Court Opinion

ID: 9560897
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 17:58:53.865647+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:13:19.330508
License: Public Domain

FELDMAN, Chief Justice,
specially concurring.
I agree with the court’s result and with the analytical framework applied but write separately because I am unable to agree with the two paragraphs of the court’s opinion dealing with the “common and approved use” of the phrase “common liability.” Op. at 352, 824 P.2d at 748.
While the common meaning of words used in statutes is certainly a cardinal rule of interpretation, I believe the phrase “common liability,” as used in UCATA (A.R.S. § 12-2501 et seq.), is a term of art. It avails us nothing, therefore, to separate the phrase into its constituent parts and look for the common usage of each separate word. Terms used in technical statutes such as UCATA must be interpreted in a manner that serves the evident overall legislative intent. See City of Tucson v. Superior Court, 165 Ariz. 236, 798 P.2d 374 (1990).