--- name: az-law-references description: > Matter-neutral reference catalog for Arizona civil practice. Contains Ariz. R. Civ. P. maps (pleadings, mandatory initial disclosure Rule 26.1, tiered-case discovery Rule 26.2 Tier 1/2/3, interrogatories, production, admissions, depositions, summary judgment, default, judgments, relief, compulsory arbitration); separate ARFLP (Arizona Rules of Family Law Procedure); Ariz. R. Evid. including business-records (Rule 803(6)), self-authentication (Rule 902(11)), Daubert adoption (Rule 702); fees-and-costs framework; Bluebook citation conventions; landmark precedents; online-sources/data-API catalog. Triggers: "Arizona civil rule", "Ariz. R. Civ. P.", "Rule 26.1", "Rule 26.2", "tiered discovery", "Arizona summary judgment", "compulsory arbitration", "Arizona evidence rule", "Ariz. R. Evid.", "ARFLP", "A.R.S. § ...", "Arizona citation format", "look up Arizona law on X". Host skill for reference corpora. version: 0.1.2 --- # Arizona Law References > **NOT LEGAL ADVICE.** Reference catalog only. Read the cited rule, > statute, or case in full — and confirm it is current — before relying > on it. This is the **matter-neutral** reference index for Arizona civil practice. Other skills in the `az-court-docs` plugin point here for rule numbers, statute citations, and case authorities. This skill is also the physical **host** of the plugin's reference corpora. ## What's here ``` references/ ├── civil-rules.md # Ariz. R. Civ. P. map (pleadings, disclosure, tiered discovery, SJ, arbitration) ├── evidence-rules.md # Ariz. R. Evid. map (relevance, hearsay, authentication, experts, privileges) ├── family-rules.md # Arizona Rules of Family Law Procedure (ARFLP) — SEPARATE rule set for Title 25 ├── fees-and-costs.md # Filing fees + cost / fee-shifting framework ├── citation-format.md # Bluebook-based Arizona citation conventions ├── key-cases.md # Landmark Arizona civil + family precedents ├── online-sources.md # Canonical human-facing URLs ├── legal-data-apis.md # Programmatic access (azleg.gov, azcourts.gov, CourtListener) ├── court-rules/ # Verbatim Ariz. R. Civ. P. / Ariz. R. Evid. / ARFLP / local-rule text — corpus ├── az-statutes-debt/ # Arizona Revised Statutes chapters for civil practice — corpus ├── federal-debt-laws/ # FDCPA, FCRA, TILA, etc. (symlink into the │ # shared claude-legal-federal-laws plugin) ├── federal-bankruptcy/ # Title 11 U.S.C. (symlink into shared plugin) └── ucc-model/ # Model UCC Articles 1/2/3/9 (symlink into shared plugin) ``` The three symlinked corpora (`federal-debt-laws/`, `federal-bankruptcy/`, `ucc-model/`) point into the shared `claude-legal-federal-laws` plugin so the federal text is stored once, not copied per state. The Arizona- specific corpora (`court-rules/`, `az-statutes-debt/`) and the eight curated `*.md` index files live physically under this skill. ## Two rule sets — civil vs. family > **Arizona runs two separate sets of trial-court procedural rules.** > General civil cases are governed by the **Arizona Rules of Civil > Procedure (Ariz. R. Civ. P.)**. **Title 25 family-law cases** > (dissolution, legal separation, paternity, legal decision-making / > custody, parenting time, child support, spousal maintenance) are > governed by the **Arizona Rules of Family Law Procedure (ARFLP)** — a > distinct rule set with its own numbering, its own disclosure rule > (ARFLP Rule 49), and family-specific procedures (resolution management > conferences, parenting conferences, ADR). Do not cite a civil rule > number in a family matter or vice versa. The civil-rules map is in > `references/civil-rules.md`; the family-rules map is in > `references/family-rules.md`. ## Court structure — terminology Arizona trial courts and the vocabulary used across this plugin: | Court | Jurisdiction | |---|---| | **Superior Court** | General-jurisdiction trial court; one in each of Arizona's 15 counties. Hears civil claims above the justice-court ceiling, family-law (Title 25) matters, probate, and appeals from the limited-jurisdiction courts. Governed by the Ariz. R. Civ. P. (civil) and the ARFLP (family). | | **Justice Court** | Limited-jurisdiction court (justice of the peace); civil money claims up to the statutory ceiling, eviction (forcible / special detainer) actions, and small claims. Confirm the current civil jurisdictional ceiling in `references/az-statutes-debt/`. | | **Small Claims Division** | Informal division of the Justice Court for low-dollar claims; relaxed procedure with limited or no appeal — confirm the current ceiling and appeal rules. | | **Municipal (City) Court** | Limited-jurisdiction court for city ordinance and criminal / traffic matters; generally not a civil money-damages forum. | Arizona has **15 counties**. The appellate courts are the **Arizona Court of Appeals** (intermediate; **Division One** in Phoenix and **Division Two** in Tucson) and the **Arizona Supreme Court** (court of last resort). ## Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure (Ariz. R. Civ. P.) The full civil-practice map lives in `references/civil-rules.md`. The load-bearing features for this plugin: - **Pleadings — Rules 7-15.** Forms of pleadings and motions, the complaint and answer, defenses including the **Rule 12(b)(6)** motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, counterclaims and cross-claims, and amendment under Rule 15. - **Mandatory initial disclosure — Rule 26.1.** Arizona requires broad, automatic disclosure of witnesses, documents, the factual and legal bases of claims and defenses, and the computation of damages **without waiting for a discovery request**. This is a distinctive Arizona feature; treat it as the spine of Arizona discovery. - **Tiered-case discovery — Rule 26.2.** Cases are assigned to **Tier 1, Tier 2, or Tier 3** based primarily on the amount in controversy, and each tier carries its own caps on deposition hours, interrogatories, requests for production, requests for admission, and the discovery period. Tier assignment can be adjusted for proportionality. The current dollar thresholds and per-tier limits are in `references/civil-rules.md` (stated with "verify current") and in the verbatim rule under `references/court-rules/`. - **Interrogatories — Rule 33** (a general 40-interrogatory ceiling, but the operative cap in a given case is usually the Rule 26.2 tier limit — confirm which controls); **production — Rule 34**; **admissions — Rule 36**; **depositions — Rule 30.** - **Summary judgment — Rule 56.** Arizona's analog to FRCP 56; the governing standard was set in *Orme School v. Reeves* (see `references/key-cases.md`). - **Default — Rule 55** (entry of default and default judgment). - **Judgments — Rules 54 and 58** (form, entry, and the Rule 54(b) / (c) finality provisions). - **New trial — Rule 59; relief from judgment — Rule 60.** - **Compulsory arbitration — Rules 72-77.** Civil cases at or under the county's arbitration jurisdictional limit are routed to mandatory, non-binding arbitration, with a right to appeal for a trial de novo. The dollar limit is **set by each county by local rule** — confirm the current figure for the filing county. Confirm current subrule lettering, day counts, dollar ceilings, and tier thresholds against the verbatim text in `references/court-rules/` and the statutes in `references/az-statutes-debt/` before relying on them. ## Arizona Rules of Evidence (Ariz. R. Evid.) The evidence map lives in `references/evidence-rules.md`. The two most load-bearing rules for documentary civil practice (especially debt-buyer and business-records matters): - **Rule 803(6)** — the **business-records** hearsay exception. A record of a regularly conducted activity is admissible if a custodian or other qualified witness (or a self-authenticating certification under Rule 902(11)) lays the foundation that it was made at or near the time by someone with knowledge, kept in the regular course of business, and that keeping it was a regular practice — unless the source or circumstances indicate a lack of trustworthiness. - **Rule 902(11)** — **self-authentication** of certified domestic records of a regularly conducted activity, so no live foundation witness is required where the certification and advance-notice requirements are met. Other commonly cited rules: **401-403** (relevance; probative