Arizona Court of Appeals Division One holds that in an action for involuntary judicial dissolution of a limited liability company, A.R.S. § 29-785(A) does not limit venue to the county in which the LLC’s known place of business is located.

This special action arose out of a family dispute over jointly owned companies and properties.  A family member filed a complaint in Maricopa County Superior Court.  The siblings answered the complaint and simultaneously filed a complaint against the petitioner in Mohave County Superior Court asking for judicial dissolution of the LLC, among other claims.  The petitioner filed a motion for abatement in the Mohave County case, which was denied by the Mohave County Superior Court on the ground that § 29-785 does not allow for concurrent jurisdiction between counties on the dissolution claim.  The petitioner filed a special action petition challenging the denial.

The Court of Appeals accepted jurisdiction and granted relief.  The court noted that § 29-785 did not contain any language mandating that the county in which the known place of business of an LLC is located is the exclusive venue for a judicial dissolution claim.  Instead, the court reasoned, § 29-785 prescribes the proper venue for a judicial dissolution claim regarding an LLC but does not foreclose filing such a claim elsewhere. 

Because the Mohave County Superior Court had denied the abatement motion solely based on its interpretation of § 29-785, the court remanded the case to the Mohave County Superior Court for consideration of the abatement question. 

Judge Campbell authored the opinion which was joined by Judges McMurdie and Cattani.