Lawmaker: State high court's ruling on lawsuit immunity may be 'biggest decision' in over a decade

State Rep. Bob Ballinger
State Rep. Bob Ballinger

A recent Arkansas Supreme Court decision reaffirming the state's immunity from lawsuits has the possibility to be the most influential ruling from the high court in more than a decade, one top lawmaker said Tuesday.

State Rep. Bob Ballinger, R- Hindsville, convened the Litigation Reports Oversight Subcommittee on Tuesday to hear testimony from several parties surrounding the Supreme Court case Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas v. Matthew Andrews.

Kicking off the meeting, Ballinger said the majority opinion in that case, handed down earlier this month, might be the court's "biggest decision" since its landmark school funding decision in Lake View School District No. 25 v. Huckabee.

In Andrews, the Supreme Court said any laws in which the Legislature waived the state's sovereign immunity from lawsuits are unconstitutional. Others, including two dissenting justices, have argued that the opinion is even more far-reaching.

Read Wednesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

Upcoming Events