Arizona Revised Statutes

Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 13-413 (2026)

No civil liability for justified conduct

✓ current as of May 2026
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No person in this state shall be subject to civil liability for engaging in conduct otherwise justified pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 28 cases (11 in the last 5 years), 1994–2026 · leading case: Susan Ryan v. napier/klein, 425 P.3d 230 (Ariz. 2018).
Susan Ryan v. napier/klein, 425 P.3d 230 (Ariz. 2018). · cites it 4× “See A.R.S. § 13-413. Importantly, although the use of force can be justified at its commencement, it loses legal justification at the point the force becomes unnecessary.”
Lewis v. Dirt Sports LLC, 259 F. Supp. 3d 1039 (D. Ariz. 2017). · cites it 8× “See A.R.S. §§ 13-413,-404,-406; Gortarez By and Through Gortarez v.”
Pfeil v. Smith, 900 P.2d 12 (Ariz. Ct. App. 1995). · cites it 9× “”) section 13-413, we reverse the trial court’s judgment.”
Louis C. v. Dep't of Child Saf., 353 P.3d 364 (Ariz. Ct. App. 2015). · cites it 3× “2004), it argues a dependency adjudication does not implicate a parent’s “civil liability” under § 13-413 because it does not create an obligation to pay money damages, as compensation for another’s loss or injury.”
McMurtry v. Weatherford Hotel, Inc., 293 P.3d 520 (Ariz. Ct. App. 2013). · cites it 2× “Nothing in the statutory language suggests § 4-244 was meant to substantively affect the application of civil liability under § 4-311.”
Weekly v. City of Mesa, 888 P.2d 1346 (Ariz. Ct. App. 1994). · cites it 5× “The trial court ruled in the City’s favor, reasoning as follows: A.”
Spears v. Ariz. Bd. of Regents, 372 F. Supp. 3d 893 (D. Ariz. 2019). · cites it 2× “Indeed, although civil liability cannot be imposed on a law enforcement officer for "engaging in [justified] conduct," regardless of the theory of recovery, A.R.S. § 13-413, it appears such justification may be an issue for a trier of fact, see e.”
Williams v. Baugh, 154 P.3d 373 (Ariz. Ct. App. 2007). · cites it 6× “¶ 8 Furthermore, the legislature has explicitly provided in A.R.S. § 13-413 that “[n]o person in this state shall be subject to civil liability for engaging in conduct otherwise justified pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.”
Hulstedt v. City of Scottsdale, 884 F. Supp. 2d 972 (D. Ariz. 2012). · cites it 2× “Under the statutes, an officer cannot be liable for using deadly force when offiofficer reasonably believes “that the person is likely to endanger human life or inflict serious bodily injury to another apapprehended without delay.”
Atencio v. Arpaio, 161 F. Supp. 3d 789 (D. Ariz. 2015). · cites it 8× “Arpaio Defendants contend they are entitled to summary judgment on Plaintiffs’ state law claims because their use of force was justified and reasonable under Arizona law, citing A.R.S. § 13-413 and A.R.S. § 13-403(2). The Court disagrees.”
Par. v. Lansdale (D. Ariz. 2019). · cites it 6× “54 , 63 (2018) (quoting A.R.S. § 13-413). That statute 13 provides: A person is justified in threatening or using physical force against another if 14 in making or assisting in making an arrest or detention or in preventing or 15 assisting in preventing the escape after arrest…”
Torres v. Maricopa (Ariz. Ct. App. 2024). · cites it 6× “§ 13-410(C) and thus were immune from civil liability for battery under A.R.S. § 13-413. Finally, the court found that the deputies’ conduct was not so extreme and outrageous as to state a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.