Ramsey Air Meds, L.L.C. v. Cutter Aviation, Inc

In Ramsey Air Meds, L.L.C. v. Cutter Aviation, Inc., 198 Ariz. 10, P 12, 6 P.3d 315, 318 (App. 2000), one of the more recent cases, this court directly addressed the recoverability of attorney fees expended for litigating a tort claim "arising out of a contract." See 198 Ariz. 10, P 18, 6 P.3d at 318. There, the court first analyzed Ramsey Air Meds's tort claim to determine if it was "interwoven" with the breach of contract claim. Id. P 17. The court did not define "interwoven" but cited Pettay v. Insurance Mktg. Servs. (West), 156 Ariz. 365, 368, 752 P.2d 18, 21 (1987), which stated that attorney fees could be awarded for litigating the tort claim because it could not have been brought but for the breach of contract, and Campbell v. Westdahl, 148 Ariz. 432, 440-41, 715 P.2d 288, 296-97 (1985), which allows an award of attorney fees if the tort and contract actions are "intertwined." Ramsey Air Meds, 198 Ariz. 10, P 17, 6 P.3d at 318. But, because the party requesting attorney fees in Ramsey Air Meds failed on the contractual claim, the court found that 12-341.01(A) could not support an award of fees for the tort claims under this theory. Id.