value vs. unfair prejudice), **702** (expert testimony — Arizona **adopted the *Daubert* reliability standard by rule effective January 1, 2012**), **801-807** (hearsay), **901-902** (authentication), and the privilege rules. See `references/evidence-rules.md`. ## Fees and costs The fees-and-costs framework lives in `references/fees-and-costs.md`. Arizona generally follows the **American rule** — each party bears its own attorney's fees unless a statute, rule, or contract shifts them. Key hooks: - **A.R.S. § 12-341** — taxable **costs to the prevailing party** (as of right). - **A.R.S. § 12-341.01** — **discretionary attorney's fees in contested contract actions.** This is the central fee-shifting statute in consumer-debt and contract litigation; the award is discretionary and is capped at the reasonable fees actually paid or owed. Confirm the current text. - **Rule 68** (Ariz. R. Civ. P.) — **offer of judgment** with sanctions against a party that rejects an offer and fails to obtain a more favorable result. The ARFLP has its own analog for family cases — confirm. - **A.R.S. § 12-302** — **deferral or waiver of court fees and costs** for parties unable to pay; the court may defer, waive, or set a payment schedule. Confirm current dollar amounts (filing fees, ceilings) with the clerk of the filing court and against `references/az-statutes-debt/`. ## Citation format Arizona uses **Bluebook-based** citation. Details and examples are in `references/citation-format.md`. Highlights: - **Cases**: parallel cite to the official **Arizona Reports** and the regional **Pacific Reporter** — e.g., `State v. X, 123 Ariz. 456, 789 P.2d 12 (1990)`. Court of Appeals opinions carry **`Ariz. App.`** and a `P.2d` / `P.3d` parallel cite. Italicize case names; place the year in parentheses. - **Statutes**: `A.R.S. § 12-541` (Arizona Revised Statutes; section symbol). - **Rules**: `Ariz. R. Civ. P. 56`; `Ariz. R. Evid. 803(6)`; `ARFLP 49`. ## Local rules — where they live Statewide civil format follows the Ariz. R. Civ. P.; family format the ARFLP. Individual Superior Courts adopt **local rules** for venue-specific mechanics (motion scheduling, courtesy copies, civil cover sheets). E-filing is via **AZTurboCourt** and county e-filing systems; electronic filing is mandatory in a growing set of courts — confirm whether e-filing is required in the venue. See `references/online-sources.md` for the rules and self-service portals. ## Online sources and data APIs - Human-facing canonical URLs (azcourts.gov for the rules, self-service center, and AZTurboCourt; azleg.gov for the A.R.S.; the Arizona appellate opinions site): see `references/online-sources.md`. - Programmatic access (azleg.gov ARS pages, azcourts.gov rules, CourtListener Arizona Supreme Court + Court of Appeals, the connected CourtListener MCP): see `references/legal-data-apis.md`. ## Composition - Every other Arizona skill cites this one for rule numbers, statute numbers, and case authorities. - For statewide document format: `az-statewide-format`. - For the filing court's mechanics: the county / venue skills. - For pro se conventions: `az-pro-se`. - For matter-specific bundles: `az-consumer-debt` and the family-law bundle. ## References - `references/civil-rules.md` — Ariz. R. Civ. P. civil-practice map - `references/evidence-rules.md` — Ariz. R. Evid. map - `references/family-rules.md` — Arizona Rules of Family Law Procedure (ARFLP) map - `references/fees-and-costs.md` — fees and cost / fee-shifting framework - `references/citation-format.md` — Bluebook-based Arizona citation conventions - `references/key-cases.md` — landmark Arizona civil + family precedents - `references/online-sources.md` — canonical human-facing URLs - `references/legal-data-apis.md` — programmatic access index - `references/court-rules/` — verbatim Ariz. R. Civ. P. / Ariz. R. Evid. / ARFLP / local-rule corpus - `references/az-statutes-debt/` — Arizona Revised Statutes chapters for civil practice - `references/federal-debt-laws/` — federal-law corpus (symlink) - `references/federal-bankruptcy/` — Title 11 U.S.C. corpus (symlink) - `references/ucc-model/` — Model UCC text (symlink)