Justia Arkansas Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Appellant Jane Henry, as the personal representative of the estate of her deceased husband Ernest, sued multiple parties, including Continental Casualty Company (Continental), Washington Regional Medical Center (Washington), Irma De La Cruz R.N., and Amber Hefner R.N. Among other things, Mrs. Henry asserted that Washington was vicariously liable for the conduct of its employees, including nurses De La Cruz and Hefner. Mrs. Henry proceeded against the hospital's insurer, Continental, under the state's "direct-action" statute. All Defendants moved to dismiss, because Mrs. Henry failed to obtain service of process on the nurses before the statute of limitations expired. Because Washington's alleged negligence arose from its vicarious liability based on the actions of the nurses, Defendants argued that claims against Washington and Continental must also be dismissed. The circuit court granted Defendants' motion, and Mrs. Henry appealed. The Supreme Court held that "because direct-action statutes are remedial in nature, we liberally construe them for the benefit of the injured parties and to effectuate the intended purposes." On review of the applicable case law, the Court found that failing include the nurses in this case was not fatal. Appellant could still pursue the hospital and its insurance carrier for the alleged negligence of its employees. The Court reversed the lower courts' decisions and remanded the case for further proceedings.

Appellant Baptist Health (Baptist) appealed the circuit courtâs order that granted Appellee Andre Hutsonâs class-certification motion. In her underlying claim, Appellee argued that Baptist breached a contractual obligation by assessing medical services at higher rates than its âregularâ rates. Appellee concluded that a class action suit was the only feasible method to address the allegation for over a thousand patients like her. Baptist argued that the circuit court abused its discretion by stretching the rules in order to certify the class action suit. The trial court agreed with Appellee, and certified the case as a class action. Upon review, the Supreme Court found that the trial court did not abuse its discretion and affirmed the lower courtâs decision.