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Real Estate
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Arizona Supreme Court Issues Guidance Concerning HOA AmendmentsApril 25, 2022
On March 22, 2022, the Arizona Supreme Court issued a favorable opinion for individuals residing in a community governed by a Homeowners’ Association (“HOA”) who may wish to challenge the validity of amendments to the governing documents passed by a majority vote. This recent decision may apply most directly to those homeowners who oppose short-term rentals in their communities. In Arizona, many residential planned communities are governed by an HOA who seeks to enforce covenants, conditions, and restrictions (“CC&Rs”). CC&Rs are typically the most important governing document
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Business Litigation
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Qualifying Party Liability Exposure Clarified for Arizona ContractorsFebruary 7, 2022

To obtain a new contractor’s license, each contractor needs a “qualifying party.”  A qualifying party is a person who is a regularly employed person with the necessary experience and knowledge required under A.R.S. § 32-1122(E).  If the qualifying party later ceases to be connected with the licensee, a licensee is required to requalify through another person within sixty days after the date of disassociation.  Failing to do so will result in an automatic suspension of the contractor’s license. A.R.S. § 32-1127.01.
While the licensee’s need for a
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Family Law and Domestic Relations
BlogIt’s a New Year With New Child Support GuidelinesJanuary 26, 2022
The Arizona Child Support Guidelines are updated every four years and the 2022 updated Guidelines took effect January 1, 2022. Below is a summary of the key changes that may impact all currently pending child support cases and new cases moving forward, including an updated Child Support Worksheet that may change the amount of a previously ordered child support obligation. The updates also include numerous stylistic changes, reorganization of sections, updated examples, and changes in terminology that do not impact the child support obligation
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Early on November 4, 2021, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) filed its Emergency Temporary Standard (the “Standard”) requiring employers with 100 or more employees to implement mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policies no later than January 4, 2022.  These rules are added to OSHA’s existing Emergency Temporary Standard for Health Care providers and similar rules adopted by the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force with respect to contracts amended on or after October 15, 2021, or newly awarded on or after November 14, 2021.

Under the new guidance, by January 4, 2022, employers (other than healthcare providers and federal contractors
Continue Reading OSHA mandates new vaccination rules for large employers

Labor and Employment
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Vaccination Mandate: How Employers Can PrepareOctober 11, 2021
President Joe Biden recently announced a plan that would require all private employers with 100 or more employees to mandate employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or submit a COVID-19 test twice a week. This mandate will be issued by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration through a rarely used vehicle known as an Emergency Temporary Standard” (ETS). OSHA has not yet published the ETS although it can be expected to arrive within the upcoming weeks.
The potential costs of this mandate and
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Bankruptcy, Restructuring, and Creditors’ Rights
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But the Homestead Protection Increased to $250,000October 8, 2021

As the final part of our review of Arizona House Bill 2617 (AZ HB 2617), we will review the impact of the Bill on individual judgment debtors. The first two blogs can be found here.
AZ HB 2617 increases the homestead exemption amount from $150,000 to $250,000 and makes no changes to a homeowner’s eligibility to qualify for the homestead exemption.
A nonconsensual lien, including a judgment lien from a civil judgment, now entitles a creditor to a forced sale of the homestead property if
Continue Reading But the Homestead Protection Increased to $250,000

Bankruptcy, Restructuring, and Creditors’ Rights
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Will a Creditor be Able to Recover from a Recorded Judgment on a Homestead?September 27, 2021
Continuing our review of Arizona House Bill 2617 (AZ HB 2617), we will focus our attention on how the Bill impacts creditors. The original blog can be found here.
Creditors have several new collection rights for judgment liens. The first new right is that judgment liens now attach to the homestead property. Before the recently passed AZ HB 2617, a civil judgment created a judgment lien on all real property “except real property exempt from execution, including the
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Business Litigation

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Arizona Supreme Court Limits When Juries Are Allowed to Infer Causation in Medical Malpractice Claims

September 20, 2021

It is now a little easier for healthcare providers to defend against medical malpractice claims. Last month, in Sampson v. Surgery Ctr. of Peoria, LLC, the Arizona Supreme Court held:

If the cause of a patient’s death is (1) “disputed” and (2) “not obvious to an ordinary person,”

then a “jury in a medical malpractice case may not be left to ‘infer’ causation without the guidance of expert testimony.”

At least, this is how the Court stated its holding
Continue Reading Arizona Supreme Court limits when juries may infer causation in med-mal claims

Bankruptcy, Restructuring, and Creditors’ Rights

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What is the Arizona House Bill 2617 and What are the Effects on Both Creditors and Debtors?

