Ark.]
557
Kathleen A. CLAYBORN and Meranda F. Clayborn, A Minor v. BANKERS STANDARD INSURANCE COMPANY
01-1225
75 S.W.3d 174
Supreme Court of Arkansas
Opinion delivered May 9, 2002
[Petition for rehearing denied June 20, 2002[*]]
- MOTIONS – MOTION TO DISMISS – STANDARD OF REVIEW. – In reviewing the trial court's decision on a motion to dismiss under Ark. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), the supreme court treats the facts alleged in the complaint as true and views them in the light most favorable to the party who filed the complaint; in testing the sufficiency of the complaint on a motion to dismiss, all reasonable inferences must be resolved in favor of the complaint, and the pleadings are to be liberally construed; our rules require fact pleading, and a complaint must state facts, not mere conclusions, in order to entitle the pleader to relief; the supreme court looks to the underlying facts supporting an alleged cause of action to determine whether the matter has been sufficiently pled.
- STATUTES – CONSTRUCTION – STANDARD OF REVIEW. – Issues of statutory interpretation are reviewed de novo, as it is for the supreme court to decide what a statute means; in this respect, the supreme court is not bound by the trial court's decision; however, in the absence of a showing that the trial court erred, its interpretation will be accepted as correct on appeal.
- STATUTES – CONSTRUCTION – APPLICABLE RULES. – The first rule in considering the meaning and effect of a statute is to construe it just as it reads, giving the words their ordinary and usually accepted meaning in common language; when the language of a statute is plain and unambiguous, there is no need to resort to rules of statutory construction; where the meaning is not clear, the supreme court looks to the language of the statute, the subject matter, the object to be accomplished, the purpose to be served, the remedy provided, the legislative history, and other appropriate means that shed light on the subject; the ultimate rule of statutory construction is to give effect to the intent of the General Assembly.
- ACTION – DIRECT-ACTION STATUTE – PROVIDES FOR DIRECT ACTIONS AGAINST INSURER IN EVENT THAT ORGANIZATION AT
* ↑ IMBER, J. not participating.
