Court Opinion

ID: 9597064
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 00:55:13.922244+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:01:36.641628
License: Public Domain

Tom Glaze, Justice, dissenting. Appellees David and Donnie Dumas move to dismiss appellants’ appeal. Appellees filed a timely notice of appeal on July 28, 2000, and they had ninety days, or until October 26, 2000, to file their record, unless the time was properly extended by order of the trial court. See Ark. R. App. P. — Civ. 5(a) (2000). On September 20, 2000, or within the required ninety-day period, an order of the trial court was entered extending the time for filing the record to January 29, 2001; however, this was done (1) without the appellants having filed a motion requesting the extension, (2) without notice to the appellees, (3) without a hearing being held by the trial court, and (4) without findings by the trial court, all of which are required under Ark. R. App. P. — Civ. 5(b). See Jacobs v. State, 321 Ark. 561, 906 S.W.2d 670 (1995). As of this date, appellant still has not filed a record. Clearly, the trial court’s order entered in this case violated Rule 5(b); this court has issued clear warnings that this provision must be followed. Alexander v. Beaumont, 275 Ark. 357, 629 S.W.2d 300 (1982); Osburn v. Arkansas Department of Human Services, 341 Ark. 218, 15 S.W.3d 673 (2000); Perry v. Perry, 257 Ark. 237, 515 S.W.2d 640 (1974); Gallman v. Carnes, 254 Ark. 155, 492 S.W.2d 255 (1973), and appendix; see also Harper v. Pearson, 262 Ark. 294, 556 S.W.2d 142 (1977) (court reiterated the necessity for ordering a transcript and conducting a hearing on the necessity for an extension). In Perry, the court stated that the purpose of the rule (a statute at that time) was to eliminate unnecessary delay in the docketing of appeals and that the court expected compliance to the end that lawsuits may progress as expeditiously as justice requires. Moreover, this court has held that it does not view granting such extensions as a mere formality. Seay v. Wildlife Farms, Inc., 342 Ark. 503, 29 S.W.3d 711 (2000). The timely lodging of the record from the proceeding appealed has been deemed a jurisdictional requirement to perfect an appeal. Id. Exactly why or how the trial court granted an extension in this matter is not clear, but to allow appellant to ignore the requirements of Rule 5(b) to appellees’ detriment is unfair in my view. The appellees’ motion to dismiss should be granted. Corbin and Imber, JJ., join this dissent.