Arizona Laws 40-360.28. Civil penalty; liability
A. Except as provided in Section 40-360.22, subsection M, a person who violates any provision of this article is subject to a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed five thousand dollars to be imposed by the court in favor of the state. Any penalties received by the state shall be deposited in the state general fund.
Terms Used In Arizona Laws 40-360.28
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Excavation: means any operation in which earth, rock or other material in the ground is moved, removed or otherwise displaced by means or use of any tools, equipment or explosives and includes, without limitation, grading, trenching, digging, ditching, drilling, augering, boring, tunnelling, scraping, cable or pipe plowing and driving. See Arizona Laws 40-360.21
- including: means not limited to and is not a term of exclusion. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Person: means any individual, firm, joint venture, partnership, corporation, association, homeowners' association, municipality, governmental unit, department or agency and shall include any trustee, receiver, assignee or personal representative thereof. See Arizona Laws 40-360.21
- Property: includes both real and personal property. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Underground facilities operator: means a public utility, municipal corporation, landlord or other person having the right to bury underground facilities in any public street, alley, right-of-way dedicated to the public use or public utility easement, in any apartment community or mobile home park or pursuant to any express or implied private property easement. See Arizona Laws 40-360.21
- Underground facility: means any item of personal property that is buried or placed below ground for use in connection with the storage or conveyance of water, sewage, electronic, telephonic or telegraphic communications, electric energy, oil, gas or other substances, and shall include but not be limited to pipes, sewers, conduits, cables, valves, lines, wires, manholes, attachments and those portions of poles and their attachments below ground except cross culverts or similar roadway drainage facilities and landscape irrigation systems of two inches in diameter or less. See Arizona Laws 40-360.21
B. If a violation of this article results in damage to an underground facility, the violator is liable to all affected underground facilities operators and excavators for all resulting damages proximately caused by the violations, including economic loss.
C. If a person violates this article by failing to provide timely notice as required by this article, by failing to respond in the time and manner provided by this article or by failing to locate and mark an underground facility in the manner provided by this article, the person is liable to all affected underground facilities operators and excavators for all damages proximately caused by the violation, including economic loss.
D. Notwithstanding any other law, a violation of Section 40-360.22, subsection D or subsection L, paragraph 3 is a superseding event that breaks the chain of causation for any damages that could result from an underground facilities operator‘s failure to accurately locate or mark an underground facility.
E. If a landlord or an excavator complies with the duties set forth in sections 40-360.22, 40-360.30 and 40-360.32 for all facilities operated by a landlord as provided in Section 40-360.22, subsection P, paragraph 1, the person is not liable for any death or injury to persons or property or for any economic loss to any person to the extent the conduct is regulated by this article. This section does not excuse any landlord or excavator from liability for any death or injury to persons or property or for any economic loss to any person to the extent the injury or loss does not arise from the conduct regulated by this article.
F. This section is not applicable to an excavation made:
1. During an emergency which involves danger to life, health or property if reasonable precautions are taken to protect underground facilities.
2. In agricultural operations or for the purpose of finding or extracting natural resources.
3. With hand tools on property owned or occupied by the person performing the excavation while gardening or tilling such property.