Court Opinion

ID: 9768410
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 06:01:15.440785+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:30:40.573146
License: Public Domain

Tom Glaze, Justice, dissenting. My primary reason for dissenting is that Arkansas Best Corporation has no standing in this lawsuit. ABC failed to file a required motion to intervene in this cause, and while the trial court did not reject ABC the relief it asked based upon ABC’s lack of standing, this court will sustain a trial court’s ruling if it reached the right result, even though it announced the wrong reason. Smackover State Bank v. Oswalt, 307 Ark. 432, 821 S.W.2d 757 (1991). In addition, we have said that on appeal we review a chancery case de novo, and if a chancellor’s decision can be sustained on other grounds, it will be done. O’Neal v. Ellison, 266 Ark. 702, 587 S.W.2d 580 (1979); Morgan v. Downs, 245 Ark. 328, 432 S.W.2d 454 (1968). Arkansas Best was never a party to this litigation, and the parties to this cause of action settled their dispute and, by consent protective order of the Sebastian County Chancery Court, a judgment along with the parties’ settlement agreement was sealed until further order by the court. This occurred on October 1, 1991. Although Arkansas Best was well aware of this lawsuit as early as May 16, 1991, it made no attempt to intervene in it until December 10, 1992, after the parties settled this dispute. In this respect, ABC by letter dated May 16, 1991 to the United States District Court in the New York lawsuit notified that court of this Arkansas litigation and its relevance to ABC’s then pending motion to transfer or dismiss the New York litigation. Even so, for whatever reason, ABC chose neither to intervene in nor to monitor this Arkansas lawsuit. While the majority court reads ARCP Rule 24 so as to allow Arkansas Best to intervene in this matter, I fail to see how that rule could possibly permit such an intervention fourteen months after judgment has been entered. See also ARCP Rule 60. As pointed out above, ABC had previously expressed to the New York court that its interests in the lawsuit could be affected by this Arkansas litigation, and accordingly, it had ample opportunity to intervene in this cause long before entry of the parties’ Arkansas judgment. At the least, Arkansas Best should have monitored this Arkansas litigation so as to exercise its rights in a timely manner. This court has held repeatedly that timeliness of intervention is a matter within the discretion of the trial court and is subject to reversal only where that discretion has been abused; such Arkansas rule is buttressed, as well, by authority developed in the federal courts’ interpretation of Fed. R. Civ. P. 24. Polnac-Hartman & Associates v. First National Bank, 292 Ark. 501, 731 S.W.2d 202 (1987); see also 3B Moore’s Federal Practice, 24.3 (2d ed. 1987). Predictably, this court on review has also repeatedly affirmed trial court rulings bearing on Rule 24 intervention issues. Id., Carton v. Missouri Pac. R.R., 315 Ark. 5, 865 S.W.2d 635 (1993); Employers Nat’l Insurance Co. v. Grantors, 313 Ark. 645, 855 S.W.2d 937 (1993); Cupples Farms Partnership v. Forrest City Prod. Credit Ass’n, 310 Ark. 597, 839 S.W.2d 187 (1992); Looper v. Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan Ass’n, 292 Ark. 225, 729 S.W.2d 156 (1987); Bank of Quitman v. Phillips, 270 Ark. 53, 603 S.W.2d 450 (1980). In Bank of Quitman, the court noted the considerable reluctance of courts to allow intervention after the action has gone to judgment, absent extraordinary and unusual circumstances. 270 Ark. at 56, 603 S.W.2d at 452; see also Polnac-Hartman & Associates, 292 Ark. 503, 731 S.W.2d 202. Stated differently, this court noted a post-judgment intervention will be allowed only upon a strong showing of entitlement or a demonstration of unusual and compelling circumstances. UHS of Ark. Inc. v. City of Sherwood, 296 Ark. 94, 752 S.W.2d 36 (1988) (where filing and entering of judgment had been expedited [judgment was entered only twenty-two days after the city filed its complaint] this court determined that the intervenor, which filed its motion on the twenty-third day, demonstrated as a matter of right it was entitled to intervene to protect its interests). In sum, ABC failed to demonstrate unusual or compelling reasons for intervening in this case. To the contrary, ABC was remarkably fourteen months late in asserting its interests. Certainly, ABC’s tardiness was reason enough for the Arkansas trial court to refuse ABC’s intervention. For this reason, I would affirm the chancellor’s ruling denying ABC’s request to unseal the parties’ settlement agreement entered in this cause.