14.15.3 Attorneys' Fees.

• Jurisdiction: Arizona

14.15.3 Attorneys’ Fees. Attorneys’ fees are generally not awardable in claims against insurance producers because the cause of action sounds in negligence and does not arise out of a contract.²⁰⁸ The “arising out of a contract” requirement was analyzed in the professional liability context in Barmat v. John and Jane Doe Partners A-D.²⁰⁹ Plaintiff there argued that its successful tort claim for legal malpractice arose out of its contract for legal services because the law implies a duty of due care into every professional contract.²¹⁰ In rejecting this argument, the court explained: “[W]here the implied contract does no more than place the parties in a relationship in which the law then imposes certain duties recognized by public policy, the gravamen of the subsequent action for breach is tort, not contract.”²¹¹ Thus, the claim did not arise out of a contract for purposes of A.R.S. §12-341.01 and the plaintiff was not entitled to seek attorneys’ fees.²¹²

Nor is...