§ 11.2.2 Right To Recover Attorneys' Fees Incurred On Appeal.

• Jurisdiction: Arizona

§ 11.2.2 Right To Recover Attorneys’ Fees Incurred On Appeal. Both ARCAP 21 and RPSA 4(g) implicitly recognize the opportunity to recover attorneys’ fees on appeal when authorized by contract, statute or decisional law. Courts have held explicitly that A.R.S. § 12-341.01(A) applies to appeals. See Wenk v. Horizon Moving & Storage Co., 131 Ariz. 131, 133, 639 P.2d 321, 323 (1982); Koenen v. Royal Buick Co., 162 Ariz. 376, 383, 783 P.2d 822, 829 (App. 1989). Courts also have employed A.R.S. §§ 12-341.01(C) and 12-349 to award fees for frivolous appeals and abusive tactics, see, e.g., Rouzaud v. Marek, 166 Ariz. 375, 382, 802 P.2d 1074, 1081 (App. 1990), although § 12-341.01(C) has since been repealed, see Laws 2012, ch. 305, §§ 1 & 4.

ARCAP 21 specifies the procedure by which a party may request attorneys’ fees on appeal. ARCAP 21 was comprehensively revised twice, with initial revisions effective January 1, 2014, and subsequent revisions effective January 1, 2015. The purpose of the revisions was to make this procedure and related requirements more straightforward and transparent. Specifically, the revised rule alerts practitioners of the need to claim fees in their briefs and not after, and to specify the authority under which they claim fees. These revisions...