Title 16 — Practice, Procedure, And Courts

All acknowledgments taken before March 20, 1945, and subscribed by officers of the United States armed forces acknowledging the signatures of soldiers in the armed forces are validated in every respect.

(a) Every deed or instrument in writing which conveys or affects real estate and which is acknowledged or proved and certified as prescribed by this act may, together with the certificate of acknowledgment, proof, or relinquishment of dower, be recorded by the recorder of the cou…

Any instrument may be acknowledged in the manner and form provided by the laws of this state, or as provided by this act.

(1) The acknowledgment of any instrument may be made in this state before:(1) A judge of a court of record or before any former judge of a court of record who served at least four (4) or more years;(2) A clerk of any court of record;(3) A commissioner or registrar or recorder of …

(1) The acknowledgment of any instrument may be without the state but within the United States or a territory or insular possession of the United States and within the jurisdiction of the officer, before:(1) A clerk or deputy clerk of any federal court;(2) A clerk or deputy clerk…

(1) The acknowledgment of any instrument may be made without the United States before:(1) An ambassador, minister, charge d'affaires, counselor to or secretary of a legation, consul general, consul, vice-consul, commercial attache, or consular agent of the United States accredite…

The officer taking the acknowledgment shall know or have satisfactory evidence that the person making the acknowledgment is the person described in and who executed the instrument.

An acknowledgment by a married woman may be made in the same form as though she were unmarried.

A.C.A. § 16-47-207Current through all legislation of the 2025 Regular Session.Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official EditionCopyright © 2026 by the State of Arkansas All rights reserved

The certificate of the acknowledging officer shall be completed by his signature, his official seal if he has one, the title of his office, and if he is a notary public, the date his commission expires.

(a) If the acknowledgment is taken within this state or is made without this state but in the United States by one (1) of the officers designated in § 16-47-203, or without the United States by an officer of the United States, no authentication shall be necessary. (b) If the ackn…

Notwithstanding any provision in this act contained, the acknowledgment of any instrument without this state in compliance with the manner and form prescribed by the laws of the place of its execution, if in a state, a territory or insular possession of the United States, or in t…

All deeds, conveyances, deeds of trust, mortgages, mineral leases, marriage contracts, and other instruments in writing, affecting or purporting to affect title to any real estate or personal property situated in this state, which have been recorded or executed prior to July 19, …

This act shall be cumulative to other acts of the General Assembly relating to acknowledgments.

In addition to the acknowledgment of instruments in the manner and form and as otherwise authorized by this act, a person serving in or with the United States Armed Forces or his or her dependent may acknowledge the same wherever located before any commissioned officer in active …

No acknowledgment heretofore taken shall be affected by anything contained in this act.

This act shall be so interpreted as to make uniform the laws of those states which enact it.

This act may be cited as the “Uniform Acknowledgment Act”.

It is the intent and purpose of this section that all acknowledgments taken subsequent to Acts 1957, No. 411 either in accordance with the Uniform Acknowledgment Act or in accordance with the laws of this state in effect at the time of adoption of the Uniform Acknowledgment Act b…

All acknowledgments taken subsequent to Acts 1959, No. 127 either in accordance with the Uniform Acknowledgment Act or in accordance with the laws of this state in effect at the time of adoption of the Uniform Acknowledgment Act are cured and validated for all purposes; and neith…

This code shall be known as the “Code of Practice in Civil Cases” in this state.

A.C.A. § 16-55-102Current through all legislation of the 2025 Regular Session.Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official EditionCopyright © 2026 by the State of Arkansas All rights reserved

(a) Except as otherwise provided by law, this code shall regulate the procedure in all civil actions and proceedings in the courts of this state. (b) Except as otherwise provided by law, the provisions of this code shall apply to and regulate the proceedings of all the courts of …

(a) The rule of common law that statutes in derogation of the common law are to be strictly construed shall not be applied to the code. (b) The provisions of the code, and all proceedings under it, shall be liberally construed, with a view to promote its object and to assist the …

No act shall have the effect to amend or repeal or be construed as amending or repealing any title, chapter, article, section, clause, or provision of this code unless the intention is expressly stated, and the title, chapter, article, or section shall be particularly referred to…

Any duty enjoined by this code upon a ministerial officer and any act permitted to be done by him or her may be performed by his or her lawful deputy.

