Ark. Supreme Court Rejects Altice Appeal in Fees Class Action

An Arkansas circuit court didn’t abuse its discretion when it certified a class action by Gurdon and other cities against Altice’s Suddenlink, the Arkansas Supreme Court decided last week. The cities challenged 911, franchise and Arkansas high-cost fund fees assessed by Suddenlink. The lower court certified the class action without ruling on a Suddenlink motion to compel individual, non-class arbitration or an alternative motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim. Suddenlink appealed the certification and the circuit court’s refusal to address its arbitration motion before certifying the class. “The arbitration issue is not appealable on an interlocutory basis because the circuit court never entered an order denying Suddenlink's motion to compel arbitration,” wrote Associate Justice Shawn Womack. The lower court didn’t abuse its discretion on any of the six standards for class-action certification, Womack said. Associate Justices Rhonda Wood and John Kemp concurred. “The majority implies the issue preventing our review is the absence of an order denying arbitration under Rule 2(a)(12)” of Arkansas civil appellate procedure. “But that's wrong. … The argument on appeal falls outside our Rule 2(a)(9) review because it rests on a statute that doesn't relate to Rule 23 class certification.” Altice didn’t comment Thursday.