The court system in Arizona has three levels of jurisdiction governing what types of cases may be brought and the court’s role and responsibility in resolving those cases. This brief article will address those levels and how they interact with claims involving homeowners’ associations (“HOAs”) and Arizona homeowners.
Level 1 are the courts of Limited Jurisdiction. These include Justice of the peace courts and municipal (or city) courts with limited jurisdiction, meaning that their authority is restricted to certain cases. For claims involving HOAs, the Limited Jurisdiction courts involved are typically Justice Courts, which have limited jurisdiction over cases involving monetary disputes over amounts less than $10,000.00. In recent years lawyers for HOAs have become less and less willing, for a number of reasons, to bring cases in Justice Courts, though they still do file some Justice Court cases to collect small amounts of unpaid assessments.
Level 2 are the courts of General Jurisdiction, specifically the Superior Court of Arizona, which is a statewide trial court. Each county has at least one superior court facility, and Maricopa County has several superior court facilities located around the valley. The Superior Courts handle the widest variety of cases and the vast majority of the litigation we are involved in with HOAs is located in the Superior Court.
Level 3 are the courts of Appellate Jurisdiction. In Arizona, these are the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court. As Justice Court decisions and some administrative rulings can be appealed to the Superior Court, the Superior Court also sometimes serves as an appellate court. The state appellate courts have jurisdiction to review trials and decisions appealed to them. The Arizona Court of Appeals consists of two divisions, which hear most of the appeals that come from the Superior Court. If a litigant wishes to appeal from a ruling by the Court of Appeals. they must file a petition for review by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court justices evaluate the petitions for review and decide whether they will hear the case. Unlike the Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court is not required to hear every appeal.
Although not strictly part of the court system, there are many avenues of redress via administrative actions that are available in Arizona. In the case of disputes involving homeowners and HOAs, the Arizona Department of Real Estate is charged with handling certain kinds of complaints which are then heard by an Administrative Law Judge through Arizona’s Office of Administrative Hearings.
If you’re involved in a dispute that finds itself in any of the courts of Arizona you should seek legal counsel as soon as possible. Handling a case in the court system is governed by a complicated system of rules that can be nearly impossible to navigate without experienced representation.