600 [336 Arkansas Rules of Appellate Procedure—Civil Rule 4 is amended to read as follows: (a) Time for Filing Notice of Appeal. Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (b) of this rule, a notice of appeal shall be filed within thirty (30) days from the entry of the judgment, decree or order appealed from. A notice of cross-appeal shall be filed within ten (10) days after receipt of the notice of appeal, except that in no event shall a cross-appellant have less than thirty (30) days from the entry of the judgment, decree or order within which to file a notice of cross-appeal. A notice of appeal filed after the trial court announces a decision but before the entry of the judgment, decree, or order shall be treated as filed on the day after the judgment, decree, or order is entered. (b) Extension of Time for Filing Notice of Appeal. (1) Upon timely filing in the trial court of a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict under Rule 50(b) of the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure, a motion to amend the court's findings of fact or to make additional findings under Rule 52(b), or a motion for a new trial under Rule 59(a), the time for filing a notice of appeal shall be extended for all parties. The notice of appeal shall be filed within thirty (30) days from entry of the order disposing of the last motion outstanding. However, if the trial court neither grants nor denies the motion within thirty (30) days of its filing, the motion shall be deemed denied by operation of law as of the thirtieth day, and the notice of appeal shall be filed within thirty (30) days from that date. (2) A notice of appeal filed before disposition of any of the motions listed in paragraph (1) of this subdivision shall be treated as filed on the day after the entry of an order disposing of the last motion outstanding or the day after the motion is deemed denied by operation of law. Such a notice is effective .to appeal the underlying judgment, decree, or order. A party who 'also seeks to appeal from the grant or denial of the motion shall within thirty (30) days amend the previously filed notice, complying with Rule 3(e). No additional fees will be required for filing an amended notice of appeal. (3) Upon a showing of failure to receive notice of the judgment, decree or order from which appeal is sought and a determi-
IN RE: ARKANSAS RULES OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE—CIVIL ARK..] Cite as 336 Ark. 600 (1999) 601 nation that no party would be prejudiced, the trial court may, upon motion filed within 180 days of entry of the judgment, decree, or order, extend the time for filing the notice of appeal for a period of fourteen (14) days from the date of entry of the extension order. Notice of any such motion shall be given to all other parties in accordance with Rule 5 of the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure. (c) When Judgment Is Entered. A judgment, decree or order is entered within the meaning of this rule when it is filed with the clerk of the court in which the claim was tried. A judgment, decree or order is filed when the clerk stamps or otherwise marks it as "filed" and denotes thereon the date and time of filing. The Reporter's Notes accompanying Rule 4 are amended by adding the following: Addition to Reporter's Notes, 1999 Amendment: The rule has been revised to incorporate some features of Rule 4 of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, as amended in 1991 and 1993. On balance, the effect of the amendment is to liberalize prior Arkansas practice. Subdivision (a) now provides that a premature notice of appeal is to be treated as if it had been filed after entry of the judgment, decree, or order. Previously, such a notice was ineffective. Kelly v. Kelly, 310 Ark. 244, 835 S.W.2d 869 (1992). Subdivision (f) of the prior version of the rule, which provided that a notice of appeal was effective if filed on the same day but earlier in time than the judgment, decree, or order, has been deleted. Also deleted are two sentences in subdivision (a) dealing with the situation in which a party has not received notice of entry of a judgment, decree, or .order. This issue is now addressed in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b). Amended subdivision (b) combines subdivisions (b), (c), and (d) of the prior version of the rule. Paragraph (b)(1) is essentially former subdivision (b), with one clarifying change. A timely motion for new trial, judgment notwithstanding the verdict, or amendment of findings extends for all parties the time for filing a notice of appeal. If there are multiple motions, the 30-day period for filing a notice of appeal begins to run from entry of the order
IN RE: ARKANSAS RULES OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE—CIVIL 602 Cite as 336 Ark. 600 (1999) [336 disposing of "the last motion outstanding" or the date on which such motion is deemed denied by operation of law. Paragraph (b)(2), based on Federal Rule 4(a)(4), is new. It provides that a notice of appeal filed before disposition of one of the specified posttrial motions becomes effective on the day after a dispositive order is entered or the motion is deemed denied by operation of law. Under prior practice, a premature notice of appeal was ineffective. Chickasaw Chemical Co. v. Beasley, 328 Ark. 472, 944 S.W.2d 511 (1997); Kimble v. Gray, 313 Ark. 373, 853 S.W.2d 890 (1993). The effect of paragraph (b)(2) is to suspend a premature notice until the motion is ruled on or deemed denied, and a new notice is not necessary to appeal the underlying case. However, a party seeking to appeal from disposition of the post-trial motion must amend the original notice to so indicate. No additional fees are required in this situation, since the notice is an amendment of the original and not a new notice of appeal. Paragraph (b)(3) is a revised version of a provision previously found in subdivision (a), under which a party who did not receive notice of the judgment or order that he or she wished to appeal could obtain an extension from the trial court "for a period not to exceed sixty (60) days from the expiration of the time otherwise prescribed by these rules." This rule proved restrictive in operation. See, e.g., Jones-Blair Co. v. Hammett, 51 Ark. App. 112, 911 S.W.2d 263 (1995), rev'd on other grounds, 326 Ark. 74, 930 S.W.2d 335 (1997); Chickasaw Chemical Co. v. Beasley, supra. Accordingly, paragraph (b)(3) expands the period during which an extension may be sought. The trial court may extend the time for filing the notice of appeal "upon motion filed within 180 days of entry of the judgment, decree, or order." If such an extension is granted, the notice of appeal must be filed within fourteen days from the date on which the extension order is entered. These time frames are taken from the corresponding federal rule. See Rule 4(a)(6), Fed. R. App. P. Like the federal rule, paragraph (b)(3) also requires a determination by the trial court that no party would be prejudiced by the extension of time. The term "prejudice" means some adverse consequence other than the cost of having to oppose the appeal and encounter the risk of reversal. Prejudice might arise, for example, if the appellee had taken some action in reliance on the expiration of the normal time period for filing a notice of appeal.
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