A New Arizona Law Potentially Affecting Your Eviction Judgement

A NEW ARIZONA LAW POTENTIALLY AFFECTING YOUR EVICTION JUDGMENT

The Governor has signed HB 2244, which amends A.R.S. §§ 12-1567 and 22-247 - the satisfaction of judgment statutes for superior and justice court. The law still requires a prevailing party to file a satisfaction of judgment within 40 days of full payment, but it adds a new fast track procedure that community owners and operators need to watch closely.

Under the new provisions, when a tenant files a motion to compel satisfaction of a judgment following an eviction action, the landlord has only 15 days to respond (in justice court, the clock runs from the date the motion is filed and served under the Rules of Procedure for Eviction Actions).

If the landlord fails to respond in time:

The tenant's filing fee is waived;

The court may choose to not hold a hearing on the motion

The judgment is deemed satisfied once the tenant submits proof of payment (which may only be an affidavit of payment); and

The court may order the entire eviction record sealed under A.R.S. § 33-1379.

In short, silence costs you the judgment. If you fail to respond timely, there may not be a hearing and your eviction record could be satisfied and then sealed. Please remember, you already had a legal obligation to satisfy a judgment once it was paid.

Why this matters most when you have no record of payment. The most dangerous scenario is the one where a tenant claims a judgment was paid and your files show nothing has been paid. If you don't file a timely response, the court may deem the judgment satisfied on the tenant's submission alone - and may seal the record on top of it. Once that happens, your rights under the judgment are gone.

This is not merely a paperwork issue. For example, if you haven't been paid, and they file a motion to satisfy it, you could have your collection company seeking to collect on a judgment that has now been vacated. That can create liabilities.

Our recommendation: Treat every motion to compel satisfaction as urgent. Calendar the 15 day deadline the moment you are served, pull your payment ledger immediately, and get a written response filed - especially where your records do not reflect the payment claimed. This newsletter is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.