Rule 8. General Rules of Pleading

(a) Claim for Relief A pleading that states a claim for relief must contain:

(1) a short and plain statement of the grounds for the court's jurisdiction, unless the court already has jurisdiction and the claim needs no new jurisdictional support;

(2) a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief; and

(3) a demand for the relief sought, which may include relief in the alternative or different types of relief.

(b) Claims for Damages

(1) Restrictions on Pleading Dollar Amounts In all actions in which a party is pursuing a claim other than for a sum certain or for a sum which can by computation be made certain, no dollar amount or figure for damages sought may be stated in any pleading allowed under Rule 7. The pleading setting forth the claim may include a statement reciting that the minimum jurisdictional amount established for filing the action has been satisfied.

(2) Requirement to Plead Damage Tier A party who claims damages but does not plead an amount must plead that their damages are such as to qualify for a specified tier defined by Rule 26.2(c)(3).

(c) Defenses; Admissions and Denials

(1) Generally In responding to a pleading, a party must:

(A) state in short and plain terms its defenses to each claim asserted against it; and

(B) admit or deny the allegations asserted against it by an opposing party.

(2) Denials--Responding to the Substance A denial must fairly respond to the substance of the allegation. A denial does not fairly respond to the substance of an allegation if it:

(A) answers an allegation by stating that “the document speaks for itself”;

(B) answers an allegation by stating that the answering party “denies any allegations inconsistent with the language of a document”; or

(C) answers a factual allegation, or an allegation applying law to fact, by claiming that it states a legal conclusion.

(3) General and Specific Denials A party who intends in good faith to deny all the allegations of a pleading--including the jurisdictional grounds--may do so by a general denial subject to the obligations provided in Rule 11(a). A party who does not intend to deny all the allegations must either specifically deny designated allegations or generally deny all except those specifically admitted.

(4) Denying Part of an Allegation A party who intends in good faith to deny only part of an allegation must admit the part that is true and deny the rest.

(5) Lacking Knowledge or Information A party who lacks knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief about the truth of an allegation must so state, and the statement has the effect of a denial. A party thus cannot deny an allegation “on information and belief.” Instead, it must either admit or deny an allegation if it has information sufficient to form a belief, or must instead state that it has insufficient information to form a belief about the truth of an allegation.

(6) Effect of Failing to Deny An allegation--other than one relating to the amount of damages--is admitted if a responsive pleading is required and the allegation is not denied. If a responsive pleading is not required, an allegation is considered denied or avoided.

(d) Affirmative Defenses

(1) Generally In responding to a pleading, a party must affirmatively state any avoidance or affirmative defense, including:

(A) accord and satisfaction;

(B) arbitration and award;

(C) assumption of risk;

(D) contributory negligence;

(E) duress;

(F) estoppel;

(G) failure of consideration;

(H) fraud;

(I) illegality;

(J) laches;

(K) license;

(L) payment;

(M) release;

(N) res judicata;

(O) statute of frauds;

(P) statute of limitations; and

(Q) waiver.

(2) Mistaken Designation If a party mistakenly designates a defense as a counterclaim, or a counterclaim as a defense, the court must, if justice requires, treat the pleading as though it were correctly designated, and may impose terms for doing so.

(e) Pleading to Be Concise and Direct; Alternative Statements; Inconsistency

(1) Generally Each allegation of a pleading must be simple, concise, and direct. No technical form is required.

(2) Alternative Statements of a Claim or Defense A party may set out two or more statements of a claim or defense alternatively or hypothetically, either in a single count or defense or in separate ones. If a party makes alternative statements, the pleading is sufficient if any one of them is sufficient.

(3) Inconsistent Claims or Defenses A party may state as many separate claims or defenses as it has, regardless of consistency.

(f) Construing Pleadings Pleadings must be construed so as to do justice.

(g) Civil Cover Sheets

(1) Generally

(A) Except as provided in ACJA § 1-901, when filing a civil action, a plaintiff must complete and submit a Civil Cover Sheet in a form approved by the Supreme Court The public may obtain this form from the website of the Administrative Office of the Courts.

