Arizona Republican Party v. Richer

Summary

The Arizona Supreme Court vacated trial and appellate attorney-fee awards imposed under A.R.S. § 12-349 against the Arizona Republican Party and its attorneys. The Court held that the challenge to the statutory hand-count procedure was not groundless because the statutory theory and related procedural questions were at least fairly debatable, and it further held that the appellate court inadequately supported its separate fee award. The Court clarified that the absence of good faith under § 12-349 should be evaluated objectively, but did not apply that standard because groundlessness was absent.