ROBIN F. WYNNE, Judge. Gary Zulpo and Richard Zulpo appeal from a judgment of the Faulkner County Circuit Court in which the court found that they were not entitled to a share of the proceeds from a wrongful-death action because they did not qualify as beneficiaries under the applicable statute. They argue in their brief that the decedent stood in loco parentis to them and, as a result, the trial court's decision is in error. We affirm. Appellants are the stepchildren of Freddy Blann....
BRANDON J. HARRISON, Judge. John Ryan King appeals the circuit court's order that dismissed his complaint against William Carter due to improper venue. King argues that the circuit court should not have considered a collision report that listed King's residence in Pulaski County and that he was not allowed to offer proof to rebut this report. We affirm. On 14 May 2012, King filed a complaint against Carter in the Phillips County Circuit Court for injuries he allegedly received in a car...
LARRY D. VAUGHT, Judge. For a fourth time before this court, Arkansas Elder Outreach of Little Rock, Inc. (AEO), argues that it is entitled to summary judgment on its defense of charitable immunity. In three previous opinions, we ruled that summary judgment was inappropriate because fact questions remained as to whether AEO was a genuine non-profit charity. Carnell v. Ark. Elder Outreach of Little Rock, Inc., 2012 Ark.App. 698, ___ S.W.3d ___; Ark. Elder Outreach of Little Rock, Inc. v....
RITA W. GRUBER, Judge. Appellant Vilaychanh Phengthavy's suspended sentences for various drug-related convictions were revoked in an order entered on December 19, 2012, and he was sentenced to 124 years in prison with 94 years suspended. His sentences were revoked because he committed the offense of delivery of methamphetamine, a violation of the terms and conditions of his suspended sentences. On appeal, he contends that there is insufficient evidence to support the revocation and that the...
KENNETH S. HIXSON, Judge. The Law Offices of Craig L. Cook (hereinafter "Cook" or "the law firm") appeals the decision of the Arkansas Board of Review that awarded unemployment-compensation benefits to appellee June Gurgel-Anteski. 1 Appellee was found to have been an employee of the law firm who was discharged for reasons other than misconduct connected with the work. Cook contends that the findings are not supported by substantial evidence, requiring reversal. We affirm. We do not conduct...
KENNETH S. HIXSON, Judge. On April 2, 2009, appellees Alfred T. Williams Living Trust and Marceil E. Sibert Living Trust (the Trusts) filed a complaint to quiet title to mineral interests in an eighty-acre tract of property in Cleburne County. On July 27, 2009, the trial court entered a decree quieting title to the mineral interests in the appellees. On April 19, 2010, the appellants, heirs of Mancil and Sylvia Duncan (the Heirs), filed a petition to set aside the decree quieting title to the...
RHONDA K. WOOD, Judge. Disgruntled homeowners, the Novaks, sued a construction company that repaired part of their house's foundation. The circuit court found that the construction company, owned by John Gerard, breached an express warranty because part of the foundation it repaired had cracked. We hold that the $11,500 judgment in the Novaks' favor is not clearly erroneous and affirm. A realty company hired John Gerard to repair a house's foundation at the back-right corner, which is where...
ROBERT J. GLADWIN, Chief Judge. This is an appeal from the Saline County Circuit Court's denial of a motion to compel arbitration. Robert Kolesar brought this medical-malpractice action against the appellants 1 for injuries allegedly sustained by his wife while she was a resident at the nursing home. The nursing home responded with a motion to compel arbitration, citing a provision in the admissions agreement that appellee had signed. The circuit court denied the motion without specifying its...
RITA W. GRUBER, Judge. Bettye McDougal died at home on February 17, 2011, at age sixty-four. She had become unable to leave her recliner or bed in her final days, was under the care of hospice, received visits from a home health-care nurse, and was constantly cared for by close friends and relatives. The Circuit Court of Union County admitted to probate a copy of an April 6, 2007 will proffered on March 21, 2011, by her brother, Bobby Long, as her last will and testament. The will nominated Mr....
BILL H. WALMSLEY, Judge. Appellant Angela Wear appeals from the Benton County Circuit Court's determination that her daughters, M.V. (DOB: 1-29-1999) and M.P. (DOB: 1-8-2001), were dependent-neglected. Wear argues that the trial court erred in its adjudication because there was insufficient evidence that she posed a safety risk to her children and that the trial court's order contains "errors." We affirm in part and dismiss in part. On December 5, 2012, the Child Abuse Hotline received a...
