SUPREME COURT OF ARKANSAS
No.
IN RE: ARKANSAS RULES OF
CIVIL PROCEDURE;
ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER
NUMBER 18; RULES OF
APPELLATE PROCEDURE -
CIVIL; AND RULES OF THE
SUPREME COURT AND COURT
OF APPEALS
Opinion delivered May 25, 2006
PER CURIAM
On March 2, 2006, we published for comment the Arkansas Supreme Court Committee
on Civil Practice’s proposals for changes in the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure, Rules of
Appellate Procedure - Civil, and Administrative Order Number 18. On June 23, 2005, we
published for comment a proposed change to Rule 6-7 of the Rules of the Supreme Court and
Court of Appeals. We thank everyone who reviewed the proposals.
The court accepts, with minor changes, the committee’s recommendations. We adopt the
following amendments to be effective immediately and republish the Rules and Reporter’s Notes
as set out below.
We encourage all judges and lawyers to review this per curiam in order to familiarize
themselves with the changes to the rules. We draw particular attention to the following changes
in the Rules of Civil Procedure:
•
Rule 4 (i) sets a deadline for the entry of the order to extend the time in which to
obtain service of the summons.
2
•
Rule 23, governing class actions, has been substantially revised to incorporate
recent amendments to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 and the court’s
holdings in recent decisions, as well as current Arkansas practice.
•
Rules 26 and 37, governing discovery, now impose an affirmative duty to
supplement responses to discovery.
•
Rule 56, governing summary-judgment practice, has been amended, especially
with regard to the timing of motions for summary judgment, the related briefing,
and any hearing on such motions.
Administrative Order Number 18, governing district courts, has been amended to provide for
small claims magistrates, special judges, and clarification that the jurisdictional amount is
exclusive of costs, interest, and attorney’s fees.
The court again expresses its gratitude to the members of our Civil Practice Committee