Chubb Lloyds Insurance Co. v. Miller County Circuit Court, Third Division, 2010 Ark. 119

Summary

The Arkansas Supreme Court denied Chubb’s petition for writs of prohibition and certiorari seeking to prevent the Miller County Circuit Court from proceeding with a putative class action involving insurance claims for contractors’ profit and overhead. The court held that lack of standing is not a subject-matter-jurisdiction issue under Arkansas law or Amendment 80 to the Arkansas Constitution. Because the circuit court was not wholly without jurisdiction and the proceedings did not demonstrate a clear abuse of discretion, extraordinary relief was unavailable.

Holdings

1. Under Arkansas law, standing is not a component of subject-matter jurisdiction; it is a defense that may be asserted and addressed on appeal. Amendment 80 did not convert lack of standing into a jurisdictional deficiency or narrow circuit-court subject-matter jurisdiction in that manner.
2. The writ of prohibition was denied because the Miller County Circuit Court was not wholly without subject-matter jurisdiction over the underlying civil action.
3. The alternative petition for a writ of certiorari was denied because the record did not show a jurisdictional defect, an act in excess of jurisdiction, or a plain, manifest, clear, and gross abuse of discretion, and Chubb had an adequate remedy by appeal.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a plaintiff's lack of standing deprives an Arkansas circuit court of subject-matter jurisdiction under Amendment 80 to the Arkansas Constitution.
2. Whether a writ of prohibition was available to prevent the circuit court from deferring Chubb's motion to dismiss pending class certification.
3. Whether a writ of certiorari was available to review the circuit court's deferral of the motion to dismiss.

Disposition

writ_denied