§ 5.4.1 SCOPE AND APPLICATION

JurisdictionArizona

§ 5.4.1 Scope and Application

Subsection (A) of the statute provides for fee awards "in any civil action commenced or appealed in a court of record in this state." A court's authority to award sanctions under this statute therefore depends on the existence of an "action." Bryant v. Bloch Cos., 166 Ariz. 46, 48-49, 800 P.2d 33, 35-36 (App. 1990) (holding that when no complaint was filed, the trial court lacked authority to impose sanctions under A.R.S. § 12-349).

Subsection (A) also uses the word "shall." Accordingly, a fee award is mandatory, not discretionary, if the necessary elements are present. Democratic Party of Pima County v. Ford, 228 Ariz. 545, 548, ¶ 10, 269, 724 P.3d 721 (App. 2012); see alsoWhite v. Kaufmann,133 Ariz. 388, 390, 652 P.2d 127, 129 (1982) (holding that the word "shall," as it appeared in the former A.R.S. § 12-341.01(C), made a fee award mandatory when the elements were met under that statute); but seeWestern Sun Contractors Co. v. Superior Court, 159 Ariz....

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