Arizona Laws 12-2325. Disclosure required by court or administrative hearing; appeals; sanctions
A. A court or administrative hearing officer with competent jurisdiction may require disclosure of a portion of an audit report in a civil or administrative proceeding if the court or administrative hearing officer determines after an in camera review that any of the following applies:
Terms Used In Arizona Laws 12-2325
- Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
- Audit report: means an audit report, prepared by an organization, as prescribed by section 12-2322. See Arizona Laws 12-2321
- Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
- 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.
- Health or safety law: means a federal, state or local statute, rule, regulation or ordinance, or a permit issued under a federal, state or local statute, rule, regulation or ordinance, that relates to occupational health, health or safety. See Arizona Laws 12-2321
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Organization: means a public or private company, corporation, political subdivision organized under title 48 of this code, firm, enterprise or institution, or any part or combination of these entities, whether incorporated or not, that has its own functions and administration. See Arizona Laws 12-2321
- Person: means an individual, employee, officer, managing body, trust, firm, joint stock company, consortium, public or private corporation, including a government corporation, partnership, association, state, political subdivision of this state or commission or the United States government, a federal facility, an interstate body or any other entity. See Arizona Laws 12-2321
1. The privilege is asserted for a fraudulent purpose.
2. The portion of the audit report is not subject to the privilege under section 12-2326.
3. The portion of the audit report shows evidence of noncompliance with a health or safety law and appropriate efforts to achieve compliance with the law were not promptly initiated and pursued with reasonable diligence after the discovery of the noncompliance.
B. A party seeking disclosure under this section has the burden of proving that subsection A of this section applies.
C. Notwithstanding any other law, a disclosure decision of an administrative hearing officer under subsection A of this section is directly appealable to a court of competent jurisdiction without disclosure of the audit report to any person unless disclosure is ordered by the court.
D. An organization claiming the privilege is subject to sanctions as prescribed by the rules of civil procedure or to a civil penalty not to exceed ten thousand dollars, if the court finds that the organization intentionally or knowingly claimed the privilege for nonprivileged materials prescribed in section 12-2326.
E. A court determination under this section is subject to interlocutory appeal to the court of appeals.