Sorting Problem? Most Recent Entry When Selecting Multiple Columns

I'm trying to determine the oldest timestamp that meets given criteria which includes a specific action_type code. That code can legitimately be performed more than once on an item (all actions are recorded in an actions table, so the full history is available).

actions table (columns: action_id, request_id, action_type, action_time, action_reason)

I'm having trouble getting the most recent timestamp for the given action_type I'm looking for, when that action_type has been performed more than once.

My intent with the query below is to get the most recent action_time and it's request_id that meets the criteria


SELECT TOP 1 a.action_time, r.request_id FROM requests r JOIN incident i ON r.request_id = i.request_id LEFT JOIN actions a ON r.request_id = a.request_id WHERE i.refund_type = 1 AND (r.status_code = 3 OR r.status_code = 14) AND a.action_type = 3 ORDER BY a.action_time


So for example, if the item with request_id 1334 has had action_type 3 performed on it twice, once at 2007-10-15 13:30:00 and then again at 2007-10-17 14:40:00, it's picking up the former, when I want the later. That it had action_type 3 performed on it twice is legitimate. (larger context an item was approved by a manager, then rejected by a processor, and then approved by a manager again after resubmission)

Hopefully this has made sense so far.

So, how do I make sure I'm getting the most recent action time, when I don't know if the item in particular will have more than one of this action type performed on it?