349 results for 'court:"Arkansas Court Of Appeals"'.
J. Wood finds the county juvenile division properly granted the state’s motion for extended juvenile jurisdiction. Responding to a 911 call, officers discovered the 14-year-old defendant and his 10-year-old brother standing outside the residence with his mother and another 16-year-old brother lying inside with multiple stab wounds. An agreed not-fit-to-proceed commitment order was entered upon a medical diagnosis of defendant as having several disorders, including ADHD, other impairments and an IQ of 76. The state’s motion was not clearly erroneous. The court properly considered each factor, making written findings supported by the evidence. Defendant's argument involving his claims the murder was accidental asks the appeals court to reweigh evidence. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Wood , Filed On: May 15, 2024, Case #: CR-23-655, Categories: Juvenile Law, Murder, Commitment
J. Hixson finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for the sexual assault of his 12-year-old daughter. A detective testified to interviewing the mother and daughter on allegations of the father's committing sexual assault. Sufficient evidence, including forensic interview and statements made by defendant involving keeping secrets supports the conviction. Defendant's challenge of evidence sufficiency is not preserved for review, and the trial court properly denied his request for directed verdict. The victim testified her father touched her "private area," which can be construed as having been done for sexual gratification. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Hixson , Filed On: May 15, 2024, Case #: CR-23-611, Categories: Evidence, Sex Offender, Child Victims
J. Abramson finds the circuit court improperly denied the masonry company's motion to set aside a default judgment entered in favor of the construction company. The original breach of contract action was brought by the masonry company, with the circuit court granting the construction company's motion to dismiss. The construction company filed another breach of contract action, serving the masonry company at an incorrect address, with the green card evidencing delivery was returned unsigned. The default judgment is void due to insufficient service of process. Reversed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Abramson , Filed On: May 15, 2024, Case #: CV-23-257, Categories: Construction, Due Process, Contract
J. Harrison finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for threatening a judicial official and making harassing communications based on sufficient evidence. After the judge issued an arrest warrant for defendant in another case, he received an email known to belong to defendant in which he called the judge names, and a voicemail in which defendant said "I’m going to come to your house sometime in the very near future. So, if you don’t want that to happen, you should call me back.” Though defendant asked for a directed verdict, he did not offer the court any reason to grant one. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Harrison , Filed On: May 15, 2024, Case #: CR-23-506, Categories: Evidence, Threats
J. Barrett finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for aggravated assault, fleeing by vehicle and related charges. Officers testified to a pursuit involving a vehicle with no license plates that reached speeds of more than 100 mph and included sudden turns, as well as driving on the wrong side of the road. The male driver ran after crashing due to hitting stop sticks. After defendant escaped, a police dog found his shirt and he was apprehended and identified by pursuing officers and dashcam video. Sufficient evidence supports the convictions and any prejudice caused by unrecorded custodial statements made by defendant is not preserved for appellate review. There is also no constitutional right to have such statements recorded. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Barrett , Filed On: May 15, 2024, Case #: CR-23-381, Categories: Evidence, Escape, Vehicle
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J. Gladwin finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for aggravated robbery. After the Walmart cashier was robbed at gunpoint, identifying a “tall male, lighter-skinned [b]lack guy” with an earring in his left ear, other witnesses also identified defendant as the robber. Defendant was arrested while still wearing the clothing identified by the witnesses. Sufficient evidence, including surveillance video, supports the conviction. That defendant used an inoperable weapon while making death threats is still sufficient to support the factor of aggravation. Defendant has failed to show how the state's striking of a juror prejudiced him. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Gladwin , Filed On: May 15, 2024, Case #: CR-23-438, Categories: Jury, Robbery, Weapons
J. Harrison finds the circuit court properly granted a preliminary injunction in favor of the radiation oncologist. The oncologist, shareholder and member of the oncology group's board of directors proposed his son be brought into the practice after he graduated from medical school, which was approved by the board. Though minutes of a meeting show the oncologist saying his son would be his replacement, the oncologist denies having ever said this. The board moved to terminate the oncologist on grounds that family members could not work together. The injunction requiring the group to maintain the oncologist's status as an employee and shareholder during the pendency of the ensuing case was properly granted. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Harrison , Filed On: May 15, 2024, Case #: CV-22-486, Categories: Employment, Health Care, Injunction
