FUND MANAGER v. CORBIN

Citation Codes

Equivalent Citations

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Docket Number

No. CV-88-0418-PR.

Attorney(S)

Eaton, Lazarus Dodge, Ltd. by David D. Dodge, Marc R. Lieberman and Susan G. Sendrow, Phoenix, for plaintiff/appellee, defendant/appellee. Robert K. Corbin, Atty. Gen. by Anthony B. Ching, Sol. Gen., Phoenix, for defendant/appellant, plaintiff/appellant. Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest by David S. Baron, Tucson, for amicus curiae.

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Smart Summary

Factual and Procedural Background

This opinion arises from an appeal in a dispute involving the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System ("Fund Manager") and Robert K. Corbin, Attorney General of the State of Arizona, as well as a related case between the State of Arizona and Eaton, Lazarus, Dodge Lowry, Ltd., a professional corporation. The appeals were heard by the Supreme Court of Arizona following decisions by the Superior Court of Maricopa County. The case concerns the retroactive effect of a statute validating payment for services already rendered and addresses the legislative authority to excuse repayment of such funds.

Legal Issues Presented

Whether the retroactive application of the statute validating payment for services already rendered was legally permissible.
Whether the moral obligation of the State justifies legislative action excusing repayment.
Whether it was necessary to determine if the Attorney General's claim had vested prior to applying the retroactive statute.

Arguments of the Parties

The opinion does not contain a detailed account of the parties' legal arguments.

Table of Precedents Cited

Precedent	Rule or Principle Cited For	Application by the Court
Udall v. State Loan Board, 35 Ariz. 1, 273 P. 721 (1929)	Legislative authority to validate payments retroactively where there is a moral obligation to pay for services already rendered.	Supported the court's conclusion that retroactive validation of payment was justified by the State's moral obligation.
Southern California Gas Co. v. Public Utilities Commission, 38 Cal.3d 64, 211 Cal.Rptr. 99, 695 P.2d 186 (1985)	The legislature may retroactively validate the method by which a public body purchases goods or services through a curative or validating act.	Reinforced the principle that retroactive legislative validation of public body transactions is permissible.

Court's Reasoning and Analysis

The court reasoned that the retroactive statute at issue served only to validate a payment for services that had already been rendered, thus invoking the State’s moral obligation to pay. This moral obligation justified legislative action excusing repayment, either through a specific bill authorizing payment or, as in this case, a bill excusing repayment. The court relied on established precedents confirming the legislature's power to retroactively validate such transactions. Because of this, the court found it unnecessary to decide whether the Attorney General’s claim had vested prior to the statute’s enactment. The Court of Appeals’ opinion was approved except for the discussion regarding the vesting of substantive legal rights.

Holding and Implications

The judgment in favor of the Fund Manager is affirmed. The appeal against Eaton, Lazarus, Dodge Lowry, Ltd. is dismissed. The appellees are awarded attorneys' fees on appeal, to be determined according to procedural rules.

The decision directly resolves the parties’ disputes by upholding the retroactive validation statute and excusing repayment obligations. No new precedent beyond the application of existing principles was established.

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THE FUND MANAGER, Public Safety Personnel Retirement System, Plaintiff/Appellee, v. Robert K. CORBIN, Attorney General of the State of Arizona, Defendant/Appellant. The STATE of Arizona, Plaintiff/Appellant,

OPINION

LIVERMORE, Judge.

Because the retroactivity of the statute in question, on the facts of this case, served only to validate a payment for services already rendered, the moral obligation of the State to pay for those services would justify either a legislative bill authorizing such payment or, as here, a bill excusing repayment. See Udall v. State Loan Board, 35 Ariz. 1, 273 P. 721 (1929). Furthermore, the legislature may retroactively validate the method by which a public body purchases goods or services. See Southern California Gas Co. v. Public Utilities Commission, 38 Cal.3rd 64, 67, 211 Cal.Rptr. 99, 101, 695 P.2d 186, 188 (1985) ("the Legislature may supply retroactively, through a curative or validating act, any authority it could have provided prospectively through an enabling act"). We need not, therefore, reach the issue of whether the claim by the Attorney General had vested.

Except for the discussion of when a substantive legal right vests, the opinion of the Court of Appeals is approved. Appellees are awarded their attorneys' fees on appeal in an amount to be determined upon the filing of the statement required by Rule 21(c), Ariz.R.Civ.App.Proc., 17B A.R.S. The judgment in favor of the Fund Manager is affirmed. The appeal against Eaton, Lazarus, Dodge Lowry, Ltd. is dismissed.

FELDMAN, V.C.J., and CAMERON, CLABORNE, and MINKER, JJ., concur.

GORDON, C.J., MOELLER and CORCORAN, JJ., did not participate in this decision; pursuant to Ariz. Const. art. 6, § 3.

LIVERMORE, Judge, Court of Appeals, Division Two, CLABORNE, Judge, Court of Appeals, Division One, and ALLEN G. MINKER, Judge, Greenlee County Superior Court were designated to sit in their stead.