Category: Arkansas Appellate Court News

Little Rock Attorney Tim Cullen Announces Candidacy for Arkansas Supreme Court

~ Tasha C. Taylor ~ 3 Comments

Little Rock Attorney Tim Cullen

*Andy and I are excited to report that our good friend and mentor, Tim Cullen, has announced his candidacy for Arkansas Supreme Court.  

I have known Tim for the past seven years, more than three of which were spent working with him and learning from him as an Associate Attorney at Cullen & Co., PLLC.  Andy also spent a year working with Tim at his firm.  Tim is an excellent attorney and advocate for his clients, and his years practicing primarily as an appellate attorney give him the experience needed to serve on the Arkansas Supreme Court.

The press release follows.

Little Rock attorney Tim Cullen announced today his bid for the Arkansas Supreme Court to fill the seat being vacated by Justice Donald Corbin.  Cullen practices law in Little Rock and has been lead counsel on appeal in more than 150 cases before appellate courts including the U.S. Supreme Court, Arkansas Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, and the Arkansas Court of Appeals.

“I have a strong work ethic and a reputation for detail and efficiency, having recently been recognized by my peers as one of the best lawyers in Arkansas in the unique area of appeals,” he said.  “I have broad experience in handling all of the different types of appeals that the Arkansas Supreme Court decides.”

“I believe as a lawyer, people trust you with their lives, and attorneys have a moral responsibility to them,” Cullen added.

His firm has taken on some of the largest appeals in the state.

“I believe a voter needs to know I have a deep and personal respect of the virtues of hard work, very high personal standards for the judiciary, and strong view that we must enforce the rule of law to everybody, equally,” he added.

Cullen also serves on a task force appointed by the Arkansas Supreme Court to implement electronic filing of appeal records and appeal briefs, which he believes can reduce costs of producing appeals and could save money by reducing the infrastructure required to store thousands of appeal records and briefs every year.

He served as an adjunct instructor in the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and he received the Golden Gavel Award from the Arkansas Bar Association.

A native of Little Rock, Cullen graduated from the University of Arkansas where he served as student body president and also graduated law school from Fayetteville.  He worked with the late Judge Terry Crabtree at the Arkansas Court of Appeals and later opened his private law practice representing clients in appellate matters.

He lives in Maumelle with his wife Sarah and three children. The nonpartisan judicial election will take place May 20, 2014.

New Arkansas Appellate Court Rules Effective August 1, 2013

~ Tasha C. Taylor ~ 1 Comment

Arkansas attorneys filing briefs and motions in the Arkansas Supreme Court or Arkansas Court of Appeals should be aware that two new rules go into effect beginning today (August 1, 2013) that change the procedure for filing briefs and pleadings in Arkansas’s appellate courts.  Arkansas Supreme Court Rule 3-7 requires that a cover sheet now be included with case initiating documents (the initial record or pleading) and Rule 1-8 requires that briefs and pleadings now be submitted electronically in addition to the paper copies also required by the Court’s rules.  The following is a summary of the two new rules.  Of course, we advise that you review these rules in full prior to filing anything in Arkansas’s appellate courts.

Rule 3-7. Cover Sheet

Rule 3-7 of the Rules of the Arkansas Supreme Court and Court of Appeals requires that a case initiating cover sheet be filed with the Clerk of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals whenever an initial record or pleading is filed in one of Arkansas’s appellate courts. See In Re Adoption of Supreme Court and Court of Appeals Rule 3-7. Cover Sheet, 2013 Ark. 277.

The following is an image of the new appellate court cover sheet—a link to the cover sheet form on the Supreme Court’s website (as well as instructions for completing the form) can be found here.

Appellate Court Cover Sheet

Rule 1-8. Courtesy Electronic Copies

In an effort to move toward electronic filing in Arkansas’s appellate courts, the Arkansas Supreme Court and Court of Appeals are now requiring appellate attorneys to provide a courtesy electronic copy in PDF format of essentially all pleadings and briefs filed in those Courts. See In Re Adoption of Supreme Court and Court of Appeals Rule 1-8. Courtesy Electronic Copies, 2013 Ark. 256.  Note that this is in addition to the paper copies that are required by the Courts’ rules.  This new rule will apply to all motions, petitions, writs, briefs, responses, and replies. See Ark. Sup. Ct. R. 1-8(a).

Filing of the PDF document by email is not permitted under Rule 1-8.  Rather, appellate attorneys will be required to submit the PDF documents on external media (CD, flash drive, etc.) and will also be required to serve a copy on the other party.

It is important to note that compliance with Administrative Order 19 is still required with the PDF versions of documents that will be filed.  Furthermore, a very specific file naming convention is mandated by the rule.

