Opinion ID: 1199745
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Did the Judge, as a matter of law, fail to make a reasonable, good faith, diligent, but unsuccessful, effort to follow any applicable procurement method?

Text: The Judge was served with the special action complaint on July 12, 1989; the hearing on the matter was set for and held on July 18, 1989. Viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to Plaintiff, the day the Judge was served, he contacted the presiding superior court judge of Cochise County. The presiding judge has supervisory and administrative authority over all courts within his county. See Arizona Supreme Court Administrative Order 93-30. The presiding judge advised the Judge to hire an attorney and bill the county. That evening, the Judge discussed the possibility of legal representation with one of Plaintiff's attorneys. In this conversation, the Judge relayed the substance of his discussion with the presiding judge. The next day, July 13, 1989, one of Plaintiff's attorneys contacted the presiding judge, who confirmed what the Judge had said. This attorney then telephoned the Cochise County Administrator, who was unavailable to take the call. Following this call, Plaintiff agreed to represent the Judge in the special action. On July 14, 1989, Plaintiff wrote a letter to the county administrator, stating that the presiding judge had advised the Judge that he should hire a private attorney and have the attorney bill the County for his services. The letter added that Plaintiff was representing the Judge and that the letter was written to acquaint you with this situation and the fact that we will be billing the County for our services. The presiding judge apparently received a copy of this letter. In short, the Judge and Plaintiff both contacted the presiding judge (the functional equivalent of the department head in this case) regarding the situation and received similar responses. Plaintiff twice contacted the county administrator to inform him, as well as the presiding judge, of the proposed course of action and that the county would be billed for the services rendered. Neither the county administrator nor the presiding judge objected to this procedure before Plaintiff submitted its bill. Nor did the county administrator suggest any other procurement method. Thus, we cannot state, as a matter of law, that the Judge failed to make a reasonable, good faith, diligent, but unsuccessful, effort to follow any applicable procurement policies. See Reinhold, 139 Ariz. at 232, 677 P.2d at 1340.