In an opinion involving a claim of failure to timely serve defendants, the Court of Appeals found that good cause existed to extend the time for service. The court first quoted the Arkansas Supreme Court as follows:
“[O]ur supreme court has held that good cause to grant an extension was presented by a plaintiff when he had delivered a summons and complaint to the sheriff's office within 120 days of filing the complaint, but the sheriff's office had been unable to serve the defendant. See, Nelson v. Weiss, 366 Ark. 361, 235 S.W.3d 891 (2006).”
Considering the facts presented in the instant case, the court held as follows:
"We hold that the circuit court did not err in extending the time for service of process. Lee asserted in his motion and supplemented later with documentation that (1) there had been active settlement negotiations within a month of the lawsuit's June 2018 filing, (2) those negotiations terminated in mid-October 2018, and (3) at the termination of negotiations, the brothers' attorney refused to accept service on their behalf."