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Associated Aviation Underwriters v. Wood9/29/2004
it is not "based on a declaratory judgment or decree." § 12-1838.
AAU's argument is misplaced, however, because the "declaratory judgment or decree" on which Intervenors' request for further relief was based was the judgment ultimately entered in this DRA, not in the underlying Gerardo litigation. Indeed, Intervenors' complaint-in-intervention clearly requested a ruling in this case " hat AAU is obligated, under each policy at issue here, to fund the [Intervenors'] settlement" and that Intervenors "be awarded such other and further relief as the Court may deem just and proper." Although Intervenors did not cite § 12-1838 in the complaint-in-intervention, their prayer for relief was clear enough to give AAU notice that Intervenors were seeking monetary relief in this action. That Intervenors moved to intervene in this case and requested monetary relief before the Gerardo judgments had been entered is relevant to the question of whether this action renewed those judgments. See 144-54, infra. But that chronological sequence bears little on the technical sufficiency of Intervenors' request for supplemental relief in this action.
Moreover, AAU cannot seriously argue that, for the first eleven years it litigated this action in the trial court, it believed Intervenors were merely seeking a declaration of rights. In short, we conclude Intervenors' complaint-in-intervention sufficiently requested supplemental relief for purposes of § 12-1838. See Keggi, 199 Ariz. 43, 10, 13 P.3d at 787 ("The declaratory judgments act is interpreted liberally."); A.R.S. § 1-211(B) ("Statutes shall be liberally construed to effect their objects and to promote justice."); Ariz. R. Civ. P. 1, 16 A.R.S., Pt. 1 (civil procedure rules "construed to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action").
Even if Intervenors' complaint-in-intervention did not adequately request monetary relief under § 12-1838, their later, post-trial motion for supplemental relief was a valid application for a monetary award under the statute. AAU asserts, however, that latter motion was not an "appropriate pleading" under § 12-1838 because Rule 7, Ariz. R. Civ. P., 16 A.R.S., Pt. 1, defines " leadings" as only complaints, answers, and replies. See Mallamo v. Hartman, 70 Ariz. 294, 297, 219 P.2d 1039, 1041, as modified on other grounds, 70 Ariz. 420, 222 P.2d 797 (1950) ("A motion is not a pleading under the Federal Rules of Procedure adopted by this court."). We disagree because, in our view, "pleading," as used in § 12-1838, is broader than that term as used in Rule 7, Ariz. R. Civ. P. Cf. Daniel J. McAuliffe, Arizona Civil Rules Handbook, at 94 (2004) (noting that Rule 7 merely "abolishes the technical forms" of pleading such as demurrers, pleas, and exceptions, since those "common law technical forms have been replaced by motion practice").
In construing statutes, "courts should give meaning to all the language used in a statute and avoid an interpretation that renders a term either duplicative or meaningless." Phoenix Newspapers, Inc. v. Superior Court, 180 Ariz. 159, 162, 882 P.2d 1285, 1288 (App. 1993). Because Rule 7 defines "pleading" to encompass a complaint, to similarly construe "pleading" as that term is used in § 12-1838 would render the word "complaint" in that statute superfluous. Such a construction would negate the legislature's clear intent to allow one to apply for supplemental relief in a complaint "or" some other "appropriate" form. Thus, even if Intervenors' complaint-in-intervention did not qualify as a "complaint or appropriate pleading" under § 12-1838, Intervenors' motion for supplemental relief did.
In sum, therefore, a trial court may award suppl
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