substantial. The Terry House was built by Confederate general Albert Pike in 1840, making it one of the oldest houses in Pulaski County.
In October 2021, six of the property’s heirs filed a lawsuit alleging that the city, AMFA and the museum’s foundation (though the last entity was dismissed from the suit in May of 2023) had violated the terms of the deed by allowing the mansion and grounds to fall into disrepair. They argued that the Terry House should be returned to the heirs, and that they were also owed the cost of restoration, which could be upwards of $2 million.
The dispute is scheduled for trial before Circuit Judge Cara Connors on Oct. 29 and 30, with a pre-trial hearing on Sept. 12.
While recent summary judgment motions from both sides indicate that the city of Little Rock and the heirs are now in consensus that the property should be returned to the heirs, there is still disagreement about whether the city should pay for restoration of the Terry House.
In a 39-page pleading, the heirs — represented by attorney Richard Mays — argue that the city of Little Rock and AMFA failed to hold up the part of their ownership agreement which required them to “as nearly as possible, keep and maintain the said lands in their present condition, preserving, as far as possible, the trees thereon, and maintaining the home-place thereon in its present general architectural form.”
Conversely, the city of Little Rock — represented by Chief Deputy City Attorney Shawn Overton — claims in a 13-page brief to have “maintained the Terry House in its present general architectural form, and as far as possible has maintained the lands and the trees thereon.” The city also maintains that there “is no remedy contained within the deed that entitles the Plaintiff to monetary damages for the cost of repair to the structure.”
According to the Democrat-Gazette, AMFA “disputes that it should even be a party to the litigation and is asking to be dismissed from the suit.”
On Monday, Mays told the Arkansas Times that the museum has “already submitted one motion to dismiss earlier in the case [and] it was rejected, overruled by the court. They’re trying again. As far as I’m concerned, nothing has changed in the case and there’s no reason why the judge should change the ruling.”
“It’s incredible to me that presumably responsible parties such as the city and the museum should be entrusted with a property that is extremely unique and valuable for a long period of time and completely neglect those obligations of maintenance and then try to get out of it. They’re totally being irresponsible,” Mays said. “They’re grabbing at straws to try to get out of payment for the deteriorating conditions of the property, but I don’t think they’re going to succeed.”