Arizona

Civil Procedure

Civil Procedure

Rule 5.1 – Filing Pleadings and Other Documents

(a)Filing with the Court Defined. The filing of documents with the court is accomplished by filing them with the clerk. If a judge permits, a party may submit a document directly to a judge, who must transmit it to the clerk for filing and notify the clerk of the date of its receipt.
(b)Effective Date of Filing.

(1)Generally. Except for documents submitted directly to a judge under Rule 5.1(a), a document is deemed filed on the date the clerk receives and accepts it. If a document is filed electronically, it is deemed filed on the date and time the clerk receives it as is shown on the email notification from the court’s electronic filing portal or as is displayed within the portal, unless a required filing fee is not paid or the clerk later rejects the document based on a deficiency in the filing. If a filing is rejected because of a deficiency, the clerk must promptly provide the filing party with an explanation for the rejection.
(2)Documents Submitted Directly to a Judge. If a document is submitted directly to a judge under Rule 5.1(a) and is later transmitted to the clerk for filing, the document is deemed filed on the date the judge receives it.
(3)Late Filing Because of an Interruption in Service. If a person fails to meet a deadline for filing a document because of a failure in the document’s electronic transmission or receipt, the person may file a motion asking the court to accept the document as timely filed. On a showing of good cause, the court may enter an order permitting the document to be deemed filed on the date that the person originally attempted to transmit the document electronically.
(4)Incarcerated Parties. If a party is incarcerated and another party contends that the incarcerated party did not timely file a document, the court must treat the document as filed on the date it was delivered to prison authorities to deposit in the mail.
(c)Service with Filing and Documents to Be Filed.

(1)Filing and Service. After a complaint’s filing, if a document must be filed within a specified time, it must be both filed and served within that time period.
(2)Documents Not to Be Filed. The following documents may not be filed separately and may be filed as attachments or exhibits to other documents only if relevant to the determination of an issue before the court:

(A)Subpoenas. Any praecipe used solely for issuance of a subpoena or subpoena duces tecum, any subpoena or subpoena duces tecum, and any affidavit of service of a subpoena, except for postjudgment proceedings;
(B)Discovery and Disclosure Documents. Notices of deposition; deposition transcripts; interrogatories and answers; disclosure statements; requests for production, inspection, or admission, and responses; requests for physical and mental examination; and notices of service of any discovery or discovery response;
(C)Proposed Pleadings. Any proposed pleading, unless filing is necessary to preserve the record on appeal;
(D)Prior Filings. Any document that has been previously filed in the action, which may be called to the court’s attention by incorporating it by reference;
(E)Authorities Cited in Memoranda. Copies of authorities cited in memoranda, unless necessary to preserve the record on appeal; and
(F)Offers of Judgment. Offers of judgment served under Rule 68.
(3)Attachments to Judge. Except for proposed orders and proposed judgments, a party may attach copies of documents described in Rule 5.1(c)(2) to a copy of a motion, response, or reply delivered to the judge to whom the action has been assigned. Any such documents provided to the judge must also be provided to all other parties.
(4)Sanctions. If this rule is violated, the court may order removal of the offending document from the record and charge the offending party or counsel such costs or fees as may be necessary to cover the clerk’s costs of filing, preservation, or storage. It may also impose any additional sanctions provided in Rule 16(h).
(d)Proposed Orders; Proposed Judgments.

(1)Required Format. A proposed order or proposed judgment must be prepared and submitted as a separate document and may not be included as an integral part of a motion, stipulation, or other document. The proposed order or proposed judgment must be prepared in accordance with this rule, and must comply with the provisions of Rule 5.2. On the signature page, there must be at least two lines of text above the signature.
(2)Service and Filing. Any proposed order or proposed judgment must be served on all parties at the same time it is submitted to the court. The clerk may not file a proposed order or proposed judgment. The clerk must accept electronically-submitted proposed orders and proposed judgments; however, these electronically-submitted documents must not be included in the publicly-displayed court record. A party may file an unsigned proposed order or proposed judgment as an attachment or exhibit to a notice of lodging or other filing if directed by the court, required by rule, or done to preserve the record on appeal.
(3)Stipulations and Motions; Proposed Forms of Order.

(A) All written stipulations must be accompanied by a proposed order. If the proposed order is signed and entered, no minute entry need issue.
(B) If a motion is accompanied by a proposed order, no minute entry need issue if the order is signed and entered.
(e) Sensitive Data.

(1)Generally. A person must refrain from including the following sensitive data in any document the person files with the court, whether filed electronically or in paper, unless otherwise ordered by the court or as prescribed by law:

(A)Social Security Numbers. If an individual’s social security number must be included in a document, only the last 4 digits of that number may be used.
(B)Financial Account Numbers. If financial account numbers are relevant or set forth in a document, only the last 4 digits of these numbers may be used.
(2)Responsibility with Filer. The responsibility for not including or redacting sensitive data rests solely with the person making a filing with the court. The clerk and the court are not required to review documents for compliance with this rule, or to seal or redact documents that contain sensitive data.
(3)Request for Relief. If a document is subject to availability by remote electronic access under Arizona Supreme Court Rule 123, any party or the party’s attorney may ask the court to order, or the court may order on its own, that the document be sealed and/or replaced with an identical document with the sensitive data redacted or removed.
(4)Sanctions. If this rule is violated, the court may impose sanctions against the responsible counsel or party to ensure future compliance.

Ariz. R. Civ. P. 5.1

Amended effective January 1, 2017; amended August 31, 2017, effective July 1, 2018.