• Arizona civil court procedure is governed by the Rules of Civil Procedure for the Superior Courts of Arizona.Palais de Justice de Montpellier image by Florian Villes?¡§che from Fotolia.com
  
  The Arizona Rules of Civil Court Procedure constitute the set of rules and procedures that governs court process and the actions of all parties involved in a civil lawsuit in Arizona state court. Court procedure rules are not the law, but rather the means by which substantive legal issues are handled and decided by the courts. The rules for Arizona are promulgated by the Arizona Supreme Court and are similar to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which govern federal civil court procedure in Arizona.
  
  

Court Structure

• The Arizona state court system consists of five jurisdictions. The trial courts are comprised of the City Court, Justice Court and Superior Court. The City Court and Justice Court are known as inferior courts and are of limited jurisdiction, hearing only certain civil matters. The Justice Court's small claims division handles matters involving limited amounts of money. The Superior Court is known as a court of general jurisdiction and hears many civil, as well as criminal, matters for which the Arizona rules of civil procedure were written. The other two courts are appellate courts--the Court of Appeals and the Arizona Supreme Court--which hear appeals from the trial courts on matters of law.
  
  

Complaint

• Rule 3 of the Rules of Civil Procedure for the Superior Courts of Arizona states that a civil action, that is, a lawsuit, is commenced with the filing of a complaint with the court. Rule 8 states a complaint should include "a short and plain statement of the grounds upon which the court's jurisdiction depends..., a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief... [and] a demand for judgment for the relief the pleader seeks." Rule 4 requires that the complainant serve notice to the defendant 120 days after certification by the court, otherwise the court is required to dismiss the case.
  
  

Answer

• According to Rule 12, the defendant has 20 days to answer the complaint if he is located within the district and the service of the summons was not timely waived; otherwise the defendant may have 60 or 90 days. Rule 7 states that answers to any counterclaims by the defendant, cross-claims or third-party complaints, if any, must be made within 10 days. The answer to any complaint or counterclaim must contain one of several defenses, including lack of jurisdiction over the subject matter, lack of jurisdiction over the person, improper venue, insufficiency of process, insufficiency of service of process, failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted or failure to join a party under Rule 19.
  
  

Other Rules

• The Arizona court rules also cover other motions, pleadings, joinders and judgments. They share many commonalities with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. They can be found on the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law website and the website of the Arizona Judicial Branch.