J. Gruber finds the circuit court improperly granted the stroke patient's motion to enforce settlement. The patient, who was a registered nurse at the hospital, alleges that doctors' negligence damaged her and the relationship between her and her spouse. Through the trial's resulting joint stipulation and various negotiations, the hospital offered a settlement of $4.75 million. Further negotiations resulted in a potentially larger settlement, with the hospital's CEO opting to not respond with any further offers. Testimony from the hospital's litigation officer, a mediator, and the patient's trial counsel, though found to be credible, was mostly subjective, and cannot overcome the CEO's directive. Reversed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Gruber , Filed On: May 15, 2024, Case #: CV-22-799, Categories: Settlements, Negligence, Medical Malpractice
J. Wood finds the circuit court improperly granted summary judgment in favor of the hospital in a slip and fall case. Though the hospital says a "wet floor" sign was in place near the puddle of water where the patient fell, testimony from the patient and a hospital employee creates a question of fact on the issue of whether there was a recurring leak in the area. The court’s finding there was not a recurring leak is premature. Reversed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Wood , Filed On: May 15, 2024, Case #: CV-23-146, Categories: Evidence, Tort, Negligence
J. Hixson finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for the first-degree murder of his 3-year-old son. Defendant's girlfriend testified defendant punished the child by whipping him on his back with a belt and wooden spoon for peeing on himself and cussing, also saying this instance was more violent than previous punishments. After leaving the room, the girlfriend returned when things got quiet to see the child lying motionless on the floor. The child died later that day after receiving medical attention. Sufficient evidence, including forensic/medical photographs, the belt, an extension cord and the broken wooden spoon demonstrate defendant knew his conduct of repeated blunt-force trauma to the child's head and torso was deadly. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Hixson , Filed On: May 8, 2024, Case #: CR-23-196, Categories: Evidence, Murder, Child Victims
J. Thyer finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for sexual assault. Defendant's charge of rape against his 9-year-old daughter was reduced to second-degree sexual assault on the victim's testimony that she was petting her dog after a bad dream when defendant entered the room, pulled her off the bed and put his penis between her "butt cheeks." The mother witnessed the assault, and friends and other family were told about it before police were called. The testimony does not need to be corroborated and sufficient evidence supports the conviction. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Thyer , Filed On: May 8, 2024, Case #: CR-23-410, Categories: Evidence, Sex Offender, Child Victims
J. Abramson finds the county court properly quieted title to the property in favor of the residents. The property owner filed an unlawful-detainer complaint against the mobile home residents, alleging they had detained possession after he had attempted to gain possession by civil notice. The owner argues the residents failed to establish their curtilage is contiguous to their own property, conceding the contested property and the residents' property are contiguous. This satisfies for adverse possession. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Abramson , Filed On: May 8, 2024, Case #: CV-22-585, Categories: Evidence, Property
J. Virden finds the county court improperly denied the estate’s petition for a writ to revive a deficiency judgment obtained during foreclosure proceedings against debtors to the estate. The 10-year period for revival did not begin to run from the date of the initial foreclosure decree, but from that of the deficiency judgment. The decree did not dismiss the parties from the case or put the judgment into execution. Reversed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Virden , Filed On: May 8, 2024, Case #: CV-23-200, Categories: Debt Collection, Due Process, Banking / Lending
J. Wood finds the county court improperly dismissed the school football coach's Teacher Fair Dismissal Act claims. The court dismissed the claims with prejudice, finding they were precluded by the coach's failure to “administratively appeal” the district's decision to terminate. A cited case involved a teacher’s contract being changed for a subsequent school year. In this case, the district terminated the contract midway through the year, resulting in financial consequences during that same year. The court erroneously found the coach's signing of the subsequent year's contract precluded his recovery for the midyear termination under the act. Reversed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Wood , Filed On: May 8, 2024, Case #: CV-22-592, Categories: Education, Employment, Contract
J. Gruber finds the county court properly granted the business owner's motion for summary judgment. The owner asserted he did not own the accident-involved vehicle but had sold it to the driver through his auto salvage business on an installment agreement, with the state having issued the title to the driver. Though the driver was previously employed by the owner, at the time of the accident he was no longer employed, and the owner had no duty to confirm he was licensed or insured. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Gruber , Filed On: May 8, 2024, Case #: CV-23-258, Categories: Vehicle, Negligence
