Rule 78.Judgment, Attorney Fees, Costs, and Expenses

Rule 78 is the gateway to appeal, and the two recitals it requires are the most consequential sentences in Part X.

What a judgment is

A decree of dissolution, legal separation, dissolution or separation of a covenant marriage, or annulment; a judgment of paternity or maternity; and a decision defining or modifying legal decision-making, parenting time or child support. A decision resolving any Rule 23(a) petition or any Rule 91(b) post-judgment petition is a judgment. A temporary order is not.

The two recitals

Where fewer than all claims or parties are resolved, the court may direct entry of an appealable judgment only if it expressly determines there is no just reason for delay and recites that the judgment is entered under Rule 78(b). Without that determination and recital, the decision does not end the action as to anything and remains subject to revision at any time. And for this purpose a claim for attorney fees is treated as a separate claim from the merits.

Where all claims, issues and parties are resolved, the judgment is still not appealable unless it recites that no further matters remain pending and that it is entered under Rule 78(c). A complete judgment without the magic language is not appealable.

Attorney fees: claim early or lose it

A claim for fees, costs and expenses must be made in the pleadings or by motion filed before trial or a post-judgment evidentiary hearing, and included in any required pretrial statement. A claim not made in compliance is waived absent good cause. It must be supported by an itemized affidavit or exhibits, or by testimony at the court's discretion.

The trap is in the timing provision. If a party asserted a fee claim and the judgment omits a ruling on it, the claim is deemed denied unless the party files a timely Rule 83 motion. Silence is a denial, and the 25-day Rule 83 clock is the only way to fix it.

Form, entry and notice

Proposed judgments are served on all parties, and a judgment may not be entered until 5 days after service -- unless the opposing party endorses approval, the court waives or shortens the period for good cause, the party is in default, or the court itself prepared it. An objection may be filed within 5 days and a reply within 5 days after that.

Judgments must be in writing and signed by a judge or authorized commissioner, and where there are children in common must include an Education Order if the court finds one in their best interests. A judgment is entered when the clerk files it, and is not effective before entry, though a court may direct entry nunc pro tunc stating its reasons on the record. The clerk must immediately distribute notice and record the distribution -- but lack of notice does not affect the time to appeal, except as ARCAP 9(f) provides.

Two provisions with no civil analogue

A judgment may be entered after a party's death on a decision or issue of fact rendered in their lifetime -- except that an order dissolving the marriage may not be. And section (i) states flatly that offers of judgment under Arizona Rule of Civil Procedure 68 do not apply in any Title 25 action. The fee-shifting settlement device that shapes civil litigation is simply unavailable here.