T & S Machine Shop, Inc. v. KD Sales

D.P. MARSHALL JR., Judge.

| t After a bench trial, the circuit court often issues a letter opinion, which decides the case and directs the prevailing party’s lawyer to prepare a judgment. Arkansas Rule of Civil Procedure 58 authorizes the circuit court to do this or prepare its own judgment. Many times, the judgment either echoes the circuit court’s findings from the letter opinion, or incorporates the letter opinion, or both. When the terms of the judgment vary from the letter opinion, and the letter opinion is not incorporated in the judgment, questions arise. The question here presented is…