Recently, in Plumlee v. Sumerix, 2026 Ark. App. 375, the Arkansas Court of Appeals reminded us that the “Points on Appeal” in an appellant’s brief (Ark. Sup. Ct. R. 4-2(a)(3)) must correspond to the points in the “Argument” section of
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June 2026 Final Rule Changes
On June 4 of this year, the Arkansas Supreme Court made one, noteworthy change to the Arkansas Rules of Appellate Procedure that directly implicates appeals:
A Proper Notice of Appeal: Rule 3(e) & Recent Rulings
THE GENERAL RULE: An appellant must “substantially comply” with Rule 3(e), which lists the requirements of a Notice of Appeal as follows:
- Specify the party or parties taking the appeal;
- Designate the judgment, decree, or order appealed from;
- Designate the
Preservation and Posttrial Motions
In Rothwell v. Rothwell, 2025 Ark. App. 613, the Court of Appeals considered whether an issue that became apparent in the circuit court’s final order was preserved for appeal when it was not raised in the appellant’s posttrial motion for
Adding Bookmarks to PDFs in Adobe
Arkansas Supreme Court Rule 4-1(e) requires that parties filing briefs provide a bookmark to each section of the brief required by Rule 4-2. Those sections are the cover, table of contents, points on appeal, table of authorities, jurisdictional statement, statement
Denial of a Motion for Summary Judgment as an Appealable Order: Possible, but Rare.
Case: Kenmark Optical, Inc. v. Charles Ford, 2023 Ark. App. 431.
Key Takeaway: The denial of a defendant’s motion for summary judgment on an affirmative defense will only be immediately appealed in very limited circumstances.
Background: The plaintiff brought this
Exhaust All Your Remedies (Even If It’s Exhausting)
Case: Frankhouse v. City of Russellville, Arkansas, 2023 Ark. App. 435.
Key Quote: “[The Appellant’s] perception of failings in the [administrative] process cannot be addressed by avoiding the administrative procedure altogether.”
Factual Background: This case started as a zoning dispute,
Cover All Grounds: The “Independent Ground” as a Basis for Summarily Affirming a Case
Case: Madding v. Keech Law Firm, P.A., et al., 2023 Ark. App. 377.
Key Takeaway: If the circuit court has more than one independent ground or basis for its ruling, make sure to address all of the grounds for
Timeline of an Arkansas Civil Appeal
This is the most recent version of the Timeline of an Arkansas Civil Appeal, current as of April 2021.
Of course, this information is provided as a general guide only and is not to be treated as
If You Don’t Incorporate It, It Didn’t Happen
In McKelvey v. McKelvey, 2020 Ark. App. 536, the wife filed a complaint for divorce, and the husband filed a counterclaim. They both sought custody of the minor child, and in addition, they both made various claims regarding marital