Rule 1-8 also requires that appellate attorneys include in the paper version of the documents filed a Certificate of Compliance and Identification of Paper Documents not in PDF Format.

Anyone filing documents in the Arkansas Supreme Court or Arkansas Court of Appeals beginning today will need to carefully review this new rules before doing so.

PRACTICAL TIP: If you do not already have software installed on your computer that will allow you to easily convert Word documents to PDF format, there is free software available for download at the following two sites (our firm currently uses the Cute PDF software, which works great):

Judge Mike Maggio Announces for Arkansas Court of Appeals District 2

~ Andy Taylor ~ 1 Comment

Maggio_PhotoLast week, Judge Mike Maggio announced his candidacy for Arkansas Court of Appeals District 2, Position 1.  Judge Maggio is running for the seat currently held by Justice Bill Walmsley, who was appointed by Governor Mike Beebe to replace Justice Jo Hart after her election to the Arkansas Supreme Court.

Judge Maggio currently serves as a circuit judge for the 20th Judicial District.  He was appointed to the bench in 2001 by Governor Mike Huckabee, and has been elected twice since then.  Prior to serving as a circuit court judge, Judge Maggio spent eleven years in private practice.  Judge Maggio is a graduate of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Law.

Counties included in Arkansas Court of Appeals District 2 are: Baxter, Boone, Cleburne, Conway, Faulkner, Fulton, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Lawrence, Marion, Newton, Pope, Randolph, Searcy, Sharp, Stone, and Van Buren.

Circuit Judge Phillip Whiteaker Elected to Arkansas Court of Appeals

~ Tasha C. Taylor

Voters from the twelve east Arkansas counties that make up District 1 elected Lonoke County Circuit Court Judge Phillip Whiteaker to the Arkansas Court of Appeals to fill the vacant seat for District 1, Position 2 in the general election that was held on November 6, 2012.  Judge Whiteaker defeated Jonesboro Attorney Jeannette Robertson with a margin of approximately 10% of the vote (53.83% to 43.81%).

In the May 2012 nonpartisan judicial election held during the primary on May 22nd, the field of three candidates for District 1, Position 2 was narrowed to two when Jonesboro Attorney Richard Lusby was eliminated from the race and the runoff election between Judge Whiteaker and Jeanette Robertson was set for November 6, 2012.

Arkansas Court of Appeals Position 2 for District 1 was previously filled by Judge Raymond Abramson, a Holly Grove attorney who was appointed by Governor Mike Beebe in 2010 to fill the vacancy left on the Arkansas Court of Appeals when Judge D. Price Marshall Jr. was appointed and confirmed as a federal judge to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas.  Raymond Abramson ran for the Arkansas Supreme Court in the May 2012 nonpartisan judicial election, but was defeated by Arkansas Court of Appeals Judge Josephine Hart, who will begin her first term on the Arkansas Supreme Court in January 2013.

Oral Order Dismissing a Party Not Sufficient to Create Final Order (Ford I)

~ Andy Taylor ~ 3 Comments

The first round of decisions from the Arkansas Supreme Court for its 2012-13 term included a holding on a familiar issue concerning the finality of decisions.  In Ford Motor Company v. Washington, 2012 Ark. 325, the Arkansas Supreme Court again reiterated that a written order is required in order for the voluntary nonsuiting of a party to be effective.

The case involved an automobile accident that involved a Ford Explorer and a Nissan Sentra.  The driver of the Explorer was killed, and the passenger (the driver’s son) was injured.  The plaintiff (the driver’s wife) sued individually, and on behalf of her son and her husband’s estate.  The plaintiff filed claims against the manufacturer of the vehicle (Ford Motor Company) and the dealership that sold the vehicle (Freeway Ford Lincoln Mercury, Inc.) for negligence, strict liability, failure to warn, and breach of warranties.  The plaintiff also filed a negligence claim against the driver of the Sentra (Karah Allen Williams).

The plaintiff eventually settled the claim against Ms. Williams.  Then, at trial, the plaintiff moved to nonsuit her claims against Freeway.  The trial court granted the motion orally, but the dismissal was never reduced to a written order.

At trial, the plaintiff prevailed on her claims against Ford and was awarded compensatory and punitive damages.  Ford appealed, arguing that certain evidence had been improperly excluded, that certain claims were preempted by federal law, that the punitive damages award should be reversed, and that the compensatory damages should be reduced.

The Arkansas Supreme Court held that the order in the case was not a final order.  Quoting from Arkansas Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a), the Court held that “[a] voluntary nonsuit is ‘effective only upon entry of a court order dismissing the action.'” Ford Motor Co., 2012 Ark. 325, at 2.  Because there was no written order dismissing Freeway, the order in the case did not adjudicate all claims against all parties.  Therefore, the order was not a final order, and the Arkansas Supreme Court dismissed the appeal without prejudice.

