In Re Appeal In Juvenile Action No. J-88515

By order dated August 15, 1984, we accepted jurisdiction, indicating that a decision on the merits would follow. We begin by reviewing the facts giving rise to these special actions. According to the complaint which was filed, the respondent, Karl Phillips, was injured in an airplane crash on August 27, 1981. The airplane was equipped with a used engine which had been rebuilt by petitioner Air Power Inc., a California corporation. It was installed in the aircraft by petitioner Ayres Corporation, a Georgia corporation. Respondent filed his complaint in Maricopa County, Arizona on August 19, 1982, alleging negligence and strict liability against both petitioners. The date on which the complaint was filed was well within the two-year statute of limitations. See A.R.S. § 12-542. As previously noted, both petitioners are out-of-state corporations. Rule 6(f) of the Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure provides a one-year time limit within which to serve summons upon a defendant after the complaint has been filed. One day before the one-year time limit for service had run, respondent made an ex parte motion for a six-month extension of time within which to accomplish service upon defendants. Judge James Moeller, a Maricopa County superior court judge, granted the motion, including the following proviso which he specifically added to the order which respondents counsel had prepared: