Opinion ID: 78616
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Out-of-State Lawsuits and Related Lawsuits

Text: We are also uncertain whether, under §§ 12-1551 or 12-1611 read in light of § 1-215, the renewal action must take place in the state of Arizona and the extent to which a lawsuit must be related to the underlying judgment in order to constitute an action brought on the judgment under Arizona law. Again, a broad reading of action under § 1-215 might include out-of-state lawsuits like Fidelity's RICO action. However, renewing a judgment in Arizona through an action filed in California is potentially problematic with regard to giving parties in Arizona proper notice of the renewal. Cf. J.C. Penney v. Lane, 197 Ariz. 113, 3 P.3d 1033, 1039 (Ariz.App. 1999) (It is not intended that [interested parties] be required to check the court records in all of the other counties of the state to ensure that the judgment has not been renewed by the filing of an affidavit of renewal in any one of these other counties.). Furthermore, Fidelity's RICO lawsuit, as a separate lawsuit alleging a different (albeit related) violation, is not an action on the original judgment in the same way as Fidelity's Arizona collection activities. The latter are premised on the authority of the original judgment to enforce that judgment, while the RICO action alleged a new violation of the law based on the Friedmans' attempts to avoid paying the original judgment. We are thus uncertain as to the degree of relationship required for an action to renew an underlying judgment and whether Arizona would allow an out-of-state lawsuit to renew a judgment.
We therefore certify the following two questions to the Arizona Supreme Court, believing it appropriate to allow it the first opportunity to address these questions. We note that the Arizona Supreme Court may reformulate these questions. See Torres v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 163 Ariz. 88, 786 P.2d 939, 941 n. 1 (1990). The questions we present are: (1) Do collection activities (such as filing for a writ of garnishment or applying for orders from the court to inspect a safety deposit box or require a debtor's exam) taken within Arizona, renew a judgment previously registered in Arizona? (2) Does the filing of a related lawsuit in a state other than Arizona renew a judgment previously registered in Arizona? As required by Arizona Supreme Court Rule 27, we also provide the following information regarding counsel for the parties. On behalf of Fidelity National Financial, Inc.: Orlando F. Cabanday (SBN 168131) Janice M. Kroll (SBN 189975) Thomas H. Case (SBN 116660) HENNELLY & GROSSFELD LLP 4640 Admiralty Way, Suite 850 Marina del Rey, CA 90292 Telephone: (310) 305-2100 On behalf of Colin and Hedy Friedman: Michael R. Walker (003484) Mark C. Hudson (020500) SCHIAN WALKER, P.L.C. 3550 North Central Avenue Suite 1700 Phoenix, Arizona XXXXX-XXXX (602) 277-1501 The Clerk of this court shall transmit a copy of this certification order to counsel for the parties. The Clerk shall also forward, under the Ninth Circuit's seal, the original and six copies of this certification order to the Arizona Supreme Court. Submission is DEFERRED pending resolution of the certified questions. The parties are directed to file simultaneous status reports indicating the status of this action every 90 days.