ARIZONA REFORMS
Arbitration: SB 1204
(1991). Requires all cases filed in superior court to go to
arbitration, if the parties agree that the amount in question does not exceed
$50,000, which is the jurisdictional limit.
Allows the parties to waive the arbitration
requirement for good cause, if all parties file a written stipulation to do so.
Assumption of the Risk: SB 1305 (1994). Provides for an assumption of the risk defense in personal injury
lawsuits. Under the Arizona
Constitution, SB 1305 is technically unconstitutional and cannot be enacted
until the constitution is amended.
Collateral Source Rule
Reform: SB 1055 (1993): Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 12-565. Permits
the admissibility of evidence of collateral source payments in all civil
liability cases.
Construction Liability Reform: HB 2620 (2002). Requires a purchaser to wait to file a lawsuit
against a seller for a construction defect until after the seller has had an
opportunity to correct the defect.
Drunk Drivers’ Lawsuit Reform: SB 1305 (1994). Prohibits
lawsuits brought by drunk drivers in accidents where they are more than 50% at
fault. Under the Arizona
Constitution, SB 1305 is technically unconstitutional and cannot be enacted
until the constitution is amended.
Good Samaritan Protection: SB 1305 (1994). Provides
immunity from civil liability for volunteers, non-profit organizations
and emergency medical technicians. Under the Arizona
Constitution, SB 1305 is technically unconstitutional and cannot be enacted
until the constitution is amended.
Joint and Several Liability Rule Reform: SB 1036:
(1987): Ariz. Stat.
§ 12-2506. Bars application of the rule of joint and several liability in the recovery of all damages, except
in cases of intentional torts and hazardous waste. The statute abolishing joint liability did not
violate the equal protection, due process, or separation of powers provisions
of the State Constitution. Church v. Rawson Drug
& Sundry Co., 842 P.2d 1355 (Ariz. App.
1992). Retroactive
application of the statute abolishing joint liability was not
unconstitutional. Neil v. Kavena, 859 P.2d 203 (Ariz. App.
1993).
Jury Service Reform: H.B. 2133 (2006). Modifies
key provisions of ALEC’s Jury Patriotism Act that was adopted
in 2003 to make jurors eligible to receive compensation from the lengthy trial
fund (up to $300 per day) for those who serve on juries for more than five
days. In such circumstances, jurors
would then receive additional compensation beginning from the fourth day
served.
Jury Service Reform: HB 2305 (2005). Amends
criteria for perspective jurors to be excused from
service by permitting a person who
is at least 75 years of age to have the option to be temporarily or permanently excused from service. Provides that a judge or
jury commissioner may temporarily excuse
a prospective juror for good cause, such as a lack of transportation or absence
from the jurisdiction. Included
technical changes to the statement required for verification of the medical
need for an excuse due to a mental or physical condition that makes the
prospective juror unfit for service.
Jury Service Reform: H.B. 2520 (2003). Requires all people to serve on juries unless they experience undue
or extreme physical or financial hardship. Establishes a lengthy trial
fund from a modest filing fee to compensate jurors a minimum of $40 and a
maximum of $300 per juror, per day for trials lasting more than 10 days,
starting on the eleventh day of trial.
In such circumstances, jurors would also be eligible to retroactively
collect at least $40 but not more than $100 per day from the fourth day to the
tenth day of service. Prohibits an employer to require an employee to use
annual or sick leave for the time spent in the jury service process. Prohibits employers to dismiss or in any
other way penalize employees for responding to a jury service summons. Provides for protection of
small business owners by requiring the court to postpone the service of an
employee if another employee of that business is already serving on a jury. Allows for one automatic
postponement from service.
Medical Liability Reform: Contingent Fee Reform:
Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 12-568. Allows a court to consider the reasonableness of
attorneys’ fees in medical liability cases, taking into account factors such as
“the time and labor required, the novelty and difficulty of the questions
involved, and the skill requisite to perform the legal skills properly.”
Medical Liability
Reform: Immunity for Free Health Care Services: HB 2556 (1990). Limits
physician and health care facility liability related to the delivery of infants
under certain emergency care situations if the patient was not previously
treated for pregnancy by the physician, a group practice of the physician, or
the physician assistant and nurse midwife with whom the physician had an
agreement. (Unless elements are proved
by clear and convincing evidence, the licensed health care facility is not
liable to the female patient, the child or children delivered or their families
for medical malpractice related to labor or delivery.)
Medical Liability Reform: Periodic Payment of
Future Damages: HB 2123 (1989): Ariz. Rev. Stat. §§ 12‑582, 12‑592. Requires
a court to allow the periodic payment of periodic damages unless the opposing
party can show good cause why payments should not be made periodically.
Medical Liability
Reform: Postjudgment Interest Reform: HB 2162 (1994). Sets postjudgment interest rates on medical liability actions
(including those resolved through ADR) at the federal postjudgment interest
rate, with a floor of 3% and a ceiling
of 9%.
Obesity Litigation Reform: HB 2220 (2004). Exempts
from civil liability purveyors of food when the claim is a result from the
repeated consumption of a food product that is not defective and unreasonably
dangerous if consumed in reasonable quantities.
Provides that there is no duty to warn purchasers, users,
or consumers, regardless of age, that the consumption of a food product that is
not defective and unreasonably dangerous may cause healthy problems if consumed
excessively. Food product is
defined as any product that is grown, prepared, provided, served or sold and
that is primarily intended for human consumption and nourishment.
Police and Firefighters Liability Reform: SB 1305
(1994). Provides immunity from
civil liability for fire fighters and police officers acting within the scope
of their duties. Under the Arizona
Constitution, SB 1305 is technically unconstitutional and cannot be enacted
until the constitution is amended.
Prisoners’ Lawsuit Reform: SB 1305 (1994). Limits prisoners’ lawsuits.
Under the Arizona
Constitution, SB 1305 is technically unconstitutional and cannot be enacted
until the constitution is amended.
Punitive Damages Reform: Clear and Convincing
Evidence: Linthicum v. Nationwide Life Ins. Co., 723 P.2d 675 (Ariz. 1986). Requires a
plaintiff to prove punitive damages by “clear and convincing” evidence.
Punitive Damages Reform: FDA-Approved Drugs: SB
1453 (1989). Establishes a government standards defense to
punitive damages for FDA-approved drugs.