Francis v. Protective Life Insurance

A timely notice of appeal is a jurisdictional requirement. See Stacks v. Marks, 354 Ark. 594, 127 S.W.3d 483 (2003). Because I do not believe that this court has jurisdiction, I respectfully dissent from the majority’s opinion holding otherwise.

The majority holds that the judgment filed by facsimile on November 3 was ineffectual because no “hard copy” of the judgment was ever filed. That cannot be the law. Although it is true that Administrative Order No. 2 uses the term “shall,” it does not specifically provide any sanction for failure to file the “hard copy.” The reporter’s notes to the…