§ 2.6.1 EXPRESS AND IMPLIED CONTRACTS
Jurisdiction | Arizona |
Various types of agreements have been held to provide a sufficient contractual basis to support an award of attorneys' fees under the statute. In addition to conventional contracts, the types of "agreements" that have qualified as express contracts under A.R.S. § 12-341.01(A) have included deeds, Burke v. Voicestream Wireless Corp., II, 207 Ariz. 393, 87 P.3d 81 (App. 2004) (action to enforce deed restriction arises out of contract); Cimarron Foothills Community Ass'n v. Kippen, 206 Ariz. 455, 79 P.3d 1214 (App. 2003) (same); Garden Lakes Community Ass'n, Inc. v. Madigan, 204 Ariz. 238, 62 P.3d 983 (App. 2003) (same); Catalina Foothills Ass'n, Inc. v. White, 132 Ariz. 427, 646 P.2d 312 (App. 1982) (prevailing party proved absence of deed restrictions), Pinetop Lakes Ass'n v. Hatch, 135 Ariz. 196, 659 P.2d 1341 (App. 1983) (same); checks, City of Phoenix v. Great Western Bank & Trust, 148 Ariz. 53, 712 P.2d 966 (App. 1985); First Nat'l Bank of Ariz. v. Continental Bank, 138 Ariz. 194, 673 P.2d 938 (App. 1983); Valley Nat'l Bank, Sunnymead v. Cook, 136 Ariz. 232, 665 P.2d 576 (App. 1983); and even land patents, Mountain States Tel. & Tel. Co. v. Kennedy, 147 Ariz. 514, 711 P.2d 653 (App. 1985).
Because A.R.S. § 12-341.01(A) by its terms extends to "implied" contracts, courts have found the required "contract" entitling the successful litigant to an award of attorneys' fees even when an express oral or written agreement did not exist. Tritschler v. Allstate Ins. Co. 213 Ariz. 505, 520, ¶ 55, 144 P.2d 519, 534 (App. 2006) (plain language of statute grants court authority to award fees on a claim arising out of an implied contract or implied contractual terms); Cahn v. Fisher, 167 Ariz. 219, 805 P.2d 1040 (App. 1990) (custom and usage established implied-in-fact contract entitling court reporter to recover costs of transcript from attorney). Similarly, when a party succeeds in obtaining damages on a quantum meruit theory, that party may be awarded attorneys' fees. Pelletier v. Johnson, 188 Ariz. 478, 482-83, 937 P.2d 668, 672-73 (App. 1996) (fees recoverable when party prevailed on quantum meruit claim after dismissal of express contract claim); Murdock-Bryant Constr., Inc. v. Pearson, 146 Ariz. 57, 68-69, 703 P.2d 1206, 1217-18 (App. 1984), aff'd in pertinent part, 146 Ariz. 48, 703 P.2d 1197 (1985) (same). Attorneys' fees also have been awarded in actions for breach of an implied warranty of habitability in the sale of a home and for breach of an implied bailment contract. Wenk v. Horizon Moving & Storage Co., 131 Ariz. 131, 132-33, 639 P.2d 321, 322-23 (1982). Although Wenk did not expressly overrule Amphitheater Pub. School v. Eastman, 117 Ariz. 559, 574 P.2d 47 (App. 1977), this decision, which denied attorneys' fees under similar circumstances, is apparently no longer viable. See Sparks, 122 Ariz. at 543, 647 P.2d at 1141 ("The continued validity of this holding was cast in serious doubt by our decision in Wenk"). However, a promissory estoppel claim does not arise out of contract; promissory estoppel is an equitable remedy, not a theory of contract liability. Double AA Builders, Ltd. v. Grand State Constr. L.L.C., 210 Ariz. 503, 511-12, ¶¶ 43-48, 114 P.3d 835, 843-44 (App. 2005).
Statutorily created or regulated employment relationships between governmental entities and their employees likewise have been treated as contracts entitling the...
To continue reading
Request your trial- Books and Journals
- § 2.1 THIS CHAPTER'S SCOPE
- § 2.5.1 EXISTENCE OF A LAWSUIT
- § 2.8.1 TRIAL COURT'S DECISION TO AWARD OR DENY FEES
- § 2.7.0 "SUCCESSFUL PARTY"
- § 2.6.0 ARISING OUT OF CONTRACT
- § 2.5.2 ADVERSITY OF PARTIES
- § 2.6.1 EXPRESS AND IMPLIED CONTRACTS
- § 2.2 INTRODUCTION
- § 2.7.1 SUCCESS IN THE CONTEXT OF MULTIPLE CLAIMS AND MULTIPLE PARTIES
- § 2.8.2 "REASONABLE ATTORNEYS' FEES" TO "MITIGATE BURDEN OR EXPENSE OF LITIGATION"
- § 2.6.2 ACTIONS INVOLVING NON-CONTRACT CLAIMS
- § 2.3 CONFLICT OF LAWS
- § 2.7.2 THE EFFECT OF SETTLEMENT OFFERS
- § 2.4 APPLICATION OF A.R.S. § 12-341.01(A) IN FEDERAL COURT
- § 2.9 RECOVERY OF FEES BY GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES
Subscribers can access the reported version of this case.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.
Subscribers are able to see a list of all the cited cases and legislation of a document.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.
Subscribers are able to see a list of all the documents that have cited the case.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.
Subscribers are able to see the revised versions of legislation with amendments.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.
Subscribers are able to see any amendments made to the case.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.
Subscribers are able to see a visualisation of a case and its relationships to other cases. An alternative to lists of cases, the Precedent Map makes it easier to establish which ones may be of most relevance to your research and prioritise further reading. You also get a useful overview of how the case was received.

Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.
Subscribers are able to see the list of results connected to your document through the topics and citations Vincent found.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.