Chapter 7: Section 13
Liability
Policy
The Department of Administration's Risk Management Division shall cover DCS employees for liability for acts or omissions of any nature while acting within the course and scope of their employment.
Coverage shall apply only to defense in civil lawsuits, not to defense in criminal actions.
Coverage shall include:
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representation by an Assistant Attorney General, or appointed private counsel;
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services of the Risk ManagementDivision;
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court costs, including costs of the plaintiff's attorney, if necessary; and
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costs of a judgment or settlement.
Employees involved in a lawsuit shall cooperate in the defense of the case.
If an employee is involved in an auto accident while in the course and scope of their employment, coverage shall be on a primary basis for a state owned, leased, or rented vehicle and on an excess basis for any other vehicle.
Employees shall not be considered to be within the course and scope of their employment in a private car while driving:
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to and from home;
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to and from their regular work site or a place at which they are conducting state business;
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to and from lunch in the area of employment while not on authorized state business; and
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for any purpose other than state-authorized business.
Accidents that occur while an employee is in a state car are covered through Risk Management if the employee is driving on authorized state business, even if the accident occurs outside the regular time or place of employment. DCS employees shall follow the policy and procedures in DCS 02-18 Management and Operation of State Vehicles related to vehicle accidents .
Procedures
Litigation Expectations
Department employees named in a lawsuit can anticipate the following actions:
Notice of Claim: The law requires potential claimants to serve the Notice of Claim on representatives of the state and on all individuals expected to be named as defendants in a lawsuit within 180 days of an alleged incident. The Notice of Claim may be delivered personally or by mail. The Notice of Claim is intended to inform defendants of alleged liability, and is usually presented in the form of a letter. Employees must notify their supervisor, the Department Office of General Counsel (Litigation@azdcs.gov) and Risk Management immediately when a Notice of Claim is received.
Summons and Complaint: The law requires plaintiffs to serve these documents (which initiate a lawsuit) on representatives of the state and on all individuals named in the lawsuit within one year of an alleged incident. The Summons and Complaint must be delivered personally, but plaintiffs will sometimes send them by mail with a request that the defendant waive in-person service. Employees must not sign a waiver of service before consulting with the attorney assigned to their case. Employees must notify their supervisor, the Department Office of General Counsel (Litigation@azdcs.gov) and Risk Management immediately when the Summons and Complaint are received.
Pre-trial Discovery: Employees named as defendants in a lawsuit will generally be asked to take part in depositions (testimony under oath), interrogatories (written questions answered under oath) and request for production (an exchange of documents between the parties). In addition, employees may be asked to provide other assistance to their attorney(s) as needed to develop defenses to asserted claims.
Settlement Decision: The Attorney General, Risk Management, and the Legislature may decide to settle a case for a variety of reasons. The decision to settle is not necessarily an indication that the employee or Department is at fault.
Trial: Employees named in a lawsuit may be required to provide a deposition, and/or testify at trial, and their presence may be required for the entire trial.
Legal
A.R.S. ยง 41-621 et seq. Insurance; Uninsured Losses