J. Klappenbach finds the circuit court properly terminated the mother's parental rights to her two children. The 18- and 6-month-old children were taken into custody when the children’s putative father was arrested on drugs and weapons charges during the mother's period of incarceration on a different conviction. All evidence supports the best interest finding and the court committed no reversible error in denying the mother's motion to have witnesses testify remotely. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Klappenbach , Filed On: May 8, 2024, Case #: CV-23-837, Categories: Family Law, Due Process, Guardianship
J. Brown, in this interlocutory appeal, finds the circuit court properly denied the nursing center's motion to compel arbitration in this wrongful death suit. The estate alleges that due to insufficient staffing, the decedent was not turned often enough to prevent the stage 2 wound to her left coccyx, a boil to her left buttock and an unstageable wound to her right heel. The patient was also dehydrated and malnourished, which prevented healing. There is insufficient evidence the decedent authorized her daughter to bind her to arbitration, and the daughter did not have actual authority to enter into the agreement on her mother's behalf. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Brown, Filed On: May 8, 2024, Case #: CV-23-182, Categories: Arbitration, Health Care, Wrongful Death
J. Wood finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for murder, committing a terroristic act and tampering with evidence based on sufficient evidence. The 13-year-old witness testified a "splat-ball" game was happening in the neighborhood when he saw defendant fire a gun at a carload of teenagers. The witness ran when he heard a loud bang, returning later the find the 8-year-old victim dead from a gunshot wound to the head. The court's application of a firearm enhancement to the murder and terroristic-act convictions does not constitute a double-jeopardy violation. No error is found in the court's not accepting defendant's proffered jury instructions for second-degree murder and manslaughter. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Wood , Filed On: May 8, 2024, Case #: CR-23-525, Categories: Murder, Child Victims, Terrorism
J. Barrett finds the circuit court improperly found the romantic partner would be unjustly enriched. The homeowner added her partner's name to the deed of the house under the assumption the parties would be married. After the sale of the house, the partner claimed he was allowed to keep half of the net proceeds from the sale as a joint tenant. The owner made a gift to her partner when she placed his name on the deed. Though the owner regrets the decision, this is not a valid basis for setting aside a deed. Reversed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Barrett , Filed On: May 1, 2024, Case #: CV-23-27, Categories: Civil Procedure, Property, Contract
J. Gladwin finds the circuit court properly granted the easement in favor of the industrial board. The property owner installed a gate across a roadway that had been used by the owner as well as the board to access its own aggregate materials property for more than 30 years. The board has no other means of access, with no adequate remedy of law, and will suffer irreparable harm as a result of the owner's installing the gate. The owner had been properly served and is not entitled to relief. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Gladwin , Filed On: May 1, 2024, Case #: CV-23-356, Categories: Property, Tort
J. Klappenbach finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for aggravated robbery, kidnapping, aggravated assault, theft and firearm possession by a felon based on sufficient evidence. The victim testified defendant hit her, shoved the barrel of a gun into her mouth, transferred her to a different location, stole her ring, cell phone and money, all in an attempt to force her to hand over a friend's cremated ashes. The court impliedly granted defendant's request to sever offenses and bifurcate the trials for each count, though the same jury convicted on the offenses. Defendant's argument regarding the alleged denial of his opportunity to interview jurors is not preserved for appeal. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Klappenbach , Filed On: May 1, 2024, Case #: CR-23-585, Categories: Jury, Assault, Kidnapping
J. Brown finds the circuit court properly terminated the parents' parental rights to their minor children. The department exercised a hold on the children, filing a petition for dependency-neglect after the incoherent and lethargic father was taken to the hospital for suspected drug use. The mother admitted to being on drugs, though she refused testing, also refusing to allow the department to investigate the state of the home. She admitted to being five months pregnant, though she refused treatment. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Brown , Filed On: May 1, 2024, Case #: CV-24-5, Categories: Evidence, Family Law, Guardianship
