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Jones v. Turner, No. 08-1438.

In this collection action, Guy Jones filed a complaint in the Faulkner County Circuit Court against J. Eric Turner and Carco of Arkansas, Inc. (“Carco”), on March 31, 2008. Turner and Carco filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that, while the complaint filed in the Faulkner County Circuit Court had been signed as required by Rule 11 of the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure, the copy of the complaint served on them was unsigned. Under this reasoning, service of process under Rule 4 of the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure was defective. Jones responded that Rule 11 required only that the complaint that filed be signed and that copies be provided to Turner and Carco. The trial court agreed that service of an unsigned copy was not proper service and dismissed the complaint.

On appeal, the Arkansas Supreme Court noted that, while Rule 4 required a summons served upon a defendant to be signed by the clerk, the rule contained no such requirement concerning the complaint. The court, therefore, refused to impose a signature requirement into Rule 4 when no such requirement could be found in the rule. Accordingly, the court reversed and remanded the case back to the trial court.