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Summary Review of Court Systems -
Arizona
Structure of Civil Courts
Supreme Court
- Located in Phoenix, Arizona.
- Comprised of seven (7) justices.
Court of Appeals
Division I
- Located in Phoenix, Arizona.
- Comprised of sixteen (16) judges.
- Serves cases arising from eight (8) counties: Apache, Coconino, LaPaz, Maricopa, Mohave, Navajo, Yavapai, and Yuma.
- Division II
Located in Tucson, Arizona. - Comprised of six (6) judges.
- Serves cases arising from seven (7) counties: Cochise, Gila, Graham, Greenlee, Pima, Pinal, and Santa Cruz.
County Superior Courts
- Arizona’s Superior Courts have jurisdiction over civil lawsuits in which the amount in controversy is greater than $10,000. (1)
Justice Courts
- Arizona’s Justice Courts have jurisdiction over civil lawsuits in which the amount in controversy is $10,000 or less.
Small Claims Courts
- Arizona’s Small Claims Courts have jurisdiction over civil lawsuits in which the amount in controversy is $3,500 or less.
Basis of Jurisdiction
The amount in controversy establishes jurisdiction. Please see above for specific information regarding jurisdiction
Commercial Courts
To date, Maricopa County is the only county that has established a commercial court program. Participation in the commercial court program is voluntary. For specific information concerning a matter’s eligibility for commercial court, please see Ariz. R. Civ. P. 8.1.
Mediation
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
Under Ariz. R. Civ. P. 16, unless the court orders otherwise for good cause, a deadline for holding a Rule 16.1 settlement conference or private mediation must occur no more than 15 months after the action commenced, but in no event later than 60 days after the date discovery is set to complete consistent with the discovery tier to which the case is assigned under Rule 26.2(f). Ariz. R. Civ. P. 16
Depending upon the county in which the case is brought and the amount in controversy, a matter may be subject to compulsory arbitration. (2)
County /Amount In Controversy (3)
Greenlee, La Paz, Pima, Santa Cruz/ $1,000
Apache/ $10,000
Gila /$25,000
Graham/ $30,000
Pinal/ $40,000
Cochise, Maricopa, Mohave, Yuma/ $50,000
Coconino, Yavapai /$65,000
Footnotes
(1)There are two exceptions to this rule. (e.g. In Graham County, and Gila County, the Superior Court has jurisdiction over disputes of $5,000 or more.)
(2)Navajo County has no mandatory arbitration provision.
(3) AZ ST APACHE SUPER CT Rule 8; AZ ST COCHISE SUPER CT Rule 11; AZ ST COCONINO SUPER CT Rule 16; AZ ST GILA SUPER CT Rule 13; AZ ST GRAHAM SUPER CT Rule 2.1; AZ ST GREENLEE SUPER CT Rule 7; AZ ST LA PAZ SUPER CT Rule 10; AZ ST MARICOPA SUPER CT Rule 3.10; AZ ST MOHAVE SUPER CT Rule CV-6; AZ ST PIMA SUPER CT Rule 2.9; AZ ST PINAL SUPER CT Rule 3.11; AZ ST SANTA CRUZ SUPER CT Rule 5; AZ ST YAVAPAI SUPER CT Rule 10; AZ ST YUMA SUPER CT Rule 10.