Statutes of Limitations (ARKANSAS)

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Personal Injury - 3 yrs. [A.C.A. § 16-56-105]

Wrongful Death - 3 yrs. (from death) [A.C.A. § 16-62-102]; but 2 yrs. if Med Mal [Hertlein v. St. Paul Fire and Marine Ins. Co., 914 S.W.2d 303 (Ark. 1996)]

Med Mal - 2 yrs. (from the date of wrongful act) [A.C.A. § 16-114-203]

Property Damage - 3 yrs. [A.C.A. § 16-56-105]

All Product Liability Cases involving Personal Injury or Property Damage - 3 yrs. [A.C.A. § 16-116-103; Follette v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 41 F.3d 1234 (8th Cir. 1994)]; discovery rule applies [Martin v. Arthur, 3 S.W.3d 684 (Ark. 1999)]

Written Contracts - 5 yrs. [A.C.A. § 16-56-111]

Oral Contracts - 3 yrs. [A.C.A. § 16-56-105]

Contracts for Sale (goods) and Breach of Warranty - 4 yrs. (from tender of delivery) [A.C.A. § 4-2-725]

Actions Against Home Inspectors - 1 yr. [A.C.A. § 16-56-104]

 

No “discovery rule” for actions based on negligence (statute begins to run when injury occurs, not when discovered) [Chalmers v. Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc., 935 S.W.2d 258 (Ark. 1996)]

 

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Statutes of Repose (ARKANSAS)

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Products - None.

Construction of Real Property (Property Damage) - 5 yrs. [A.C.A. § 16-56-112]

Construction of Real Property (Personal Injury or Death) - 4 yrs. (may sue within 1 yr. from occurrence if injury occurred during 3rd year) [A.C.A. § 16-56-112]

 

 

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Claims Against Public/Gov. Entities (NOTE: “sovereign immunity” rules may apply) (ARKANSAS)

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Against State - Subro claims are denied upon receipt by Arkansas Claims Commission [http://claimscommission.ar.gov/rules_regulations.asp] (Political subdivisions, such as cities, counties, municipalities, are not included in the definition of "State" and do not fall under the purview of the Claims Commission’s jurisdiction)

All counties, municipal corporations, and all other political subdivisions are immune from liability except to the extent they may be covered by liability insurance [A.C.A. § 21-9-301].  All political subdivisions must carry liability insurance on their motor vehicles (or become self-insurers) and any person who suffers injury/damage caused by a vehicle operated by local government has a direct cause of action against the insurer if insured (or the governmental entity if uninsured) [A.C.A. § 21-9-303]

 

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Comparative Negligence (ARKANSAS)

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Modified comparative (damages are diminished in proportion to Plaintiff’s fault, but Plaintiff cannot recover if he is 50% at fault) [A.C.A. § 16-64-122]

 

 

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Made Whole Doctrine (MWD) (ARKANSAS)

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Recognized/applied and cannot be contractually bypassed. 

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Subrogation is an equitable right, and Insurer is not entitled to it unless Insured is wholly compensated for his injuries [Shelter Mut. Ins. Co. v. Kennedy, 60 S.W.3d 458 (Ark. 2001)].  Insured’s comparative negligence does not reduce the amount necessary to make Insured whole [Cunningham v. Loma Systems, 2012 WL 2569278 (E.D. Ark. 2012) - unpublished case].

 

Contractual subrogation rights are unenforceable since liability policy limits would not make Insured whole; to allow the literal language of an insurance contract to destroy Insured’s equitable right to subrogation ignores the fact that this type of contract is realistically a unilateral contract of insurance and overlooks Insured’s total lack of bargaining power in negotiating the terms of these agreements [Franklin v. Healthsource of Arkansas, 942 S.W.2d 837 (Ark. 1997)].

 

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Economic Loss Doctrine (ELD) (Assuming No Injury to Person or Damage to “Other Property”) (ARKANSAS)

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Not recognized.  The AR Supreme Court, at least in one case, declined to address whether ELD applies in negligence cases [Bayer CropScience LP v. Schafer, 385 S.W.3d 822 (Ark. 2011)].  Recovery is possible under strict liability for supplying defective products even when only damages sustained were to the defective product itself.  [Farm Bureau Ins. Co. v. Case Corp., 878 S.W.2d 741 (Ark. 1994)].

 

 

 

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Certificate/Affidavit Of Merit Requirements (Claims Against Licensed Professionals) (ARKANSAS)

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In Med Mal actions, in all cases where expert testimony is required, Plaintiff must file an affidavit signed by an expert engaged in the same type of medical care as is each Defendant [A.C.A. § 16-114-209]

 

 

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Landlord/Tenant Subrogation (ARKANSAS)

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Subrogation is not prohibited, case-by-case determination [Page v. Scott, 567 S.W.2d 101 (Ark. 1978)]

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Reimbursement of Deductible(s) (ARKANSAS)

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Auto - Pro rata (must include in subro demand). Property - No law available.

 

 

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MedPay and PIP (ARKANSAS)

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MedPay and PIP - When Insured recovers in tort for injury, Insurer has a right of reimbursement and credit out of the tort recovery, less the cost of collection [A.C.A. § 23-89-207]. 

 

 

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Liability of Parents (ARKANSAS)

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$5,000 for malicious/willful acts [A.C.A. § 9-25-102].  Negligence or willful misconduct of a minor driver is imputed to person who signed permit/license application [A.C.A. § 27-16-702].

 

 

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Joint Liability (ARKANSAS)

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Several liability (Plaintiff can recover from each Defendant only that Defendant’s share of fault) [A.C.A. § 16-55-201].  However, if any Defendant’s several share is not collectible, court will increase the percentage points of the several shares of each remaining Defendant as follows: (a) Defendant is 10% or less at fault - his share will not be increased; (b) Defendant is more than 10% but less than 50% at fault - his share will be increased by no more than 10%; (c) Defendant is 50% or more at fault - his share will be increased by no more than 20% [A.C.A. § 16-55-203].  Defendants who acted in concert are jointly and severally liable [A.C.A. § 16-55-205].

 

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Independent Cause of Action for Intentional or Negligent Evidence Spoliation (ARKANSAS)

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Not addressed/recognized.

 

 

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Conflicts of Law (ARKANSAS)

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Torts - Arkansas will apply the law of the state where the injury was done [St. Louis, I.M. & S. Ry. Co. v. Brown, 54 S.W. 865 (Ark 1899)].  Contracts - Arkansas will apply the law of the state with the most significant relationship to the issue at hand [Ducharme v. Ducharme, 872 S.W.2d 392 (Ark. 1994)].