Guenther v. Guenther
2018 Ark. App. 538
| Ark. Ct. App. | 2018Background
- Betty Guenther appealed orders appointing a permanent guardian for her husband James and a related temporary guardianship order, contesting a circuit-court directive that she transfer jointly held funds into James’s guardianship account and return James’s property to his estate.
- The appellate record was lodged on October 25, 2017; Betty died on November 2, 2017, after the record was lodged but before briefing concluded.
- Before Rule 12 (Ark. R. App. P.–Civ.) took effect in January 2018, there was no appellate substitution procedure; counsel filed a petition in the circuit court to appoint special administrators to substitute for Betty and filed the resulting order into the appellate record.
- The circuit court signed an order appointing special administrators on December 13, 2017, and those special administrators later moved in the Court of Appeals to supplement the record and substitute as appellant.
- The Court of Appeals held the circuit court lacked jurisdiction (because the record had been lodged on appeal and the appeal stayed proceedings) to appoint special administrators to substitute for Betty; because there was no appellant to prosecute the appeal, the court dismissed the appeal.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the circuit court erred by ordering Betty to transfer jointly held funds into James’s guardianship account | Betty argued the court improperly required her to reinstate joint funds into James’s guardianship for use by the guardians | Appellees argued the order was proper to place James’s funds/property under the guardianship | Dismissed as moot on appeal because Betty died and the joint accounts would convert to James’s ownership; appeal also lacked a living appellant |
| Whether the circuit court could appoint special administrators to substitute for a deceased appellant after the record was lodged on appeal | Betty’s counsel sought appointment of special administrators to continue the appeal on her behalf | Appellees argued the appellate stay deprived the circuit court of jurisdiction to take such action | Court held the circuit court lacked jurisdiction to appoint special administrators after the record was lodged; substitution by that order was invalid, so no appellant remained and appeal was dismissed |
Key Cases Cited
- Planchon v. Local Police & Fire Ret. Sys., 2015 Ark. 131 (explaining lack of preexisting procedure for substitution on appeal and prompting adoption of Ark. R. App. P. 12)
- Myers v. Yingling, 369 Ark. 87 (holding that lodging the record on appeal bars further circuit-court action until appellate disposition)
- Slaton v. Slaton, 330 Ark. 287 (recognizing circuit court retains jurisdiction to modify/enforce child-custody/support orders after appeal due to ongoing child welfare needs)
- Kuelbs v. Hill, 2010 Ark. App. 793 (affirming circuit court authority to act in guardianship matters to safeguard the ward, but distinguishing limits once appeal is lodged)