Christy v. McGilton , 2013 Ark. App. 441 ( 2013 )


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  •                                   Cite as 
    2013 Ark. App. 441
    ARKANSAS COURT OF APPEALS
    DIVISION III
    No.CV-12-1023
    Opinion Delivered   August 28, 2013
    SHONA CHRISTY
    APPELLANT APPEAL FROM THE ASHLEY
    COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT
    V.                                    [NO. CV-2010-198-4]
    KIRK MCGILTON                          HONORABLE DON GLOVER,
    APPELLEE JUDGE
    APPEAL DISMISSED
    BRANDON J. HARRISON, Judge
    In September 2010, Kirk McGilton was burning leaves and debris on his mother’s
    property. He lost control over the fire, and the Forestry Commission was called. The
    Forestry Commission made a fire lane to control the fire and stayed on the property until
    the debris smoldered, but the fire rekindled and spread.            The Foresty Commission
    returned and built another fire lane, this time on Shona Christy’s property.          Legal
    problems between McGilton and Christy ensued.
    Christy filed a complaint in October 2012 that sought, among other things, to
    quiet title to certain property listed in her complaint, injunctive relief, as well as
    compensatory and punitive damages related to property damage. In March 2012, a jury
    trial was held to determine Christy’s property-damage claim. The jury returned a verdict
    for McGilton. The court then entered judgment on the verdict, and Christy subsequently
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    2013 Ark. App. 441
    filed a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or in the alternative for a new
    trial. McGilton opposed the posttrial motion.
    In June 2012, the circuit court entered an amended order that stated,
    IT IS THEREFORE, by the Court, Considered, Ordered and Adjudged,
    that the Plaintiff’s Complaint, insofar as it pertains to property damage
    sustained by the Plaintiff resulting from a fire, be dismissed with prejudice.
    The Court retains jurisdiction over the portions of the Plaintiff’s Complaint
    involving an action for Quiet Title and Adverse Possession. The Court
    finds that this order is a final, appealable order because the Quiet Title and
    Adverse Possession action is totally separate from the property damage issue
    that was tried to a conclusion before a jury, and in which a verdict was
    reached.
    Christy timely appealed from this amended order.
    We cannot decide this appeal’s merits right now because we lack jurisdiction to do
    so. As a threshold issue, we must determine whether the judgment being appealed is final
    for appellate-jurisdiction purposes. Ark. R. Civ. P. 54(b) (2012); Ark. R. App. P. –Civil
    2 (2012). Neither party has raised this jurisdictional question, but we must address it on
    our own initiative when there appears to be a finality problem. Chitwood v. Chitwood,
    
    2013 Ark. 195
    .
    “[A]ny judgment, order, or other form of decision, however designated, which
    adjudicates fewer than all the claims or rights and liabilities of fewer than all the parties
    shall not terminate the action as to any of the claims or parties.” Ark. R. Civ. P. 54(b)(2).
    Rule 54(b) of the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure permits an appeal from an order that
    disposes of some of the claims or parties when the court provides a proper certificate.
    Deer/Mt. Judea Sch. Dist. v. Beebe, 
    2012 Ark. 93
    . Without a Rule 54(b) certificate from
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    2013 Ark. App. 441
    the circuit court directing that the order on appeal is final, however, an order that fails to
    adjudicate all claims as to all the parties, whether presented as claims, counterclaims, cross-
    claims, or third-party claims, is not final for purposes of appeal. Id.
    That is what we have here: an order that does not adjudicate all the parties’ claims,
    and no proper Rule 54(b) certificate. The court’s order expressly leaves Christy’s quiet-
    title and adverse-possession claims unresolved, and there is no Rule 54(b)-compliant
    certificate that includes specific findings of any danger of hardship or injustice that could
    be alleviated by an immediate appeal, nor does it detail facts that establish such a hardship
    or injustice. Kowalski v. Rose Drugs of Dardanelle, Inc., 
    2009 Ark. 524
    , 
    357 S.W.3d 432
    .
    Consequently, we dismiss this appeal without prejudice for want of jurisdiction.
    Appeal dismissed.
    GLADWIN, C.J., and WALMSLEY, J., agree.
    Billy J. Hubbelli, for appellant.
    Matthews, Sanders & Sayes, by: Doralee Chandler and William Sanders, for appellee.
    3
    

Document Info

Docket Number: CV-12-1023

Citation Numbers: 2013 Ark. App. 441

Judges: Brandon J. Harrison

Filed Date: 8/28/2013

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 3/3/2016