ARKANSAS COURT OF APPEALS
DIVISION IV
CV-16-577
No.
Opinion Delivered: February 8, 2017
DEONDRE’ JOHNSON
APPELLANT
APPEAL FROM THE PHILLIPS
COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT
V. [NO. CV-2015-204]
EQUITY INSURANCE COMPANY HONORABLE CHALK MITCHELL,
APPELLEE JUDGE
SUPPLEMENTATION OF THE
RECORD AND REBRIEFING
ORDERED.
RAYMOND R. ABRAMSON, Judge
Deondre’ Johnson appeals the Phillips County Circuit Court order dismissing his
declaratory-judgment action against Equity Insurance Company (“Equity”). On appeal,
Johnson argues that the circuit court erred in dismissing the action as a result of a separate
declaratory-judgment action which had been filed in the Pulaski County Circuit Court.
Because of deficiencies with the record, addendum, and brief, however, we are unable to
reach the merits of his argument at this time.
On March 4, 2012, Johnson was a passenger in a car that was rear-ended by a vehicle
driven by Anthony Weeden. Equity insured the car that Weeden was driving at the time of
the accident. Johnson filed a negligence suit against Weeden in the Phillips County Circuit
Court, and he obtained a jury verdict for $8,000.
Cite as
On August 18, 2015, Equity filed a declaratory-judgment action against Johnson and
Weeden in the Pulaski County Circuit Court. Equity sought an order declaring that its
liability coverage on the car did not exist at the time of the accident. On September 11,
2015, Johnson filed a declaratory-judgment action against Equity in the Phillips County
Circuit Court. He sought an order declaring that Equity’s liability coverage on the car
extended to the accident.
On October 1, 2015, Equity filed a motion to dismiss Johnson’s complaint in the
Phillips County Circuit Court. Equity asserted that because it filed suit first in Pulaski
County on the issue of liability coverage, it established venue there. Following a hearing,
the court entered an order granting Equity’s motion and dismissing Johnson’s complaint.
Johnson appealed the order to this court.
On appeal, Johnson argues that the circuit court erred in dismissing the suit as a result
of Equity’s action in the Pulaski County Circuit Court. However, neither the addendum
nor the record contains Equity’s complaint from Pulaski County. If anything material to
either party is omitted from the record by error or accident, we may direct that the omission
be corrected and that a supplemental record be certified and transmitted. Whitson v. State,
; Ark. R. App. P.–Civ. 6(e). Arkansas Supreme Court Rule-42(a)(8)
(2014) states that the addendum must include all relevant pleadings, orders, documents, and
exhibits in the record that are essential to an understanding of the case. Accordingly, we
order supplementation of the record and addendum with the complaint filed in the Pulaski
County Circuit Court.
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Cite as
We also take this opportunity to address a deficiency in Johnson’s brief. Specifically,
in the statement of the case and the argument section, Johnson refers to page citations in
the record, not the addendum. Arkansas Supreme Court Rule 4-2(a)(6)–(7) requires that
references in the statement of the case and argument section shall be followed by a reference
to the page number in the addendum. Thus, Johnson needs to correct this deficiency.
Accordingly, for the reasons listed above, we order the record to be supplemented
with Equity’s complaint that was filed in the Pulaski County Circuit Court. Johnson is
granted thirty days from the date of this opinion to file a supplemental record. Upon filing
the supplemental record, Johnson will be given fifteen days to file a substituted abstract,
addendum, and brief. We encourage appellate counsel to review our rules to ensure that no
additional deficiencies are present.
Supplementation of the record and rebriefing ordered.
GLOVER and MURPHY, JJ., agree.
Dan R. Etherly, for appellant.
Chester C. Lowe, Jr., P.A., by: Chester C. Lowe, Jr., for appellee.
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