(a) Filing a Notice of Appeal. Any party who appears and participates in the arbitration proceedings may appeal an arbitrator's award by filing a notice of appeal with the clerk. The notice of appeal must be entitled "Appeal from Arbitration and Motion for Trial Setting." It must request that the action be set for trial in the superior court, must state and the estimated length of trial, and must state whether there is a right to a jury trial and, if so, whether that right has been waived in whole or part.(b) Time for Filing. To appeal an award, a party must file a notice of appeal no later than 20 days after (1) the award is filed or (2) the date on which the notice of decision becomes an award under Rule 76(c), whichever occurs first.(c) Deposit on Appeal. At the time of filing the notice of appeal, the appellant must deposit with the clerk a sum equal to one hearing day's compensation of the arbitrator or 10 percent of the amount in controversy, whichever is less. The court may waive the deposit only on a showing that the appellant is financially unable to make such a deposit.(d) Appeal De Novo. Although the proceeding is denominated as an "appeal," the parties are entitled to a trial on all issues determined by the arbitrator. The arbitrator's legal rulings and factual findings are not binding on the court or the parties. If, however, the court finds that further proceedings before the arbitrator are appropriate, it may remand the action to the assigned arbitrator.(e) Waiver of Right to Appeal. At any time before the entry of an award by the arbitrator, the parties may stipulate in writing that the award so entered is binding on the parties. If the parties enter such a stipulation, no party may appeal or collaterally attack the award except as allowed by A.R.S. § 12-1501, et seq.(f) Discovery and Listing of Witnesses and Exhibits on Appeal.(1) Any discovery conducted while the action was assigned to arbitration may be used on appeal.(2) Simultaneous with the filing of the notice of appeal, the appellant may serve a "List of Witnesses and Exhibits Intended to be Used at Trial" that complies with Rule 26.1.(3) No later than 20 days after the Notice of Appeal is served, the appellee may serve a "List of Witnesses and Exhibits Intended to be Used at Trial" that complies with Rule 26.1.(4) If any party does not serve a timely "List of Witnesses and Exhibits Intended to be Used at Trial," that party's trial witnesses and exhibits will be deemed to be those set forth in any such list previously filed in the action or in the prehearing statement submitted under Rule 75(b).(5) The parties have 80 days after the filing of the notice of appeal to complete discovery under Rules 26 through 37.(6) For good cause, the court may extend the time to conduct discovery or to serve a supplemental list of witnesses and exhibits.(g) Refund of Deposit on Appeal. The clerk must refund the deposit on appeal to the appellant if: (1) the judgment on the trial de novo is at least 23 percent more favorable than the monetary relief or other type of relief granted by the arbitration award; or(2) there is no order from the court for the disposition of the deposit on appeal upon the action's final disposition.(h) Forfeiture of Deposit on Appeal; Sanctions on Appeal. If the judgment on the trial de novo is not at least 23 percent more favorable than the monetary relief or other type of relief granted by the arbitration award, the court must order that the deposit on appeal be used to pay the following costs and fees: (1) to the county, the compensation actually paid to the arbitrator;(2) to the appellee, those costs taxable in civil actions together with reasonable attorney's fees as determined by the trial judge for services necessitated by the appeal; and(3) reasonable expert witness fees incurred by the appellee in connection with the appeal. If the deposit is insufficient to pay those costs and fees, the court must order that the appellant pay them, unless the court, on motion, finds that imposing costs and fees would create a substantial economic hardship that is not in the interests of justice.
(i) Contact by Court. A court may contact an arbitrator regarding the arbitration award or other matters relating to the arbitration. Amended effective 1/1/2017; amended August 28, 2018 effective 1/1/2019.