(a) Settings. Cases shall be set for trial at the request of any party after the issues have been joined. The court may assign a trial date, on its own motion, even though neither party has requested a setting. Precedence shall be given to actions entitled thereto by any statute of this State.
Rule 40.Trial Settings and Continuances
Last amended February 5, 1979 · Last verified July 13, 2026
In one sentenceRule 40 governs how civil cases get placed on the trial docket and the limited grounds a court may use to postpone a scheduled trial, including a mandatory stay for cases involving legislator-attorneys during General Assembly sessions.
Full Text of Rule 40
(b) Continuances. The court may, upon motion and for good cause shown, continue any case previously set for trial.
(c) Suits in Which Party or Attorney is Member or Officer of Legislature.
(1) Any and all proceedings in suits pending in any of the courts of this State in which any attorney for either party to any suit is a member of the Senate or of the House of Representatives or is a Clerk of either branch of the General Assembly, or Lieutenant Governor, while presiding as president of the Senate, and any and all proceedings in suits pending in any of the courts of this State in which any member of the Legislature or Clerk of either branch of the General Assembly, or Lieutenant-Governor, while presiding as president of the Senate, is a party, shall be stayed for a time not to exceed fifteen (15) days preceding the convening of the General Assembly and not less than thirty (30) days after its adjournment.
(2) Any and all proceedings in suits pending in any of the courts in this State in which any attorney for either party to any suit is a member of the Legislative Council, or the Legislative Audit Committee, or any Joint Interim Committee of the General Assembly, shall be stayed, or reset if scheduled, if said proceeding has been scheduled on any day upon which the Legislative Council, Legislative Audit Committee, or any Joint Interim Committee is meeting, provided, however, that said attorney shall be a member of the Committee, or alternate member attending in place of a regular member, which is meeting, and provided, further, that said attorney shall request the continuance of the Court no less than three (3) days before said proceeding is to commence.
(3) The term "adjournment" as used in subsection (c) shall mean the adjournment without the establishment of a day certain for reconvening, or adjournment or recess to a date more than thirty (30) days in the future.
(4) The provisions of subsection (c) shall be applicable in the case of special or extraordinary sessions of the General Assembly as well as regular sessions.
Amendment History
Amended February 5, 1979
Reporter's Notes
Reporter’s Notes to Rule 40: 1. Rule 40 deviates substantially in its wording from FRCP 40, although the intent of the rule is essentially the same as the Federal Rule. Section (a) basically follows prior Arkansas law as promulgated in Rule 4(a) of the Uniform Rules for Circuit and Chancery Courts. Thus, the method of setting cases for trial in this State will remain unchanged.
2. Section (a) recognizes the practice of giving certain types of cases precedence in the setting of cases for trial. An example of an action which has precedence under Arkansas law is an election contest. Ark. Stat. Ann. § 3-1002 (Repl. 1962).
3. FRCP 40 sets no guidelines for determining when a continuance should be granted. The federal courts have taken the position that the matter of granting or refusing to grant a continuance rests in the discretion of the trial court. McSurely v. McClellan, 426 F. 2d 664 (C.C.A. D.C, 1970); Connell v. Steel Haulers, Inc., 455 F. 2d 688 (C.C.A. 8th, 1972). Prior Arkansas law made a continuance mandatory under superseded Ark. Stat. Ann. § 27-1401 (Repl. 1962) when a party was represented by an attorney who was in the legislature and it was in session; otherwise, the matter of continuances rested within the discretion of the trial court. Baltimore & Ohio Ry. Co. v. McGill Bros. Rice Mill, 185 Ark. 108, 46 S.W.2d 651 (1932); Wallace v. Hamilton, 238 Ark. 406, 382 S.W.2d 363 (1964). Under this rule, a continuance is never mandatory as was previously the case involving a member of the legislature. To this extent, Rule 40 changes Arkansas law.
4. Rule 40 does not require that a motion for continuance be in writing. Neither does it require that notice be afforded to opposing counsel that a continuance is sought. The court can, in its discretion, require such notice and as a practical matter notice, either orally or in writing, should be given to opposing counsel in most instances.
Addition to Reporter’s Notes, 1979 Amendment: Section (c) of Rule 40 did not appear in the original version of the Rules of Civil Procedure adopted by the Supreme Court in December 1978 but was added less than two months later. See In re Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 40, 265 Ark. 963 (1979). Thus, this provision was in place when the Rules went into effect on July 1, 1979, although the Reporter’s Notes were not modified to reflect its addition. Section (c) is virtually identical to a superseded statute, Ark. Stat. Ann. § 27-1401 (Repl. 1962), as amended by Act 333 of 1979 [now see § 16-63-406].
Plain-English Summary
Rule 40 splits into two ideas: how a case gets a trial date, and when a court may push that date back. Under subsection (a), either party can ask for a trial setting once the pleadings close, but the judge doesn't have to wait for a request — the court can put a case on the docket on its own initiative. A handful of case types, like election contests, jump ahead of the regular queue because a statute says they must.
Subsection (b) covers continuances. The rule doesn't list factors or a checklist; it leaves the “good cause” determination to the judge presiding over the case, and doesn't require the motion to be written or served on opposing counsel, though most lawyers give notice out of practice and courtesy.
Subsection (c) is a holdover from the days when Arkansas courts routinely worked around the General Assembly's schedule. If a lawyer for either side (or the client) is a legislator or officer of the House or Senate, proceedings are stayed for a window bracketing the legislative session — from fifteen days before it convenes until thirty days after it ends. A related, narrower stay applies when a lawyer sits on the Legislative Council, the Legislative Audit Committee, or a joint interim committee that happens to be meeting on the day set for a hearing, provided the lawyer requests the continuance at least three days ahead of time.
The upshot: setting a trial in Arkansas is largely a matter of asking, or the court acting on its own, while getting one moved requires either a showing of good cause or, in the legislator scenario, falling within a defined statutory window.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can ask the court to set a case for trial?
Either party may request a trial date once the issues are joined — meaning the pleadings that frame the dispute are complete. The court is not limited to waiting for a request; it may set the case for trial on its own motion even if neither side has asked.
Do certain cases get priority on the trial docket?
Yes. Subsection (a) preserves whatever precedence a separate Arkansas statute gives to a particular type of case. An election contest is a common example of a case that state law pushes ahead of the ordinary docket.
What has to be shown to get a continuance?
The rule requires a motion and “good cause shown,” but leaves the definition of good cause to the trial court's discretion. Arkansas courts weigh a continuance request case by case rather than against a fixed list of factors, and the ruling is reviewed only for abuse of that discretion.
Does a continuance motion have to be in writing or served on the other side?
No. Rule 40 does not require a written motion or advance notice to opposing counsel, though the court may require notice, and most lawyers give it as a matter of professional courtesy.
What happens to a case if the attorney is a state legislator?
Subsection (c) stays proceedings automatically during a window running from fifteen days before the General Assembly convenes until thirty days after it adjourns, if a lawyer for either side, or certain legislative officers, is a member of the House or Senate. A narrower version applies to interim committee members, but only if the lawyer requests the continuance at least three days before the scheduled proceeding.
Source & verification. Rule text, Reporter's Notes, and amendment
history are reproduced verbatim from the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure, prescribed by
the Arkansas Supreme Court. The plain-English summary is original and written by us.
Last verified July 13, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: trial setting rulemotion for continuance Arkansaslegislative continuance rulesetting a case for trialArk R Civ P 40