State of Arkansas Retail Compendium of Law
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STATE OF ARKANSAS RETAIL COMPENDIUM OF LAW Prepared by Thomas G. Williams Quattlebaum, Grooms, Tull & Burrow PLLC 111 Center Street Little Rock, AR 72201 Tel: (501) 379-1700 Email: [email protected] www.qgtb.com 2014 USLAW Retail Compendium Of Law TABLE OF CONTENTS THE ARKANSAS JUDICIAL SYSTEM A. Arkansas State Courts 1. Supreme Court 2. Court of Appeals 3. Circuit Courts B. District Courts 1. State District Courts 2. Local District Courts C. Arkansas Federal Courts D. Arkansas State Court Venue Rules 1. Real Property 2. Cause a. Recovery of Fines, Penalties, or Forfeitures b. Actions Against Public Officers c. Actions Upon Official Bonds of Public Officers 3. Government Entities or Officers a. Actions on Behalf of the State b. Actions Involving State Boards, State Commissioners, or State Officers c. Actions Against the State, State Boards, State Commissioners, or State Officers d. Other Actions 4. Actions Against Turnpike Road Companies 5. Contract Actions Against Non-resident Prime Contractors or Subcontractors 6. Actions Against Domestic or Foreign Sureties 7. Medical Injuries 8. All Remaining Civil Actions E. Arkansas Civil Procedure 1. State Court Rules a. No Pre-suit Notice Requirement b. Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure c. Service of Summons 2. Federal Court Rules a. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Local Rules b. Service of Process c. Filing and Serving Documents d. Motion Requirements F. Statute of Limitations and Repose 1. Statute of Limitations a. Action in Contract b. Action in Tort, Personal Injury c. Action in Tort, Wrongful Death d. Actions to Enforce Written Contracts 2 e. Actions to Enforce Unwritten Contracts f. Uniform Contribution Among Joint Tortfeasors Act g. Recovery of Wages or Liquidated Damages Due to Employer’s Discrimination h. Employment Discrimination i. Worker’s Compensation Claim on Account of Death j. Worker’s Compensation Claim for Disability k. Fraud l. Actions Against Sheriffs or Coroners m. Actions on the Official Bonds of Sheriffs or Coroners n. Arkansas State Claims Commission o. Actions for Indemnity Arising from an Agreement p. Actions on Unwritten Obligations or Liabilities q. Production Liability Actions r. Legal Malpractice Actions s. Actions for Taking or Injuring Goods or Chattels t. Actions for Trespass on Land u. Actions for Wrongs Done to the Person or Property of Another v. Improper Acts Preventing Commencement of Actions w. Actions for Medical Injury, Including Wrongful Death x. Actions for Wrongful Death (Excluding Medical Negligence) y. Other Tort Actions 2. Statute of Repose PREMISES LIABILITY AND NEGLIGENCE CLAIMS A. Trespasser 1. Definition of Trespasser 2. Duty Owed by an Owner to a Trespasser B. Licensee 1. Definition of Licensee 2. Duty Owed by an Owner to a Licensee C. Invitee 1. Definition of Invitee 2. Duty Owed by an Owner to an Invitee D. Foreign Substance on Premises Floor E. Open and Obvious Not a Complete Bar F. Landlords NEGLIGENCE A. Comparative Fault / Contributory Negligence B. General Common Law Duty C. Contractual Liability 3 D. Joint and Several Liability E. Vicarious Liability 1. Employer/Employee 2. Independent Contractor 3. Joint Enterprise 4. Qualified Volunteer 5. Parent for Torts of Minor Children a. Destruction of Property b. Signor of Minors Driving Application c. Permitting Minor to Drive F. Assumption of Risk 1. General Rule 2. No Assumption of Risk Where Employer Acted in Contravention of Safety Statute ARKANSAS’S WRONGFUL DEATH STATUTE A. Introduction B. Who May Bring a Wrongful Death Action C. Venue D. Who May Recover E. Damages in a Wrongful Death Action 1. General Rule 2. Punitive Damages 3. Exceptions F. Defenses 1. Statutes of Limitation 2. Comparative Fault 3. Several Liability 4. Increased Share when Compensatory Damages Are Not Reasonably Collectable G. Other Issues 1. Day in the Life Videos 2. Dead Man’s Statute DAMAGES A. Punitive Damages 1. Punitive Damages Generally 2. Standard for Punitive Damages 3. Insurability of Punitive Awards 4. Punitive Damages Caps B. Damages Allowed in Personal Injury Cases 1. Past Medical Bills 2. Future Medical Bills 4 3. Hedonic Damages 4. Increased Risk of Harm 5. Disfigurement 6. Loss of Normal Life 7. Disability 8. Past Pain and Suffering 9. Future Pain and Suffering 10. Loss of Society 11. Loss of Income, Wages, and Earnings 12. Proof of willful and Wanton Conduct 13. Caps on Damages C. Collateral Source Rule D. Last Clear Chance Doctrine E. Mitigation F. Pre- and Post-Judgment Interest 1. Pre-Judgment Interest 2. Post-Judgment Interest 3. Attorneys’ Fees 4. Costs G. Income Tax H. Unique Damages Issues In Arkansas I. Minor Settlements 5 THE ARKANSAS JUDICIAL SYSTEM A. Arkansas State Courts 1. Supreme Court The Arkansas Supreme Court, the State’s highest court of appellate review, is comprised of seven (7) justices. Each justice is elected in a state-wide non- partisan election and serves for a term of eight (8) years. The Court has jurisdiction over all appeals from the Court of Appeals. Additionally, the Court has jurisdiction over any appeal involving the following matters: (i) interpretation or construction of the Constitution of Arkansas; (ii) criminal appeals where the death penalty or life imprisonment has been imposed; (iii) petitions for quo warranto, prohibition, injunction, or mandamus directed to the state, county, or municipal officials or to the circuit courts; (iv) elections and election procedure; (v) the discipline of attorneys-at-law or the power of the Supreme Court to regulate the practice of law; (vi) the discipline and disability of judges; (vii) second or subsequent appeals of appeals that have been decided by the Supreme Court; and (viii) appeals required by law to be heard by the Supreme Court. 2. Court Of Appeals The Arkansas Court of Appeals is comprised of eleven (11) justices and divided into seven (7) judicial districts and four (4) divisions. Each judge is elected in a district-wide non-partisan election and serves for a term of eight (8) years. The jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals is determined by the Supreme Court. Ark. Sup. Ct. R. 1-2. There is no right to appeal the decision of the Court of Appeals to the Supreme Court. 3. Circuit Courts Arkansas Circuit Courts consist of five (5) subject matter divisions: criminal, civil, probate, domestic relations, and juvenile. There are twenty-three (23) judicial circuits served by 121 judges, and a circuit court in each of the State’s 75 counties. Each circuit court judge is elected in a circuit-wide non-partisan election and serves for a term of six (6) years. B. District Courts Arkansas District Courts come in two varieties: State District Courts; and Local District Courts. 1. State District Courts There are 26 State District Courts served by 38 judges elected to four-year terms. State District Courts have territorial jurisdiction over judicial districts established by the Arkansas General Assembly that are either city, county, or district wide; 6 and subject matter jurisdiction over misdemeanors and violations of state law and local ordinances, and preliminary felony cases and civil cases involving contracts, damage and recovery of personal property in matters less than $25,000. 2. Local District Courts There are 58 Local District Courts served by 72 judges elected to four-year terms. Local District Courts have territorial jurisdiction as established by the Arkansas General Assembly (usually county wide); and subject matter jurisdiction over misdemeanors and violations of state law and local ordinances, and preliminary felony cases and civil cases involving contracts, damage and recovery of personal property in matters less than $5,000. C. Arkansas Federal Courts Arkansas is divided into two (2) judicial districts known as the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas. The Eastern District is divided into five (5) divisions: Northern, Eastern, Jonesboro, Western, and Pine Bluff. The Western District is divided into six (6) divisions: El Dorado, Fort Smith, Harrison, Texarkana, Fayetteville, and Hot Springs. There are eleven (11) courts within the State located in Batesville, Helena, Jonesboro, Little Rock, Pine Bluff, El Dorado, Fort Smith, Harrison, Texarkana, Fayetteville, and Hot Springs. D. Arkansas State Court Venue Rules 1. Actions for: a. the recovery of real property, b. the partition of real property, c. the sale of real property under a mortgage, lien, or other encumbrance or charge, and d. an injury to real property must be brought in the county in which the subject of the action, or some part thereof, is situated. Ark. Code Ann. § 16-60-101. 2. Actions for the following causes must be brought in the county where the cause, or some part thereof, arose: a. An action for the recovery of a fine, penalty, or forfeiture imposed by a statute, except that where the offense for which the claim is made was committed on a watercourse or road which is the boundary of two (2) counties, the action may be brought in either of them; 7 b. An action against a public officer for an act done by him or her in virtue or under color of his or her office, or for a neglect of official duty; and c. An action upon the official bond of a public officer, except as provided in §§ 16-106-101 and 16-106-104. See Ark. Code Ann. § 16-60-102. 3. The following actions must be brought in the county in which the seat of government is situated: a. All civil actions in behalf of the state, or which may be brought in the name of the state, or in which the state has or claims an interest, except as provided in § 16-106-101; b. All actions brought by state boards, state commissioners, or state officers in their official capacity, or on behalf of the state, except as provided in § 16-106-101; c.