How Arizona’s Notice of Claim Requirement Affects Lawsuits Against Public Entities

Generally, Arizona civil lawsuits do not require pre-suit notice, except where a statute specifically requires it, such as claims against public entities or public employees. For personal injury claims, the statute of limitations against private individuals and businesses is two years (and often, that can change – such as in the case of a dog bite. It’s always important to consult an attorney about statutes of limitations, no matter the type of case).

If you have a claim against a government entity or one of its employees, however, this two-year statute of limitations does not apply. Instead, under Arizona law an abbreviated two-step process exists. It consists of filing a Notice of Claim against the public entity (within 180 days), followed by a one-year statute of limitations.

At Verderame Law Group Arizona Injury Lawyers, we fight for personal injury victims who have claims for compensation against private parties and government agencies, their employers, and their contractors.

If you have a legal claim against a municipal, county, or state-level public entity in Arizona or one of its employees, you must act quickly to avoid being time-barred from being able to pursue it. Call Verderame Law Group to consult with one of our experienced Arizona plaintiff attorneys or contact us online as soon as possible.

In this blog post we cover Arizona’s Notice of Claim requirement for lawsuits against public agencies and their workers.

What is the notice of claim law in Arizona?

The Arizona law that establishes the Notice of Claim requirement for legal actions against public entities is Arizona Revised Statutes (ARS) Section 12-821.01.

The purposes of the statutory notice-of-claim requirement are to provide prior notice to allow public entities to investigate and assess potential liability, to facilitate settlement, and to assist in financial planning and budgeting.

What are Notice of Claim requirements in Arizona?

ARS 12-821.01 provides the following specific requirements for a valid Notice of Claim:

If you have a legal claim against a public entity, public school, or public employee, then you have 180 days to file a Notice of Claim. Any Notice of Claim not properly filed within this 180-day period is barred.

• The 180-day notice filing period begins on the day your legal cause of action accrues, or when you should reasonably know that it has. This is often the date of injury, but under Arizona’s discovery rule, a claim accrues when a person knew or reasonably should have known of the injury and its cause.
• For minors, or people who qualify as mentally incompetent or insane (if the condition prevents the person from understanding or acting on their legal rights), the time to file the Notice of Claim is within 180 days after a minor reaches age 18 or the disabling mental condition ends.
• If your claim must first be submitted to an alternative dispute resolution process, like binding or nonbinding arbitration or other review process that a statute, regulation, or other governmental rule or contractual obligation requires, then the 180-day period begins on the day when a final decision or notice of disposition is issued in the alternative dispute resolution procedure, administrative claim process or review process.
• If the claim against the public entity is based on a contract (expressly agreed in writing), then both parties can agree to extend the 180-day notice period.
• If your claim is based on federal law, then a Notice of Claim is not required.

What must be included in a Notice of Claim?

Under ARS 12-821.01, to be legally effective your Notice of Claim must include some specific information. This includes at a minimum:

• Facts sufficient to permit the public entity, public school or public employee to understand the basis on which you are claiming liability. You do not need to identify any legal theories in the notice on which you are basing your claim.
• A specific amount for which the claim can be settled, and facts that support that amount. When we say “specific” what this means is that you should not use imprecise language like “approximately” or “no less than,” because terms like these do not constitute a “specific amount” under the statute and are not compliant with the law.
• You do not need to use an “official” Notice of Claim form, if it includes the necessary information. You can find example Notice of Claim forms online.
• Here is an example of a generic Notice of Claim against the state of Arizona.
• Here is an example of a Notice of Claim for use in Maricopa County.

Often, law firms will not use the forms posted online, and that’s okay. The firms will use their own documents, which they created, and are complete and sufficient to give the entity a full understanding of the case.

What is the procedure to file a Notice of Claim?

In addition to including all the necessary information to establish a claim, you must deliver the Notice of Claim to the right person or persons who have authority to accept service for the public entity that is the subject of the claim.

Rule 4.1(h) of the Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure offers guidance on who is authorized to accept service:

(h) Serving a Governmental Entity. If a governmental entity has the legal capacity to be sued and it has not waived service under Rule 4.1(c), it may be served by delivering a copy of the summons and the pleading being served to the following individuals:

(1) for service on the State of Arizona, the Attorney General;

(2) for service on a county, the Board of Supervisors clerk for that county;

(3) for service on a municipal corporation, the clerk of that municipal corporation; and

(4) for service on any other governmental entity:

(A) the individual designated by the entity, as required by statute, to receive service of process; or

(B) if the entity has not designated a person to receive service of process, then the entity’s chief executive officer(s), or, alternatively, its official secretary, clerk, or recording officer.

It is important to properly serve the notice. If you have the notice served incorrectly, then this error may invalidate your claim.

If you want to make a claim against an employee of the public entity, then you must serve a separate Notice of Claim with that employee.

If a genuine issue of material fact exists about whether you have met the requirements of A.R.S. § 12-821.01, then this issue must be resolved before a trial on the merits, and at the earliest possible time.

Service of process, depending on the entity, can be convoluted and difficult. It’s one of the many reasons that it is important to work with an attorney early on your case, and not wait to hire a law firm until close to the 180 day deadline.

What happens after you serve the Notice of Claim?

Once you have properly served the notice, the public entity will consider whether to pay the claim, to deny it, or to otherwise consider settling it. If you do not hear back from the public entity within 60 days after filing the claim, then under ARS 12-821.01(E) this is a denial of your claim.

Alternatively, the public entity can deny your claim in writing before waiting 60 days.

If the public entity denies your claim, then you can move to the next step in the claim process and file a lawsuit against that entity. This is subject to a separate one-year statute of limitations that begins on the date when your claim accrues, not on the date you served the Notice of Claim (we are only considering the Notice of Claim in this blog post).

Do you have a possible claim against a public entity or public employee in Arizona?

If you have been harmed by the wrongful act of a public employee or have a legal dispute with a public entity in Arizona, then you have little time to file a Notice of Claim.

On top of this short time frame, another possible pitfall is that any mistake you make in completing the notice or in serving it can be fatal to your legal claim.

Because of these considerations, when you need to preserve your legal claim against the government it is a sound idea to engage the help of an experienced lawyer who is knowledgeable about the specific requirements of Arizona’s statutory law governing such claims. This is what you will have if you call us at Verderame Law Group.

Our Phoenix and Tempe personal injury lawyers will help you to understand the legal requirements you must comply with to prepare valid notice, file it with the right people, and do it in a timely manner.

• If you need help negotiating with a government agency about resolving your dispute, we can represent you.
• If you need to begin legal proceedings after your Notice of Claim is denied, we’re prepared to represent you in court.

Call us today to speak with one of our Arizona attorneys about your claim and to schedule a free consultation with us. Or use our online contact form to communicate with us.

Don’t wait and let your possible claim against the government expire before you know it. Call us now.