J. Murphy finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for robbery, theft of a firearm and firearm possession by a felon, sentencing him as a habitual offender to 40 years in prison. The high crime-area church pastor testified defendant, who he had cared for, allowing him use of a shower and providing him with clothes, pushed him to the ground and stole his gun. Though defendant says the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to enter sentences on robbery and theft because theft is a lesser-included offense of robbery, this double jeopardy argument is not preserved for appeal. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Murphy , Filed On: May 1, 2024, Case #: CR-23-285, Categories: Robbery, Theft, Double Jeopardy
J. Virden finds the circuit court properly granted the behavioral health facility's petition to involuntarily commit the psychiatric patient. The patient absconded after a supervisory petition was granted, then was admitted to the facility with exacerbated psychosis. The patient, diagnosed with bipolar mania, has not complied with medication requirements and has refused therapy. She has been uncooperative, irritable and paranoid, has demonstrated poor judgement, and lacks insight into her condition. She has also been arrested for assault and presents a danger to herself and others. The appeals court defers to the circuit court's superior position. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Virden , Filed On: May 1, 2024, Case #: CV-23-465, Categories: Administrative Law, Health Care, Commitment
J. Klappenbach finds the board of review improperly found the unemployment benefits recipient was disqualified from receiving benefits because she refused to accept an offer of work. The recipient applied for benefits after being laid off from Family Dollar. She was the only witness, denying she was offered a job, saying she had gone to an interview to discover the job she interviewed for was not the for which she had applied. Substantial evidence does not support the board's decision. Reversed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Klappenbach , Filed On: May 1, 2024, Case #: E-23-135, Categories: Employment, Evidence, Insurance
J. Hixson finds the circuit court properly terminated the parents' rights to their children based on sufficient evidence. The department was granted a petition for emergency custody and dependency-neglect after the mother tested positive for multiple drugs when giving birth. It then found each parent to be in partial and minimal compliance with the original case plan for reunification. Though certain evidence shows the parents were bonded with the children, the bond is not sufficient to prevent termination. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Hixson , Filed On: April 24, 2024, Case #: CV-23-785, Categories: Evidence, Family Law, Guardianship
J. Gruber finds the circuit court properly found for a brother, whose survivorship agreement with his mother transferred her interest in the property at issue to him upon her death. The other brothers challenged the mother's will, with the circuit court ruling it was the product of undue influence, setting it aside and imposing a constructive trust on the property in favor of the estate. The court then granted summary judgment, concluding relitigation was barred by the doctrines of law of the case and res judicata. The brother's cross-appeal for sanctions on the basis this appeal is frivolous is denied. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Gruber , Filed On: April 24, 2024, Case #: CV-22-188, Categories: Sanctions, Trusts, Wills / Probate
J. Wood upholds defendant's guilty plea conviction for domestic battery and terroristic threatening. Defendant's suspended imposition of sentence was revoked for his failure to pay fines, costs and fees, and for his repeated rape of a minor child, which impregnated her. He was then sentenced to 22 years in prison. Witness and victim testimony, as well as DNA testing, support the conviction for rape. Defendant was originally sentenced to 120 months’ suspended imposition of sentence for the terroristic-threatening offense, which exceeded the six-year maximum sentence allowed for a Class D felony. This matter is remanded to correct the sentencing orders. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Wood , Filed On: April 24, 2024, Case #: CR-23-496, Categories: Sex Offender, Threats, Battery
J. Harrison finds the circuit court properly entered the divorce decree and custody and support order, finding the ex-wife to be in contempt. The court correctly denied the mother's request to relocate, finding it in the child's best interest to remain where his support system is located. There is ample evidence the mother's failure to control her emotions caused the child's anxiety during visitation exchanges. At one exchange, the mother was crying so loudly she could not hear the visitation supervisor speaking. The child's counselor also testified that certain of the mother's actions could be considered intentional sabotage and that it is damaging for the child to be purposefully kept from his father. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Harrison , Filed On: April 24, 2024, Case #: CV-23-240, Categories: Evidence, Family Law, Guardianship
J. Murphy finds the circuit court properly upheld the denial of the firefighter's claim for duty disability retirement based on substantial evidence. The firefighter sought treatment and therapy for PTSD, and was placed on medical leave before pursuing retirement benefits. A doctor reported the available information did not support total and permanent disability. The firefighter provides no convincing support for his claim the board of trustees disregarded facts. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Murphy , Filed On: April 24, 2024, Case #: CV-22-650, Categories: Employment, Health Care, Workers' Compensation