Arizona Laws 12-716. Injury during criminal acts; civil actions; presumptions; definitions
A. If the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that a plaintiff is harmed while the plaintiff is attempting to commit, committing or fleeing after having committed or attempted to commit a felony criminal act or if a person intentionally or knowingly caused temporary but substantial disfigurement or temporary but substantial impairment of any body organ or part or a fracture of any body part of another person, the following presumptions apply to any civil liability action or claim:
Terms Used In Arizona Laws 12-716
- Action: includes any matter or proceeding in a court, civil or criminal. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- including: means not limited to and is not a term of exclusion. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Peace officers: means sheriffs of counties, constables, marshals, policemen of cities and towns, commissioned personnel of the department of public safety, personnel who are employed by the state department of corrections and the department of juvenile corrections and who have received a certificate from the Arizona peace officer standards and training board, peace officers who are appointed by a multicounty water conservation district and who have received a certificate from the Arizona peace officer standards and training board, police officers who are appointed by community college district governing boards and who have received a certificate from the Arizona peace officer standards and training board, police officers who are appointed by the Arizona board of regents and who have received a certificate from the Arizona peace officer standards and training board, police officers who are appointed by the governing body of a public airport pursuant to section 28-8426 and who have received a certificate from the Arizona peace officer standards and training board, peace officers who are appointed by a private postsecondary institution pursuant to section 15-1897 and who have received a certificate from the Arizona peace officer standards and training board and special agents from the office of the attorney general, or of a county attorney, and who have received a certificate from the Arizona peace officer standards and training board. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Person: includes a corporation, company, partnership, firm, association or society, as well as a natural person. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
- United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Arizona Laws 1-215
1. A victim or peace officer is presumed to be acting reasonably if the victim or peace officer threatens to use or uses physical force or deadly physical force or a police tool product to either:
(a) Protect himself or another person against another person’s use or attempted use of physical force or deadly physical force.
(b) Effect an arrest or prevent or assist in preventing a plaintiff’s escape.
2. This state or a political subdivision of this state is presumed to have reasonably hired and trained its peace officers to use physical force or deadly physical force if a peace officer threatens to use or uses physical force or deadly physical force to either:
(a) Protect himself or another person against another person’s use or attempted use of physical force or deadly physical force.
(b) Effect an arrest or prevent or assist in preventing a plaintiff’s escape.
3. The police tool product that caused the physical harm and any accompanying warning or instruction are presumed not to be defective and the manufacturer of police tools is presumed not to be negligent if, before the sale by the manufacturer, the product either:
(a) Conforms with the generally recognized state of the art applicable to the safety and warnings of the product at the time the product was designed, manufactured, packaged and labeled.
(b) Complies with any applicable code, standard, regulation or specification that is established, adopted, promulgated or approved by the United States or this state or any agency of the United States or this state.
B. If a party files a motion to dismiss or a motion for summary judgment pursuant to this section and the court grants the motion, the court shall award the moving party costs and attorney fees.
C. For the purposes of this section:
1. "Costs" means all costs that are reasonably incurred in connection with the motion, including filing fees, record preparation and document copying fees, time away from employment, expert witness fees, travel expenses and any other costs that the court deems appropriate.
2. "Plaintiff" includes the heir or estate of a deceased person who was attempting to commit, committing or fleeing after having committed or attempting to commit a felony or misdemeanor criminal act or was under the influence of an intoxicating liquor or a drug.
3. "Police tool product" means any weapon, safety equipment or product that is used by law enforcement.