September 10, 2021

Arizona House Bill 2617 (AZ HB 2617) amends four statutes relating to judgment liens and the homestead exemption; it was signed into law on May 19, 2021, and goes into effect on December 31, 2021. A judgment lien is a lien on real property created after a civil judgment is properly recorded. The homestead exemption is the amount of a home’s equity that is exempt from a forced sale. The homestead exemption generally “protects
Continue Reading How Arizona’s change to the homestead exemption will affect creditors and debtors

Bankruptcy, Restructuring, and Creditors’ Rights
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Is Your Bankruptcy Filing Ripe for An Adversary Complaint?July 19, 2021
An automatic stay, which is unique to bankruptcy, generally gives breathing room to a debtor who has filed a bankruptcy.  Meaning, if there was pending litigation or attempts to collect an outstanding obligation, the majority of those actions must cease subject to a further Bankruptcy Court order that removes the automatic stay.  In a previous blog post, “Will the ‘Return to Normalcy’ Increase Tenants Seeking Bankruptcy Relief?” we broadly discussed the automatic stay and debts that are either dischargeable versus non-dischargeable,
Continue Reading Is Your Bankruptcy Filing Ripe for An Adversary Complaint?

Bankruptcy, Restructuring, and Creditors’ Rights
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Will the “Return to Normalcy” Increase Tenants Seeking Bankruptcy Relief? May 20, 2021

Presently no moratorium or mandate that prevents a commercial landlord from evicting a tenant in default exists.  Federal and local governments have encouraged landlords to work with their tenants during the evolving impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.  In contrast, residential tenants have been afforded a moratorium until at least June 30, 2021, in most instances.  That said, some courts have recently issued rulings deeming the Center for Disease Control’s orders related to the eviction moratorium as unconstitutional.  Unless further extended or
Continue Reading Will the “Return to Normalcy” Increase Tenants Seeking Bankruptcy Relief?

Labor and Employment
BlogCOVID-19’s Implications for OSHA and the NLRAMay 7, 2021
Recent news regarding the COVID-19 pandemic brings long-awaited optimism as signs of improvement begin to show. According to recent statistics from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 40.7% of the Arizona population has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, with 28.9% being fully vaccinated. The number of confirmed cases and deaths related to COVID-19 continues to decline as well. As conditions seem to improve, businesses are eager to re-open their doors and bring back their workforce in an effort to return to “normal.”
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Bankruptcy, Restructuring, and Creditors’ Rights
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BANKRUPTCY AND DIVORCE: CONSIDERATIONS BEFORE FILINGApril 22, 2021

Introduction
The pandemic has taken a toll on married couples both financially and emotionally, which has caused many to contemplate filing for both divorce and bankruptcy. This is not to say that every bankruptcy leads to a subsequent divorce, or that every divorce will warrant the filing of a bankruptcy.  However, this article provides an overview of which process should be initiated first for those couples in the unique situation of being on the brink of filing for both divorce and bankruptcy. There is not a
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Recent news regarding COVID-19 vaccines seems to be overwhelmingly positive.  Johnson & Johnson has developed a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine which will soon enter manufacturing and distribution stages to eventually become widely available in the United States, along with the currently available Pfizer and Moderna vaccines which are now being administered to anyone 55 years or older in Arizona and essential workers, depending on state protocols.  With these positive developments, however, employers are now faced with the decision of what role vaccinations play in returning to the workplace.  In particular, employers must decide whether they want to require employees to receive
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With Valentine’s Day in our midst, love is in the air – and possibly in your workplace! Consider the scenario below:

You work in the Human Resources department of ABC Corp., a small, 20-person company that has always prided itself on maintaining a professional, but fun working environment. This year’s Valentine’s Day lunch is no exception; the heart-shaped cupcakes and garland are just the right amount of “festive” and the tiny bottles of champagne were a nice touch. You’re about to retrieve the candy hearts for the annual candy heart scrabble tournament when you notice the CEO, Robert, and the
Continue Reading 3 tips for navigating workplace romances – Valentine’s Day and beyond

Labor and Employment
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President Biden Targets Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Discrimination Through Executive OrderFebruary 11, 2021
Amongst the flurry of other recent executive orders and administrative directives during his first 30 days in office, President Joseph R. Biden signed an executive order seeking to eliminate gender identity and sexual orientation discrimination, and various overlapping forms of discrimination on the basis of multiple protected classes, in federal government departments and agencies.  This executive order closely follows on the heels of the Supreme Court’s June 15, 2020, decisions in the Bostock-Zarda-Harris trio of cases, ruling that Title VII of the
Continue Reading President Biden Targets Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Discrimination Through Executive Order