Judge orders Hamadeh, lawyer to pay legal fees after 'groundless' election challenge

PHOENIX — Losing GOP candidate Abe Hamadeh, his lawyers and political supporters are now on the hook for more than $200,000 in legal fees for what a judge called “groundless and unjustified” litigation.

In a new order, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Susan Pineda said Hamadeh’s efforts to set aside his loss in the 2022 attorney general’s election to Democrat Kris Mayes were without legal justification.

The judge took a particular slap at attorney Ryan Heath for taking the cases at all.

She said once he agreed to represent Hamadeh and the others who sued on his behalf, he had an obligation to conduct a “reasonable investigation’’ to determine whether these were viable claims. That included looking at prior lawsuits on the same issues, she said.

“He either did not do so or he chose to ignore the history of litigation that followed the 2022 general election, including the prior unsuccessful cases filed by his client,’’ Pineda wrote in ruling that the people Heath sued on Hamadeh’s behalf, including the Secretary of State’s Office and Maricopa County, are entitled to recover their legal fees.

Heath said this isn’t the end of the matter.

“All I have to say is that I’m looking forward to the appeal,’’ he told Capitol Media Services.

None of this ends Hamadeh’s ongoing legal battle to have the results overturned or the election rerun in Maricopa County. In a separate case, he still is seeking Arizona Supreme Court review of his contention he was denied a fair trial.

Pineda threw out Heath’s parallel legal claims in March, saying there was no legal basis for Hamadeh’s contention that Maricopa County improperly included some early ballots in its count of the 2022 election.

The judge pointed out he raised the same signature verification issue in two prior cases “and he had lost the exact same issue before another superior court judge in the state.’’ Here, she said, his decision to “mount a second identical challenge to the Maricopa County process is groundless and unjustified.’’

Pineda also noted that the procedure being used to verify signatures was public knowledge before the 2022 election. Yet Hamadeh chose not to sue until after the results were in showing he lost to Mayes by 280 votes.

“Challenges concerning alleged procedural violations of the election must be brought prior to the actual election,’’ the judge wrote. “By filing his action after the completion of the election, petitioner asks the court to overturn the will of the people, as expressed in the 2022 election.’’

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Pineda also found flaws with Hamadeh’s “quo warranto’’ claim that Mayes is holding office illegally. In essence, this is a concept in common law where there can be a challenge to whether someone is holding office illegally.

State law allows such challenges only by the attorney general — in this case, Mayes — or by the person who claims title to the office.

“However, the person claiming title to the office must show that he is entitled to the office,’’ Pineda said.

But here, the judge said, Hamadeh asked that the ballots in Maricopa County be recounted and recertified after eliminating what he contends were those that should not have been included. Alternately, Pineda said, he asked for a new election.

“He surmises, without proof, that he received the most ‘legal votes’ for the office of attorney general,’’ the judge said. “That is insufficient to obtain the relief sought.’’

The judge also assessed legal fees in a parallel case brought by Heath to throw out the results of the race for attorney general.

This one, however, was filed not on behalf of Hamadeh but for Cochise County Supervisor Tom Crosby and David Mast, were previously involved with efforts by Republican Kari Lake to overturn her loss in the 2022 gubernatorial race to Democrat Katie Hobbs.

Pineda said they had no standing to sue as there was no basis for their claim that they had somehow been injured by the process used by Maricopa County.

Here’s how the legal fees ordered by Pineda divide up:

Hamadeh, Heath and his law firm owe: $39,742 to the Secretary of State’s Office; $16,643 to the Attorney General’s Office; $39,960 to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and Maricopa County Recorder’s Office.

Heath, his law firm, Crosby and Mast owe: $17,622 to the Secretary of State and Attorney General’s offices; $95,724 to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors and Maricopa County recorder.