STATE EX REL. AZ. STR. PEST CONT. v. Taylor

224 P.3d 983
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arizona
DecidedFebruary 2, 2010
Docket1 CA-CV 08-0746
StatusPublished

This text of 224 P.3d 983 (STATE EX REL. AZ. STR. PEST CONT. v. Taylor) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
STATE EX REL. AZ. STR. PEST CONT. v. Taylor, 224 P.3d 983 (Ark. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

224 P.3d 983 (2010)

STATE of Arizona ex rel. ARIZONA STRUCTURAL PEST CONTROL COMMISSION, now known as Office of Pest Management, Plaintiff/Appellant,
v.
Larry W. TAYLOR, an individual, and Troy Taylor, an individual, Defendants/Appellees.

No. 1 CA-CV 08-0746.

Court of Appeals of Arizona, Division 1, Department D.

February 2, 2010.

*984 Terry Goddard, Attorney General By Stephen D. Ball, Assistant Attorney General, Phoenix, Attorney for Appellant.

Trent Stewart, Gilbert, Attorney for Appellees.

OPINION

JOHNSEN, Judge.

¶ 1 Early in 1994, the Arizona Structural Pest Control Commission ("Commission"), now known as the Office of Pest Management, imposed a civil penalty of $51,000 against Troy and Larry Taylor for performing pest control activities without a license. The Commission's order became final, but the Taylors did not pay the penalty. The Commission finally filed a civil suit in 2007 to convert the order into a judgment. The superior court entered judgment in favor of the Commission but refused its request to impose prejudgment interest. In the absence of a statutory mandate that interest accrues on an administrative penalty before it is converted into a judgment, we affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 2 The facts are not disputed. The Commission's 1994 order provided that the penalty "shall be paid within thirty (30) days" of the date of the order. The complaint the Commission filed in superior court named as defendants the Taylors and Larry Taylor's former wife, Patricia Taylor. The superior court granted the Commission's motion for summary judgment, but struck from the proposed form of judgment language imposing prejudgment interest of $72,391.67 on the $51,000 penalty. The court denied the Commission's motion to amend the judgment to include prejudgment interest and later entered a separate judgment against Patricia Taylor.

DISCUSSION

A. Jurisdiction.

¶ 3 The judgment entered against Larry and Troy Taylor was dated April 21, 2008. It did not resolve the Commission's claim against Patricia Taylor; that claim was resolved by entry of a default judgment on August 21, 2008. Larry and Troy Taylor argue the Commission's notice of appeal, filed on September 22, 2008, was untimely because it was not filed within 30 days of the April judgment against them. See Arizona Rule of Civil Appellate Procedure 9 (notice of appeal "shall be filed . . . not later than 30 days after the entry of the judgment from which the appeal is taken").[1] "The timely filing of the notice of appeal is a prerequisite to appellate jurisdiction." Wilkinson v. Fabry, 177 Ariz. 506, 507, 869 P.2d 182, 183 (App.1992).

¶ 4 The April 2008 judgment did not dispose of the claims against all of the defendants; as noted, the Commission's claim against Patricia Taylor remained unresolved. Pursuant to Arizona Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b), therefore, the April 2008 judgment was not appealable because it lacked "an express determination [by the superior court] that there is no just reason for delay and . . . an express direction for the entry of judgment." See McHazlett v. Otis Eng'g Corp., 133 Ariz. 530, 532, 652 P.2d 1377, 1379 (1982). Lacking Rule 54(b) language, the Commission's judgment against Larry and Troy Taylor did not become appealable until entry of judgment against Patricia Taylor on August 21, 2008. Because the Commission filed its notice of appeal within the period provided after entry of the August 21 judgment, its appeal was timely, and we have jurisdiction pursuant to Arizona Revised Statutes ("A.R.S.") section 12-2101(B) (2003).

B. Prejudgment Interest.

¶ 5 Whether a party is entitled to prejudgment interest is a question of law that we review de novo. Scottsdale Ins. Co. *985 v. Cendejas, 220 Ariz. 281, 288, ¶ 32, 205 P.3d 1128, 1135 (App.2009); see Alta Vista Plaza, Ltd. v. Insulation Specialists Co., 186 Ariz. 81, 82, 919 P.2d 176, 177 (App.1995).

