Nelson v. Weiss, 366 Ark. 361

Summary

The Supreme Court of Arkansas held that Nelson demonstrated good cause under Arkansas Rule of Civil Procedure 4(i) for extending the time to serve his medical-malpractice complaint. Because the summons and complaint had been delivered to the county sheriff before the 120-day deadline but service had not yet been completed, the court reversed the dismissal with prejudice and remanded for further proceedings.

Holdings

1. A motion for an extension of time to complete service satisfies Rule 4(i)'s contemporaneous good-cause requirement when it states that the summons and complaint were delivered to the sheriff before the deadline but the sheriff had been unable to complete service.
2. The dismissal with prejudice was improper because Nelson's motion established good cause under Rule 4(i), making the extension valid.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Nelson's motion for an extension of time to serve the summons and complaint satisfied the good-cause requirement of Arkansas Rule of Civil Procedure 4(i).
2. Whether the circuit court erred by dismissing the medical-malpractice complaint with prejudice after determining that the extension order was invalid.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded