Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-azd-2_12-cv-02330/USCOURTS-azd-2_12-cv-02330-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Arizona Department of Agriculture
Defendant
Ruben Natal
Plaintiff

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WO 

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA 

Ruben Natal, 

Plaintiff, 

v. 

Arizona Department of Agriculture, 

Defendant. 

No. CV-12-2330-PHX-JAT

ORDER 

 Pending before the Court is defendant Arizona Department of Agriculture’s 

Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 19). Plaintiff has not filed a Response. (See CM/ECF Docket 

Report). 

 Defendant initially argues (Doc. 19 at 2) that it “is entitled to judgment as a matter 

of law because it is a non-jural entity and cannot be sued.” (Id. (citing Fed. R. Civ. P. 

17(b)(3)). The capacity of a party that is not an individual or corporation to be sued is 

governed “by the law of the state where the court is located.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 17(b)(3). 

“Under Arizona law, ‘[g]overnment entities have no inherent power and possess only 

those powers and duties delegated to them by their enabling statutes. Thus, a 

governmental entity may be sued only if the legislature has so provided.’ ” United States 

v. Maricopa County, Ariz., 915 F. Supp. 2d 1073, 1077 (D. Ariz. 2012) (quoting 

Braillard v. Maricopa County, 232 P.3d 1263, 1269, ¶ 12 (Ariz. App. 2010) (citations 

omitted)). 

 Defendant Arizona Department of Agriculture is an agency of the State of Arizona 

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created entirely by state law with organic provisions found in Title 3, Article 1 of the 

Arizona Revised Statutes. A.R.S. §§ 3-101–109.02. The Arizona Department of 

Agriculture’s organic statute does not confer the power to sue or be sued upon Defendant. 

Contrast ibid. with A.R.S. §§ 3-414, 468.02, 526.02, 584, 1083, 1233 (conferring the 

power to “[s]ue and be sued” upon five councils and one marketing commission 

established by the Arizona Department of Agriculture pursuant to State organic statutes). 

Nor does Plaintiff point to another provision of the Arizona Revised Statutes that would 

allow Defendant to be sued. (See Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint, Doc. 8). Because no 

Arizona statute confers on the Arizona Department of Agriculture the right to sue and be 

sued, it cannot be sued as a separate legal entity. Thus, the Arizona Department of 

Agriculture is an unauthorized Defendant under federal and state law and must be 

dismissed. 

 Accordingly, 

IT IS ORDERED that Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 19) is GRANTED 

with prejudice. The Clerk of the Court shall enter judgment accordingly and close this 

case. 

 Dated this 21st day of January, 2014. 

Case 2:12-cv-02330-JAT Document 20 Filed 01/22/14 Page 2 of 2