6.2.3 Maintenance

• Jurisdiction: Arizona

The meaning of the term "maintenance" in an automobile liability policy has yet to be conclusively interpreted by the Arizona Supreme Court. The Arizona Court of Appeals, in Thomas v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Co.,^[44] considered the definition on first impression. The court drew from a medley of precedents from other jurisdictions when it observed:

. . . we have not found any case in which "maintenance" as used in an insurance policy in reference to a vehicle, has been interpreted to include an act other than one performed physically to the vehicle to repair it, make it physically operational, or to continue its desired appearance or mechanical condition.^[45]

The court in Thomas recognized that a comprehensive definition of "maintenance" was established by the Pennsylvania court in 1936, where the court decided that the repair of a truck tire constituted "maintenance":

"The word 'maintenance,' used in this policy, covers all acts which come within its ordinary scope and meaning. To 'maintain' means to preserve or keep in an existing state or condition and embraces acts of repair and other acts to prevent a decline, lapse, or cessation from that state or condition. In a wide variety of situations the word 'maintain' has been taken to be synonymous with 'repair.' This is the usual...