Judges: Losing GOP candidate Finchem must pay legal fees for 'groundless' lawsuit

PHOENIX — Mark Finchem and his attorney can’t escape a court order to pay more than $47,000 in legal fees in his unsuccessful attempt to overturn his 2022 election loss for secretary of state.

In a ruling Thursday, the state Court of Appeals said a trial judge got it right when she ruled the lawsuit Finchem filed was “groundless.’’ Appellate Judge Samuel Thumma, writing for the unanimous panel, added that the lawsuit was not filed in good faith.

They said that justifies forcing Finchem and Daniel McCauley, the attorney representing him at the time, to pay more than $40,200 in legal fees accumulated by Adrian Fontes, the Democrat who defeated Republican Finchem in the race. Another $7,434 was awarded to Katie Hobbs, who was secretary of state at the time, for the attorneys she hired to defend against the lawsuit.

And Finchem’s financial issues over the race he lost by more than 120,000 votes are not over.

Thumma said Thursday that Finchem’s appeal, filed by lawyer Dennis Wilenchik, also was legally flawed. So now Finchem is on the hook for a yet-to-be-determined dollar figure for Fontes’ expenses fighting the appeal.

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Finchem, who was a Republican state representative from Oro Valley before losing the 2022 election for secretary of state, has moved from Pima County and is now running for the state Senate from Prescott.

In filing suit, he alleged a series of issues he said affected the outcome of the election he lost to Fontes, but Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Melissa Julian found the claims were groundless and the appellate judges agreed.

There was no immediate response from Finchem or McCauley.

Wilenchik, who represents Finchem now, said he believes the appellate court got it wrong. He said he will consult with Finchem before deciding whether to seek Supreme Court review.