§ Rule 77 Right of Appeal
Rule 77. Right of Appeal
Text of rule effective January 1, 2008
(a) Notice of Appeal. Any party who appears and participates in the arbitration proceedings may appeal from the award or other final disposition by filing a notice of appeal with the Clerk of the Superior Court within 20 days after the filing of the award or 20 days after the date upon which the notice of decision becomes an award under Rule 76(b), whichever occurs first. The notice of appeal shall be entitled “Appeal from Arbitration and Motion to Set for Trial” and shall request that the case be set for trial in the Superior Court and state whether a jury trial is requested and the estimated length of trial. The Appeal from Arbitration and Motion to Set for Trial shall serve in place of a Motion to Set and Certificate of Readiness under Rule 38.1(a) of these rules.
(b) Deposit on Appeal. At the time of filing the notice of appeal, and as a condition of filing, the appellant shall deposit with the Clerk of the Superior Court a sum equal to one hearing day's compensation of the arbitrator, but not exceeding ten percent of the amount in controversy. If the court finds that the appellant is unable to make such deposit by reason of lack of funds, the court shall allow the filing of the appeal without deposit.
(c) Appeals De Novo. All appeals shall be de novo on law and facts. Any legal rulings and factual findings made by the arbitrator shall not be binding on the court or the parties, and any discovery had while the case was assigned to arbitration may be used in the superior court proceeding.
(d) Change of Judge. Upon filing a notice of appeal, all rights to change of judge are renewed and no event prior thereto shall constitute a waiver.
(e) Waiver of Right to Appeal. At any time prior to the entry of an award or other final disposition by the arbitrator, the parties may stipulate in writing that the award or other final disposition so entered shall be binding upon the parties. No appeal or collateral attack upon the award or other final disposition may be thereafter taken except as allowed by A.R.S. § 12-1501, et seq.
(f) Costs and Fees on Appeal. The deposit provided for in subparagraph (b) of this rule shall be refunded to the appellant if the judgment on the trial de novo is at least twenty-three percent (23%) more favorable than the monetary relief, or more favorable than the other type of relief, granted by the arbitration award or other final disposition. If the judgment on the trial de novo is not more favorable by at least twenty-three percent (23%) than the monetary relief, or more favorable than the other relief, granted by the arbitration award or other final disposition, the court shall order the deposit to be used to pay, or that the appellant pay if the deposit is insufficient, the following costs and fees unless the court finds on motion that the imposition of the costs and fees would create such a substantial economic hardship as not to be in the interests of justice:
(1) to the county, the compensation actually paid to the arbitrator;
(2) to the appellee, those costs taxable in civil actions together with reasonable attorneys' fees as determined by the trial judge for services necessitated by the appeal; and
(3) reasonable expert witness fees incurred by the appellee in connection with the appeal.
Upon final disposition of the case and lacking an order from the court for the disposition of the deposit provided for in paragraph (b) of this rule, the clerk of court shall refund the deposit to the party making the deposit.
(g) Discovery and Listing of Witnesses and Exhibits. In all cases in which an appeal is taken from the arbitration award, the parties shall proceed as follows:
(1) The appellant shall simultaneously with the filing of the Appeal from Arbitration and Motion to Set for Trial referenced above also file a list of witnesses and exhibits intended to be used at trial that complies with the requirements of Rule 26.1 of these rules. If the appellant fails or elects not to file such a list of witnesses and exhibits together with the Appeal from Arbitration and Motion to Set for Trial, then the witnesses and exhibits intended to be used at trial by appellant shall be deemed to be those set forth in any such list previously filed in the action or in the pre-hearing statement submitted pursuant to Rule 75(c) of these rules.
(2) Within 20 days after service of the Appeal from Arbitration and Motion to Set for Trial, appellee shall serve a list of witnesses and exhibits intended to be used at trial that complies with the requirements of Rule 26.1 of these rules. If the appellee fails or elects not to file such a list of witnesses and exhibits, then the witnesses and exhibits intended to be used at trial by appellee shall be deemed to be those set forth in any such list previously filed in the action or in the pre-hearing statement submitted pursuant to Rule 76(e) of these rules.
(3) The parties shall have 80 days from the filing of the Appeal from Arbitration and Motion to Set for Trial to complete discovery, pursuant to Rules 26 through 37 of these rules.
(4) For good cause shown the court may extend the time for discovery set forth in subsection (3) above and/or allow a supplemental list of witnesses and exhibits to be filed.
For text of rule of similar subject matter effective until January 1, 2008, see Rule 76, ante