¶ 6 Prejudgment interest on a liquidated claim is a matter of right in an action on a contract or in tort. Fleming v. Pima County, 141 Ariz. 149, 155, 685 P.2d 1301, 1307 (1984). The Commission cites no authority for the proposition that interest accrues on an administrative civil penalty as a matter of common law; it argues the penalty order created a liquidated debt on which prejudgment interest accrued pursuant to A.R.S. § 44-1201(A) (2003). That statute provides, "Interest on any loan, indebtedness, judgment or other obligation shall be at the rate of ten per cent per annum, unless a different rate is contracted for in writing, in which event any rate of interest may be agreed to." See L.M. White Contracting Co. v. St. Joseph Structural Steel Co., 15 Ariz. App. 260, 265, 488 P.2d 196, 201 (App.1971) (prejudgment interest accrues on liquidated contract claim pursuant to A.R.S. § 44-1201).

¶ 7 Issues of statutory interpretation are purely legal, and we review them de novo. Mejak v. Granville, 212 Ariz. 555, 556, ¶ 7, 136 P.3d 874, 875 (2006). Our primary goal is to determine legislative intent. Cicoria v. Cole, 222 Ariz. 428, 431, ¶ 12, 215 P.3d 402, 405 (App.2009). We first look to the plain meaning of the statute. Wells Fargo Credit Corp. v. Tolliver, 183 Ariz. 343, 345, 903 P.2d 1101, 1103 (App.1995). If the statute is ambiguous, we turn to the rules of statutory construction. Stein v. Sonus USA, Inc., 214 Ariz. 200, 201, ¶ 3, 150 P.3d 773, 774 (App.2007). In doing so, we "consider the statute's context; its language, subject matter, and historical background; its effects and consequences; and its spirit and purpose." Hayes v. Cont'l Ins. Co., 178 Ariz. 264, 268, 872 P.2d 668, 672 (1994).

¶ 8 As noted, A.R.S. § 44-1201 provides for interest on a "loan, indebtedness, judgment or other obligation."[2] Since the civil penalty at issue here is neither a loan nor a judgment, we conclude it may fall within § 44-1201 only if it is either an "indebtedness" or "obligation" within the meaning of the statute.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Rodgers v. United States
332 U.S. 371 (Supreme Court, 1947)
Mejak v. Granville
136 P.3d 874 (Arizona Supreme Court, 2006)
Cavanagh v. Kelly
297 P.2d 1102 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1956)
McHazlett v. Otis Engineering Corp.
652 P.2d 1377 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1982)
Hayes v. Continental Insurance
872 P.2d 668 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1994)
State v. Ott
808 P.2d 305 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1990)
Jarvis v. Jarvis
553 P.2d 1251 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1976)
Alta Vista Plaza, Ltd. v. Insulation Specialists Co.
919 P.2d 176 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1996)
Fleming v. Pima County
685 P.2d 1301 (Arizona Supreme Court, 1984)
Scottsdale Insurance v. Cendejas
205 P.3d 1128 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 2009)
State v. Lewandowski
207 P.3d 784 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 2009)
Cannon v. Hirsch Law Office, P.C.
213 P.3d 320 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 2009)
Wells Fargo Credit Corp. v. Tolliver
903 P.2d 1101 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1995)
State v. Foy
859 P.2d 789 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1993)
L. M. White Contracting Co. v. St. Joseph Structural Steel Co.
488 P.2d 196 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1971)
Stein v. Sonus USA, Inc.
150 P.3d 773 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 2007)
Cicoria v. Cole
215 P.3d 402 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 2009)
Wilkinson v. Fabry
869 P.2d 182 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1992)
State ex rel. Arizona Structural Pest Control Commission v. Taylor
224 P.3d 983 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 2010)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
224 P.3d 983, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-az-str-pest-cont-v-taylor-arizctapp-2010.