Hobson v. Mid-Century Insurance

OPINION

PELANDER, J.

¶ 1 In these two cases, consolidated for appeal, the trial courts ruled as a matter of law that A.R.S. § 23-1023(0 does not permit an order compelling a workers’ compensation lienholder to pay, from the amount it is paid on account of its statutorily prescribed lien, an equitable share of the attorney’s fees and costs incurred by the claimant in a third-party tort action. The trial courts also ruled that, so construed, § 23-1023 does not unconstitutionally violate the separation of powers doctrine by infringing on the superior courts’ equitable power. Because we agree with…