Terms Used In Arizona Laws > Title 32 > Chapter 10 > Article 5 - Prompt Pay

• Action: includes any matter or proceeding in a court, civil or criminal. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Construction contract: means a written or oral agreement relating to the construction, alteration, repair, maintenance, moving or demolition of any building, structure or improvement or relating to the excavation of or other development or improvement to land. See Arizona Laws 32-1181
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Contractor: means any person, firm, partnership, corporation, association or other organization, or a combination of any of them, that has a direct contract with an owner to perform work under a construction contract. See Arizona Laws 32-1181
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Counterclaim: A claim that a defendant makes against a plaintiff.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Final completion: means the earliest of the following:

  (a) When the work, or the work under a portion of a construction contract for which the contract states a separate price, has been completed in accordance with the terms and conditions of the construction contract. See Arizona Laws 32-1181

• including: means not limited to and is not a term of exclusion. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• License: means an authorization for the person who is listed on the electronic, paper or other records maintained by the registrar to act in the capacity of a contractor. See Arizona Laws 32-1101
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Month: means a calendar month unless otherwise expressed. See Arizona Laws 1-215
• Owner: means any person, firm, partnership, corporation, association or other organization, or a combination of any of them, that causes a building, structure or improvement to be constructed, altered, repaired, maintained, moved or demolished or that causes land to be excavated or otherwise developed or improved, whether the interest or estate of the person is in fee, as vendee under a contract to purchase, as lessee or another interest or estate less than fee. See Arizona Laws 32-1181
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Person: means a corporation, company, partnership, firm, association, trust, society or natural person. See Arizona Laws 32-1101
• Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
• Registrar: means the registrar of contractors. See Arizona Laws 32-1101
• Retention: means a portion of a progress payment otherwise due from the owner to the contractor that is withheld pursuant to the terms and conditions of a construction contract to ensure proper performance of the construction contract. See Arizona Laws 32-1181
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subcontractor: means any person, firm, partnership, corporation, association or other organization, or a combination of any of them, that has a direct contract with a contractor or another subcontractor to perform a portion of the work under a construction contract. See Arizona Laws 32-1181
• Work: means the labor, materials, equipment and services to be provided by a contractor or subcontractor under a construction contract. See Arizona Laws 32-1181
• Writing: includes printing. See Arizona Laws 1-215