Ray Thornton

“ It is declared to be the public policy of the State of Arkansas that all counties, municipal corporations, school districts, special improvement districts, and all other political subdivisions of the state and any of their boards, commissions, agencies, authorities, or other governing bodies shall be immune from liability and from suit for damages except to the extent that they may be covered by liability insurance. No tort action shall lie against any such political subdivision because of the acts of its agents and employees. ”

“ The General Assembly has determined that nonprofit corporations serve important functions in providing services and assistance to persons in the state and that, in order for these nonprofit corporations to function effectively, persons serving on the board of directors should not be subject to vicarious liability for the negligence of corporate employees or other directors. ”

“ It is not controverted that Forrester-Davis is a nonprofit corporation, but no authority has been cited to us, and we know of none, that holds that all nonprofit corporations, by virtue of their status as nonprofit corporations, are immune from suit for tort. We are not aware of any case law holding that nonprofit corporations are ipso facto immune from suit. To the contrary, our statutes provide that nonprofit corporations generally have the power to sue and be sued. Ark. Code Ann. § 4-33-302 (Repl. 2001) of the Arkansas Nonprofit Corporation Act provides in pertinent part ”