Wilson v. Dardanelle District of the Yell County District Court, 375 Ark. 294

Summary

The Arkansas Supreme Court affirmed the denial of Nadine Wilson's petition for a writ of mandamus concerning her efforts to collect assigned small-claims judgments. The court held that Wilson's judgment-recovery business constituted a collection agency because she collected delinquencies for a fee, and that Administrative Order 18 prohibited collection agencies and assignees from bringing actions in the small-claims division. The court declined to address issues not specifically ruled on by the circuit court, including whether Wilson had brought an action or engaged in the unauthorized practice of law.

Holdings

1. A judgment-recovery business that collects overdue judgments for a forty-percent fee acts as a collection agency because it collects delinquencies for a fee. A collection agency is restricted from bringing an action in the small-claims division.
2. An assignee of a claim may not bring an action in the small-claims division under Administrative Order 18 section 4(b). Wilson's assignments did not avoid the restriction.
3. The appellate court would not reach issues on which the circuit court had not specifically ruled, because a ruling may not be presumed.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Wilson's judgment-recovery activities constituted acting as a collection agency under section 4(b) of Administrative Order 18.
2. Whether an assignee of a claim may bring an action in the small-claims division under section 4(b) of Administrative Order 18.
3. Whether the Arkansas Supreme Court could reach Wilson's arguments concerning whether she was bringing an action, whether she was a new party under Rule 10(d)(4), and whether she engaged in the practice of law when the circuit court had not specifically ruled on those issues.
4. Whether the circuit court properly denied Wilson's petition for writ of mandamus.

Disposition

affirmed