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Marsh v. Mayer, Ariz. Ct. App. (2015)
Marsh v. Mayer, Ariz. Ct. App. (2015)
Marsh v. Mayer, Ariz. Ct. App. (2015)
OPINION
Judge Patricia K. Norris delivered the opinion of the Court, in which
Presiding Judge Donn Kessler and Judge Andrew W. Gould joined.
N O R R I S, Judge:
1
The issue in this appeal is whether investors may obtain a
constructive trust on life insurance proceeds received by the policy
beneficiaries after the death of the insured when the insured allegedly
acquired the insurance policies with funds wrongfully obtained through an
1Because
2Although
4We
express no opinion whether, under A.R.S. 132314.04(D)(6), the superior court may impose a constructive trust on
property in the hands of an innocent third party in a private RICO action in
the absence of any party who was involved in the alleged wrongdoing.
7
Stout v. Taylor, 233 Ariz. 275, 278, 12, 311 P.3d 1088, 1091
(App. 2013) (To determine the ordinary meaning of a word, we may refer
to established and widely used dictionaries.).
6In
first appeared in 1985 while subsection (L) did not appear until 1993, when
the Legislature created a separate statute governing private RICO actions.
10
State v. Payne, 223 Ariz. 555, 563 n.5, 25, 225 P.3d 1131,
1139 n.5 (App. 2009) (Senate fact sheets are relevant legislative history .
. . reflective, though not dispositive, of legislative intent. (citing State ex rel.
Ariz. Dep't of Revenue v. Capitol Castings, Inc., 207 Ariz. 445, 449, 19, 88 P.3d
159, 163 (2004))).
8Hernandez-Gomez
Payne, 223 Ariz. at 563 n.5, 25, 225 P.3d at 1139 n.5.
11
Attorneys Fees
20
The Investors argue the superior court should not have
awarded the Coles Defendants attorneys fees and costs pursuant to A.R.S.
13-2314.04(A) because they did not bring a racketeering claim against
them. According to the Investors, a racketeering claim only encompasses
those claims against defendants alleged to have actually participated in an
act of racketeering. Reviewing this question of law de novo, see supra 9,
we disagree.
12
13
:jt
14