RYAN CHANCE GORE A/K/A R. CHASE GORE APPELLANT
v.
ARKANSAS TEACHERS FEDERAL CREDIT UNION APPELLEE
APPEAL
FROM THE LONOKE COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT [NO. 43CV-16-195]
HONORABLE BARBARA ELMORE, JUDGE
Daily
& Woods, P.L.L.C., by Douglas M. Carson, for appellant.
One
brief only.
JOHN
DAN KEMP, CHIEF JUSTICE.
Appellant
Ryan Gore appeals the denial of his motion to dismiss and the
grant of a default judgment in favor of appellee Arkansas
Teachers Federal Credit Union (ATFCU).[1]Gore contends that
the circuit court lacked personal jurisdiction over him
because he was not timely served with a complaint and
summons. Accordingly, he contends that the default judgment
against him is void and must be set aside as a matter of law.
ATFCU declined to file a brief in response. We hold that the
circuit court did not err in granting default judgment.
I.
Facts
The
timeline of the relevant facts is as follows.
March 14, 2016 ATFCU filed a complaint in replevin against
Gore. The 120-day period for service would expire on July 12,
2016.
May 31, 2016 ATFCU filed a motion for extension of time to
serve Gore, stating that it had been unable to locate Gore
for proper service and requesting additional time to perfect
service.
June 8, 2016 The circuit court entered an order granting the
motion and extending the time to serve by "an additional
120 days."
October 3, 2016 ATFCU filed a second motion for extension of
time, stating that it had been unable to locate Gore for
proper service. The circuit court entered an order granting
the motion and extending the time to serve by "an
additional 120 days."
March 1, 2017 ATFCU filed a third motion for extension of
time, stating that it had been unable to locate Gore for
proper service. The circuit court entered an order with the
handwritten notation "Denied. More than 120 days from
second extension signed on 10.3.16."
March 3, 2017 ATFCU filed an amended and substituted
complaint in replevin.
April 6, 2017 Gore filed a motion to dismiss for failure to
obtain service. He contended that ATFCU did not complete
service by the original deadline or any extended deadline.
April 7, 2017 ATFCU responded to the motion to dismiss and
asserted that it had "obtained service on the Defendant
of the Amended and Substituted Complaint in Replevin via
Warning Order" on March 8, 2017. ATFCU also asserted
that the time for service expired on March 9, 2017.
April 25, 2017 ATFCU filed an amended proof of service, which
stated that Gore was served "the Summons, Complaint,
Request for Admissions and Warning Order . . . with notice of
this action on 03/08/2017 as required by Arkansas law."
The attached exhibit was a statement of legal advertising
from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, dated March 15,
2017, which stated that a warning order had been published
therein on March 8 and March 15, 2017.
On June
30, 2017, the circuit court held a hearing to determine
whether Gore was timely served. ATFCU argued that ...