Related Posts:

2012 Judicial Election Results for Arkansas Supreme Court and Arkansas Court of Appeals

~ Tasha C. Taylor ~ 2 Comments

The 2012 nonpartisan judicial election in Arkansas has yielded one new Arkansas Supreme Court Justice, three new Judges on the Arkansas Court of Appeals, and one run-off for an Arkansas Court of Appeals position.  The following are results with nearly all precincts reporting.

Arkansas Supreme Court

Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Position 4

Arkansas Court of Appeals

District 1 Position 2

*Runoff will be held November 6, 2012.

District 2 Position 2

District 3 Position 2

District 4 Position 1

2012 Arkansas Appellate Court Election Roundup

~ Tasha C. Taylor

UPDATE: 2012 Judicial Election Results for Arkansas Supreme Court and Arkansas Court of Appeals

Elections for seven positions on Arkansas’s appellate courts will be held during the preferential primary next month, on May 22, 2012.

One position on the Arkansas Supreme Court is open along with six positions on the Arkansas Court of Appeals.  For more information about the candidates for each position, click on the links below.

Arkansas Supreme Court

Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Position 4

Arkansas Court of Appeals

District 1 Position 2

District 2 Position 2

District 3 Position 2

District 4 Position 1

District 4 Position 2

District 5 Position 1

Exclusive: Fort Smith Attorney Brandon Harrison Announces Bid for Arkansas Court of Appeals

~ Tasha C. Taylor
Fort Smith Attorney Brandon Harrison
Fort Smith Attorney Brandon Harrison

Fort Smith Attorney Brandon Harrison, a former law clerk to U.S. District Judge D.P. Marshall Jr., has officially announced his candidacy for Arkansas Court of Appeals, District 4, Position 1.  Currently Judge John Robbins holds that position, but plans to retire in 2012.

Harrison, a published legal writer, is currently a practicing attorney at his own firm in Fort Smith, concentrating on civil and criminal appeals and civil litigation.

In announcing his candidacy, Mr. Harrison stated, “Our greatest responsibilities are to ensure access to the courts in the first instance and see that parties have their appeals decided on the merits as often as possible.”

Mr. Harrison has been published in The Arkansas Lawyer, the Arkansas Law Review, and the newsletter of the Pretrial Practice and Discovery Committee of the American Bar Association, and he also authored a chapter of the Arkansas Bar Association’s Handling Appeals in Arkansas.

Harrison’s Press Release is available here.

Circuit Court Judge Looney of Mena has also announced his candidacy for District 4, Position 1.

UPDATE: Attorney Brandon Harrison’s announcement letter to attorneys in his district is attached here.

Searcy County District Court Judge Mitch Cash Joins Race for Arkansas Court of Appeals Seat

~ Tasha C. Taylor

Searcy County District Court Judge Mitch Cash has joined the race for the Arkansas Court of Appeals seat for District 2, Position 2.  Circuit Court Judge Rhonda Wood has previously announced her candidacy for this position.

Prior to being elected District Court Judge, Judge Cash was a trial lawyer for more than 10 years.  In addition to his role as a judge and maintaining a law practice, Judge Cash owns a title insurance agency, a car wash, and a beef cattle operation.  Judge Cash and his family were recently selected as this year’s Searcy County Farm Family of the year.

View Judge Cash’s announcement letter here.

Circuit Court Judge Rhonda Wood Announces Candidacy for the Arkansas Court of Appeals

~ Tasha C. Taylor ~ 1 Comment
Judge Rhonda Wood Announces Candidacy for Arkansas Court of Appeals
Circuit Court Judge Rhonda Wood

Earlier this month, Judge Rhonda Wood announced her decision to run for the Arkansas Court of Appeals seat for District 2, Position 2, which is currently held by Cliff Hoofman.  Hoofman was appointed to that seat in January of this year when newly elected Justice Karen Baker left that position to begin her term on the Arkansas Supreme Court.  Because he was serving by appointment, Hoofman cannot run for that seat in the 2012 election.

Judge Rhonda Wood is a Judge for the 20th District Circuit Court of Arkansas.   She was appointed by Governor Mike Huckabee to that position in 2006 to serve  a two-year term, and in 2008 she was elected to remain in the position for another six-year term.

Prior to taking the bench, Judge Wood was the Assistant Dean of Student Development at the UALR Bowen School of Law.  Before her tenure at the law school, Judge Wood owned a private law practice in Conway.  She was also a former Associate Attorney at Williams & Anderson, LLP.