Ramsey Air Meds, L.L.C. v. Cutter Aviation, Inc‪.‬

1 In these consolidated special actions, petitioners ChartOne, Inc. and Smart Professional Photocopy Corporation (collectively, defendants) ask us to determine the scope of a trial courts authority under article VI, § 24 of the Arizona Constitution and Rule 53, Ariz. R. Civ. P., 16 A.R.S., Pt. 1, to appoint a special master. Specifically, the primary issue in this case is whether a trial court may, in the absence of an agreement by the parties, appoint a special master to calculate a plaintiffs damages after a jury has found the defendant liable on the plaintiffs claim for breach of an implied contract. Additionally, we are asked to decide whether the respondent judge abused her discretion and violated the defendants rights to a jury trial by vacating, after the jury trial on liability, a prior order bifurcating the jury trial into liability and damage phases and appointing a special master to calculate the damages. For the reasons stated below, we accept jurisdiction of these special actions and grant relief.