Summary

If you bought real estate at a trustee’s sale and need to evict an existing tenant, it’s imperative that you bring the forcible detainer action in the superior court.

Secure Ventures v. Gerlach

In a recent court opinion, the Arizona Court of Appeals addressed the issue of whether a justice court has jurisdiction to hear a forcible detainer action to evict tenants of a property purchased at a trustee’s sale.

The pertinent statute is A.R.S. 12-1173.01. The Court of Appeals held that the statute effectively divested Arizona justice courts from having jurisdiction to hear forcible detainer actions to evict tenants of a property purchased at a trustee’s sale.

Secure Ventures LLC found this out the hard way. Secure Ventures purchased an investment property at a trustee sale and then took action to evict the current tenants at the property. They ultimately secured an eviction judgment; however, after appeals and ongoing litigation, the judgment was vacated.

On special action (essentially an appeal), Secure Ventures wanted the Court of Appeals to reverse.

Unfortunately for Secure Ventures, the Court of Appeals interpreted A.R.S. 12-1173.01 against them and held that such a forcible detainer action needed to be filed with the superior court.

Conclusion

The lesson for real estate investors is to remember that all forcible detainer actions to evict a tenant from a property purchased at a trustee’s sale need to be filed with the superior court, not the justice court. A good real estate attorney will be able to help you accomplish an eviction of a tenant if you have an investment property an a holdover or non-paying tenant.