Stambaugh v. Butler

¶ 19 The unambiguous language of a statute is not made ambiguous simply by virtue of its longstanding misapplication. In Arizona, persons owning range livestock are required to adopt and record a brand with the Arizona Department of Agriculture (the Department), which they may then affix to their livestock to provide evidence of ownership. A.R.S. §§ 3-1261(A), -1267(B), -1371(1), (4). Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.) § 3-1261(B) unequivocally states, “[n]o two brands of the same design or figure shall be adopted or recorded.”

¶ 20 Here, the parties agree the bar seven brands issued by the…