A.C.A. § 16-55-109Current through all legislation of the 2025 Regular Session.Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official EditionCopyright © 2026 by the State of Arkansas All rights reserved

An authority conferred upon three (3) or more persons may be exercised by a majority of them and a majority of three (3) or more persons may do any act directed to be performed by them.

(1) Remedies in civil cases are divided into two (2) classes:(1) Actions;(2) Special proceedings. (1) Actions; (2) Special proceedings.

A provisional remedy as provided in this code may be granted only by the judge of the court in which the action is brought, or by any circuit judge.

The writ of ne exeat as a remedy in a civil action is abolished.

(a) (1) The notices mentioned in this code shall be in writing and may be served by a sheriff, constable, coroner, or marshal of a town or city, whose return thereon shall be proof of the service.(2) Notices may also be served by any person not a party or interested in the action…

(a) Wherever, in connection with the taking of depositions, the filing of motions, or in any other matters either during the pendency of a suit or prior to a litigation, the law requires the service of notice by one (1) person upon another, except in the case of service of a summ…

(a) (1) Where it is not otherwise specially provided, notice to a party in an action of any motion or proceeding to be made or taken in the action in court or before a judge may be served upon the party or his or her attorney.(2) The service upon the attorney in any such case sha…

(a) It shall be the duty of the sheriff and of every constable to whom any notice in an action may be delivered for service within his or her county to serve and return the notice to the party who delivered it to him or her. (b) A failure to perform this duty may be punished as a…

Whether specifically mentioned in this act or not, any law or part of a law requiring notice or summons to be served or published a specific length of time before the beginning of a term before the steps authorized in the law may be had at such terms in any civil or special proce…

Where a certain number of days are required to intervene between two (2) acts, the day of one (1) only of the acts may be counted.

Whenever an oath is required by this code, the affirmation of a person conscientiously scrupulous of taking an oath shall have the same effect.

Successive actions may be maintained upon the same contract or transaction whenever, after the former action, a new cause of action has arisen therefrom.

(a) Any provision of a contract or agreement entered into to settle a lawsuit which purports to restrict any person's right to disclose the existence or harmfulness of an environmental hazard is declared to be against the public policy of the State of Arkansas and therefore void.…

(a) In any action for personal injury, medical injury, property damage, or wrongful death, the liability of each defendant for compensatory or punitive damages shall be several only and shall not be joint. (b) (1) Each defendant shall be liable only for the amount of damages allo…

(a) In assessing percentages of fault, the fact finder shall consider the fault of all persons or entities who contributed to the alleged injury or death or damage to property, tangible or intangible, regardless of whether the person or entity was or could have been named as a pa…

(a) (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of §§ 16-55-201 and 16-55-202, in the event a several judgment has been entered against multiple-party defendants, a plaintiff may move the court no later than ten (10) days after the entry of judgment to determine whether all or part of the…

The provisions of § 16-55-203 shall not apply to a medical care provider who is named as a defendant in an action for personal injury, medical injury, or wrongful death based solely on his or her capacity as a medical director of a long-term care facility.

(a) Notwithstanding § 16-55-201, a party is responsible for the fault of another person or entity or for payment of the proportionate share of another person or entity if both the party and the other person or entity were acting in concert or if the other person or entity was act…

(1) In order to recover punitive damages from a defendant, a plaintiff has the burden of proving that the defendant is liable for compensatory damages and that either or both of the following aggravating factors were present and related to the injury for which compensatory damage…

A plaintiff must satisfy the burden of proof required under § 16-55-206 by clear and convincing evidence in order to recover punitive damages from the defendant.

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, a punitive damages award for each plaintiff shall not be more than the greater of the following:(1) Two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000); or(2) Three (3) times the amount of compensatory damages awarded in the act…

Nothing in § 16-55-201 et seq. and §§ 16-114-206(a), 16-114-208(a), 16-114-208(c)(1), 16-114-209, and 16-114-210 — 16-114-212 shall be construed as creating a right to an award of punitive damages.

(1) Nothing in § 16-55-201 et seq. and §§ 16-114-206(a), 16-114-208(a), 16-114-208(c)(1), 16-114-209, and 16-114-210 — 16-114-212 shall limit the duty of a court or the appellate courts to:(1) Scrutinize all punitive damages awards;(2) Ensure that all punitive damages awards comp…