§ 10.2 RIGHT TO RECOVER ATTORNEYS' FEES INCURRED ON APPEAL

• Jurisdiction: Arizona

§ 10.2 Right to Recover Attorneys' Fees Incurred on Appeal

As a preliminary matter, the right to recover attorneys' fees requires the use of an attorney. See Connor v. Cal-Az Props., Inc., 137 Ariz. 53, 56, 668 P.2d 896, 889 (App. 1983).

Turning to the governing rule, Ariz. R. Civ. App. P. 21 does not itself embody a substantive right to attorneys' fees; it merely provides a procedure whereby parties may request attorneys' fees on appeal when authorized pursuant to contract, statute, or decisional law. Ariz. R. Civ. App. P. 21(a)(2) ("This Rule only establishes the procedure for claiming attorneys' fees and does not create any substantive right to them."); Assyia v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 229 Ariz. 216, 224, ¶ 34, 273 P.3d 668, 676 (App. 2012) (noting that Ariz. R. Civ. App. P. 21 "does not provide a substantive basis for a fee award"). Even when attorneys' fees are authorized by contract, statute, or decisional law, the court of appeals may still exercise its discretion to deny an award of attorneys' fees. Viniegra v. Town of Parker Mun. Prop. Corp., 241 Ariz. 22, 30, ¶ 26, 383 P.3d 665, 673 (App. 2016).

The court of appeals may direct or allow the trial court to award fees incurred on appeal if, on...