Superior Court of Arizona in Maricopa County Filing Rules

Proposed orders must be provided in WORD format, without the word "proposed" in the heading, and in final format without strikethrough.

A Settlement Conference Memo must be submitted to the specified court staff email addresses.

Motions and stipulations (including basic extensions) must be submitted with an accompanying order setting forth the precise relief requested or stipulated to.

Proposed orders must be lodged in eFile as separate Word documents without the word 'Proposed' in the filename.

At sentencing in cases involving restitution, counsel must be prepared to state whether the client waives appearance for any restitution hearing.

Contact the division in advance of trial to schedule a time to have exhibits marked.

Do not email or chat Judge Cushner directly; contact division staff instead.

Persons with COVID-19 exposure or symptoms must contact the division by email or phone to continue the hearing, waive appearance, or appear telephonically.

For longer hearings, counsel should request a block of time and the hearing will be set at the end of the calendar if granted.

Contact the Judicial Assistant by phone at (602) 506-3892 to reach the division.

Exhibits for an evidentiary hearing must be submitted to the division clerk for marking by noon three business days before the hearing.

Parties must communicate with the division about exhibits at least one week before trial or evidentiary hearing.

Documents other than exhibits must be emailed to Division staff by noon the court day before a hearing or trial.

Exhibits and publication documents must be emailed to the division and parties at least 24 hours before the hearing.

Dispositive motions filed less than five weeks before trial are unlikely to be ruled upon before trial.

Only one Motion for Summary Judgment per party is permitted absent leave of Court.

Counsel may request a telephonic status conference for discovery disputes by email to the Judicial Assistant instead of filing a motion to compel or protective order.

Parties must confer before involving the court in discovery disputes; if unresolved, parties must jointly call the division to schedule a telephonic discovery conference rather than filing anything.

Parties must meet and confer before filing any discovery motion.

Counsel and parties must meet personally to discuss Rule 16(b) matters.

Before seeking a continuance, contact the other party to see if a stipulation can be filed.

Brief extensions of response/reply deadlines can be arranged by emailing division staff; longer extensions require a motion or stipulation.

For a first continuance in EDC Court, counsel may file a motion stating the opposing side's position; one continuance will be granted if the plea, discovery, and time waiver are in place.

Motions to extend deadlines or continue hearings must be filed timely with a proposed order and copies to all parties.

Extension or continuance requests must include the current deadline, proposed new deadline, opposing party's position, specific good cause, and the position of all parties.

All pleadings must be e-filed.

Emailing documents to the judicial assistant does not replace filing; all documents must still be filed through the normal electronic filing process.

Hard copies of pleadings are generally not required; the Court considers matters based on properly filed electronic pleadings unless it orders otherwise.

E-filing is unavailable in probate and mental health cases; file-stamped copies of all filings must be delivered to the division.

All pleadings must be filed electronically.

E-filed pleadings with more than 5 exhibits must include PDF bookmarks for all exhibits; noncompliance results in rejection with a 14-day re-filing window.

Signature pages must contain at least two lines of text, including a form of order.

Proposed orders must be in Word format, must not use the heading 'proposed', and must not use strikethrough format because they should be in final form.

Proposed jury instructions and verdict forms should be in Word format and may be emailed directly to the Court.

Motions must be double-spaced.

Courtesy hard copies are not required except for deposition designations, where paper copies with objection/response charts are helpful.

Bench copies of exhibits are appreciated, preferably as a tabbed notebook with matching exhibit numbers.

Counsel must deliver a copy of any motions or pleadings to chambers so the judge sees them promptly.

Four copies of exhibits must be delivered in person to the Judicial Assistant at least 24 hours before trial/hearing.

One hard copy of all exhibits to motions must be provided to the division no later than 24 hours after the motion, response, or reply is filed.

Page limits must not be exceeded without leave of Court.

Motions in Limine and responses are limited to 4 pages each; no replies are permitted.

Each party is limited to five Motions in Limine (max 4 pages each, responses 4 pages, no replies) addressing only extremely prejudicial matters.

Discovery dispute briefing is limited to 3 pages, expandable to 6 pages upon a showing of good cause in exceptional cases.

Discovery dispute briefing is limited to 3 pages, expandable to 6 pages upon a showing of good cause in exceptional cases.

Parties may not combine multiple motions or a response/reply with a motion in a single filing.

All motions, responses, replies, and other filings must be submitted individually; bundling motions with responses is prohibited.

Each filing may contain only one motion, and each motion must be filed separately.

All motions, responses, replies, and court-requested filings must be submitted individually.

Only one motion may be included per filing; responses and replies may not be combined with motions (except a true cross-motion for summary judgment), and attorneys' fees or sanctions requests must be made by separate motion.

All documents and pleadings must be delivered to opposing counsel on the filing date.

Materials submitted to the Division must be provided to the other side unless there is a basis for ex parte review.

Proposed judgments must be lodged and served on the other parties, and the record must show service before the Court will enter the judgment; e-filing with an attorneys' fees application without shown service is insufficient.

Any document filed with the Court must be served on the opposing party or their attorney, with an indication on the pleading that service was made, or the Court will not consider the matter.

Exhibits intended for use during opening statements must be shown to opposing counsel at least 24 hours in advance.

Sensitive documents are typically filed as confidential documents rather than sealing the entire file.

Sealed filings are discouraged and require a significant reason.

Files may be sealed when justified, but sealing should be avoided unless absolutely necessary because it impedes access.

To file a document under seal under A.R.Civ.P. 5.4, the party must e-file a motion to seal, submit a proposed sealing order in Word format through eFile, lodge the document at the Clerk's filing counter, and simultaneously email an electronic copy to Division staff.

Requests to file under seal must comply with ARCP 5.4(d-e), including lodging the request in paper form per 5.4(e)(2).

The court reporter fee is $140 for a half-day and $280 for a full day of hearing.

The Court Reporter's deposit must be paid no later than two judicial days before the hearing.