WAYMOND M. BROWN, Judge. Appellant appeals the Arkansas Workers' Compensation Commission's (Commission) reversal of the administrative law judge's (ALJ) decision with respect to finding that claimant was permanently and totally disabled (PTD). On appeal, claimant argues that (1) the Commission's reversal was unsupported by substantial evidence and (2) the Arkansas Workers' Compensation Act (the Act) is unconstitutional in violation of claimant's right to substantive and procedural due process....
ROBERT J. GLADWIN, Chief Judge. Appellant Bobby Joe Singletary appeals the revocation of his suspended imposition of sentence by the Sebastian County Circuit Court, for which he was sentenced to seventy-two months in the Arkansas Department of Correction, with an additional nine years suspended, and an order to attend parenting classes upon release. He argues that there is insufficient evidence to support the circuit court's finding that he violated the terms and conditions of his suspended...
WAYMOND M. BROWN, Judge. Gail Parkerson, pro se, appeals from the Garland County Circuit Court's ruling that she failed to establish adverse possession or a boundary by acquiescence of a small tract of land adjacent to Lake Hamilton, and that she had abandoned an earlier-acquired prescriptive easement over that property for the purpose of ingress and egress to the lake. This court remanded for rebriefmg because of multiple deficiencies in the abstract and argument in the statement of the case...
DAVID M. GLOVER, Judge. Gary and Crystal Overstreet married in 1996 and divorced in 2012. One child, Amelia, was born of this marriage (D.O.B.2/28/2004). It was not an amicable divorce, with several motions filed during its pendency, including some for contempt and for change of temporary custody (which had been granted to Crystal). The divorce hearing was first held on January 18, 2012, and at the close of that hearing, the record was left open for certain designated matters to be resolved....
KENNETH S. HIXSON, Judge. Appellant Amanda Mitchell and appellant John Mitchell appeal separately from the termination of their parental rights to their twelve-year-old son T.M., eleven-year-old son Z.M., and eight-year-old daughter L.M. Amanda's sole argument on appeal is that there was insufficient evidence to support the termination of her parental rights. John's counsel has filed a no-merit appeal and a motion to withdraw, stating that there is no issue of arguable merit to advance on...
ROBERT J. GLADWIN, Chief Judge. Appellant Michele Keith's sole point on appeal is that the Ouachita County Circuit Court erred by changing custody of her children to appellee Steven Keith. We affirm. I. Procedural and Factual History The parties were divorced by decree filed July 12, 2011, and appellant was awarded custody of their four children, M.K. (age 10), R.K. (age 8), G.K. (age 6), and Mc.K. (age 3). Because appellee lived in Little Rock, Arkansas, and appellant and the children...
BRANDON J. HARRISON, Judge. Escapes! Inc., Escapes to the Gulf, Inc., Escapes! Property Management, Inc., Escapes! Travel Choices, LLC, Kent Burger, and Neff Basore appeal a Benton County Circuit Court order that dismissed a declaratory-judgment case against Palm Beach Vacation Owners Association, Inc., Natalie Bobsin, Harry E. Bobsin, John Pope, Rodney A. Watson, Sr., David S. Barley, Casey J. Plagge, Julia R. Leigh, Isaac Leigh, and Robert Edwards (collectively "Palm Beach"). We reverse the...
ROBERT J. GLADWIN, Chief Judge. This appeal follows the February 12, 2013 decision of the Workers' Compensation Commission (Commission) that affirmed and adopted the ALJ's August 23, 2012 opinion finding that appellee Herschel Skinner was permanently and totally disabled as a result of the injury he sustained to his right foot on June 10, 2010, and granting him permanent total-disability benefits, and temporary total-disability benefits for the periods June 10, 2010, to July 13, 2010, and...
LARRY D. VAUGHT, Judge. Appellants Safeco Insurance Company of Illinois and its insured Barney Travis, as parent and natural guardian of Dylan Travis (collectively appellants), appeal the September 28, 2012 order entered by the Circuit Court of Craighead County, denying their motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or, in the alternative, motion for new trial. Appellants contend that the trial court erred as a matter of law in applying the intentional-acts exclusion found in an...
RITA W. GRUBER, Judge. Jonnie Locke appeals from the circuit court's order granting Continental Casualty Company's motion for summary judgment and dismissing her negligence lawsuit in which she alleged that she suffered injuries from a fall at Jefferson Regional Medical Center, which was insured by Continental. On appeal, Locke contends that the circuit court erred because a genuine issue of material fact exists regarding the hospital's breach of its legal duty. We find no error and affirm the...
