STATE EX REL. INDUS. COM'N v. Galloway

230 P.3d 708
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arizona
DecidedApril 15, 2010
Docket1 CA-CV 09-0142
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 230 P.3d 708 (STATE EX REL. INDUS. COM'N v. Galloway) 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. INDUS. COM'N v. Galloway, 230 P.3d 708 (Ark. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

230 P.3d 708 (2010)

STATE of Arizona ex rel. INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION OF ARIZONA, Plaintiff/Judgment Creditor/Appellee,
v.
Patrick J. GALLOWAY and Lois J. Galloway dba Galloway Construction, Defendants/Judgment Debtors/Appellants.

No. 1 CA-CV 09-0142.

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

April 15, 2010.

*709 Terry Goddard, Attorney General By Miral A. Sigurani, Assistant Attorney General, Marc A. D'Amore, Assistant Attorney General, David J. Dir, Assistant Attorney General, Stephen D. Ball, Assistant Attorney General, Stanley R. O'Dell, Assistant Attorney General, Phoenix, Attorneys for Plaintiff/Judgment Creditor/Appellee.

Snell & Wilmer L.L.P. By Charles P. Keller, Martha E. Gibbs, Cole J. Schlabach, Phoenix, Attorneys for Defendants/Judgment Debtors/Appellants.

OPINION

SWANN, Judge.

¶ 1 Patrick J. Galloway and Lois J. Galloway d/b/a Galloway Construction (collectively, "Appellants") appeal from the superior court's order overruling their objection to a garnishment levied against them by the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health ("ADOSH"). We hold that a Citation and Notification of Penalty can constitute an enforceable civil penalty within the meaning of A.R.S. § 23-418(J). We further hold that because a civil penalty serves as an enforceable lien for eight years, ADOSH timely brought this garnishment action despite the fact that it filed its renewal affidavit prematurely. We therefore affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 2 This case arises out of a garnishment action by ADOSH against Appellants and Alpha Geotechnical and Materials, Incorporated for the collection of unpaid civil penalties totaling $192,000.[1] After a fatal accident *710 in February 1999, an ADOSH compliance officer inspected a construction site that Appellants supervised. ADOSH issued a Citation and Notification of Penalty ("Citation") against Appellants pursuant to A.R.S. § 23-418. Appellants timely challenged the Citation by requesting a hearing, which was held in May 2000.

¶ 3 After the hearing, the administrative law judge ("ALJ") found Appellants responsible for six violations in a decision issued on September 14, 2000. The decision ordered Appellants to pay the full amount of the penalties. Because neither party appealed from that decision, it became a final order pursuant to A.R.S. § 23-421(C)(1995). On April 30, 2003, ADOSH filed the Citation with the superior court to enforce the penalties pursuant to A.R.S. § 23-418(J). On February 13, 2007, ADOSH filed a Judgment Renewal Affidavit.

¶ 4 On September 18, 2008, Mr. Galloway's employer was served with a Summons and Writ of Garnishment compelling it to remit non-exempt earnings to ADOSH as they are earned by Appellants. On September 24, Appellants objected to the writ and filed a request for a hearing, asserting that ADOSH did not have a valid judgment against them.

¶ 5 The court requested simultaneous briefing regarding the application of the judgment renewal statute, including the timeliness of the renewal and the legal effect on a judgment if a renewal is premature. Based on the legal arguments presented in the briefs and at oral argument, the court ruled in an unsigned minute entry:

[ADOSH] was authorized to impose a judgment in the form of a citation. A party has the right to appeal, or review [ADOSH's] imposition of the sanction. Here, the specific Citation identifies a judgment in the amount of $192,000, and this Citation was affirmed by the [ALJ]. In other words, the Citation was originally a judgment, subject to an appellate process. It was itself a form of final judgment. This Court finds that the Citation was a proper judgment for purposes of the transferred judgment.
Second, the Court concludes that premature renewal of the judgment does not void or make voidable the judgment. Here, appropriate notice was provided to Galloway of the intent to renew the judgment. There is no harm in this process.
. . . .
IT IS ORDERED overruling the objection to the garnishment.

On December 30, 2008, the court filed two signed orders. The first confirmed the overruling of Appellants' objection to the garnishment and the second ordered a continuing lien against Appellants' non-exempt earnings. On January 15, 2009, the court filed a third order, which also overruled Appellants' objection to the garnishment and denied their request to dissolve the garnishment.

¶ 6 Appellants timely appeal from the January 15, 2009 order.[2] We have jurisdiction pursuant to A.R.S. §§ 12-120.21(A)(1) and -2101(F)(3)(2003).

DISCUSSION

¶ 7 Because the issues presented on this appeal require statutory interpretation, our review is de novo. City of Tucson v. Clear Channel Outdoor, Inc., 218 Ariz. 172, 178, ¶ 5, 181 P.3d 219, 225 (App.2008). "In interpreting statutes, our central goal `is to ascertain and give effect to the legislature's intent.'" Yarbrough v. Montoya-Paez, 214 Ariz. 1, 5, ¶ 12, 147 P.3d 755, 759 (App.2006) (quoting Washburn v. Pima County, 206 Ariz. 571, 575, ¶ 9, 81 P.3d 1030, 1034 (App. 2003)). "To determine legislative intent, we look first to the language the legislature has used as providing `the most reliable evidence of its intent.'" Id. (quoting Walker v. City of Scottsdale, 163 Ariz. 206, 209, 786 P.2d 1057, 1060 (App.1989); citing State v. Sepahi, 206 Ariz. 321, 324, ¶ 16, 78 P.3d 732, 735 (2003); Janson v. Christensen, 167 Ariz. 470, 471, 808 P.2d 1222, 1223 (1991)). We must also *711 construe statutory provisions in a manner consistent with related provisions. Goulder v. Ariz. Dep't of Transp., Motor Vehicle Div., 177 Ariz. 414, 416, 868 P.2d 997, 999 (App. 1993).

¶ 8 The Arizona Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1972 authorizes ADOSH to "cite employers for violating occupational safety and health standards, require remedial measures, assess monetary penalties, or petition the superior court for orders restraining unsafe conditions or practices." de la Cruz v. State, 192 Ariz. 122, 124, ¶ 7, 961 P.2d 1070, 1072 (App.1998) (citing A.R.S. §§ 23-417, 23-418, 23-419).

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Bluebook (online)
230 P.3d 708, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-indus-comn-v-galloway-arizctapp-2010.