News & Events

August 21, 2018 – The Arizona Supreme Court has vacated a decision of the Arizona Court of Appeals regarding the right of homeowners associations to impose monetary penalties for members’ violations of HOA rules. An Arizona statute entitles HOA boards to impose reasonable monetary penalties for such violations. Last year, […]

Effective August 3, 2018, clerks keeping minutes for public bodies, including cities towns, counties and school districts, must also record how each member voted on an item. Currently, it is common practice to just include the total number of votes for and against an item. Unchanged is the requirement that […]

On April 24, 2018, the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled that causation experts in medical malpractice cases do not need to be medical doctors. In Rasor v. Northwest Hospital LLC dba Northwest Medical Center, the court held that the strict statutory standards that apply to standard of care experts do not […]

April 12, 2018 – The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (“GASB”) recently issued a statement that requires disclosures of information not previously required. Statement No. 88 (“GASB 88”) says that governmental entities must make certain disclosures relating to debt, including direct borrowings and direct placements. These requirements are effective for reporting […]

Parents of students with disabilities are increasingly notifying school districts of their intent to digitally monitor their children at school. This well-meaning but intrusive technology may be coming to an IEP meeting near you. The most popular monitoring device, AngelSense, is advertised as a means to ensure child safety and […]

November 1, 2017 – The Arizona Court of Appeals held last week in Turtle Rock III Homeowners Assoc. v. Fisher that homeowners associations (“HOAs”) must have a written, promulgated schedule of fines in order to impose them against members, and the HOA must be able to prove that the fines are reasonable. […]

October 25, 2017 – The Arizona Supreme Court made it clear in its opinion issued last week in the case of Rasor/Miller v. Northwest Hospital, LLC that a plaintiff risks an adverse ruling on a motion for summary judgment if its standard of care expert fails to meet credential and clinical experience […]

Public officials, including City Managers, Finance Directors and other staff, have reason to be concerned about whether their City, Town, Special District, or School District is meeting continuing disclosure requirements. On August 23, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that the Beaumont Financing Authority of Beaumont, California agreed to settle […]

Effective August 9, Arizona has a new law requiring public schools to adopt policies that allow parents to opt their student out of the use of technology at school. In addition, education technology companies operating in Arizona, including internet sites, software as a service (SAAS) or mobile applications, may not […]

A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision may require changes to how local governments manage grant and other publicly funded programs if religious entities are excluded from participation. On June 26, 2017, the Court decided the case of Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer, Director, Missouri Department of Natural Resources. […]