(B) The Civil Cover Sheet must contain:

(i) the plaintiff's correct name and mailing address;

(ii) the plaintiff's attorney's name and bar number;

(iii) the defendant's name(s);

(iv) the nature of the civil action or proceeding;

(v) the main case categories and subcategories designated by the Administrative Director;

(vi) the amount in controversy pleaded, or if that amount is not pled, the discovery tier to which the pleading alleges the action would belong; and

(vii) such other information as the Supreme Court may require.

(C) A superior court may require by local rule that additional information be provided in an Addendum to the Civil Cover Sheet

(2) Writs of Garnishment A writ of garnishment does not require a Civil Cover Sheet, but it must include, under the case number on the petition's or complaint's first page, one of the following notations, as applicable:

(A) federal exemption;

(B) enforce order of support;

(C) enforce order of bankruptcy;

(D) enforce collection of taxes; or

(E) non-earnings.

(h) Verification Unless a rule or statute specifically states otherwise, a pleading need not be verified or supported by an affidavit. If a rule or statute requires a pleading to be verified, the pleading must be accompanied by an affidavit by the party--or a person acting on the party's behalf who is acquainted with the facts--attesting under oath that, to the best of the party's or person's knowledge, the facts set forth in the pleading are true and accurate.

(i) Compulsory Arbitration A complaint and an answer must be accompanied by the certificate required by Rule 72(e) and any corresponding local rule.

(j) Third-Party Litigation Funding Agreements

(1) Generally A party whose litigation is subject to a third-party litigation funding agreement must separately file a certificate regarding third-party litigation funding at the same time the party files its initial pleading. If a party's litigation was not subject to a third-party litigation funding agreement at the time of filing but becomes subject to a third-party litigation funding agreement during the litigation's pendency, the party must file a certificate regarding third-party litigation funding no later than 7 days after entering the agreement and serve a copy on all other parties.

(2) Definitions For purposes of this rule, “Third-Party Litigation Funding” or “Third-Party Litigation Funding Agreement” means a third party enters into an agreement to provide funding for the purpose of pursuing or defending (which includes but is not limited to legal filings, appeals, testimony, discovery, retention of experts, preparing and drafting legal documents, creating a litigation strategy, and other related litigation expenses) a civil action, administrative proceeding, claim, cause of action, or a portfolio of cases, where the funder secures a financial interest in or benefit from any potential recovery. However, it does not include:

(A) loans, contracts, or arrangements to pay expenses that require repayment regardless of the outcome of the litigation;

(B) loans, contracts, or arrangements for personal needs or medical treatment of a party unless the purpose for doing so is to enable the pursuit of a claim;

(C) funding received from an entity, person, or insurer with a preexisting contractual obligation to indemnify or defend a party to the action or a health insurer which has paid, or is obligated to pay, any sums for health care for an injured person under the terms of any health insurance policy, plan, or agreement; or

(D) a contingent fee agreement between a party and its counsel for legal services as permitted by ER 1.5 of the Arizona Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 42 of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Arizona.

(3) Requirements The certificate regarding third-party litigation funding must:

(A) identify the name and address of any funders;

(B) identify the place of formation for any funder that is a legal entity;

(C) identify the nature of the financial interest of each funder in the litigation;

(D) identify whether approval by any funder is necessary for litigation or settlement decisions and, if so, the nature of the terms and conditions relating to that approval;

(E) indicate whether the funding is applicable to a portfolio of cases or is specific to this litigation;

(F) be signed by the party--or its counsel acting on the party's behalf who is acquainted with the third-party litigation funding--attesting that the statements in the certificate are accurate to the best of the signor's knowledge, information, and belief; and

(G) be in the form or a form substantially similar to the certificate adopted by the Administrative Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts.

(4) Additional Disclosures For good cause shown, the court may order additional disclosures, includingex partesubmission of the third-party litigation funding agreement to the court for anin camerareview. Only after anin camerareview, the court may order a party or its counsel to provide the third-party litigation funding agreement, or any portion of the agreement, to the other party if the court determines the disclosure will not run afoul of the work-product rule, the party seeking the agreement shows a substantial need, and then only if no less intrusive option is feasible. Any documents the court orders to be disclosed must be maintained as confidential by the receiving party, and that party is prohibited from further distributing such documents.