In our spare time we were perusing the recently released 2007 edition of the "Survey of State Class Action Law" from the American Bar Association's Litigation Section.

We fully intended to read all 569 fascinating pages, but right there on Page 26 was the following little gem:

Arizona has adopted legislation mirroring the federal Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, 15 U.S.C. § 78u-4 et seq. Arizona’s statute, found at A.R.S. §§ 44-2081 to 44-2087, applies to all private actions arising under Arizona securities law. For any private action brought as a plaintiff class action under Arizona or federal rules of civil procedure, the plaintiff is required to comply with specific requirements which mirror those in 15 U.S.C. § 78u-4(a)(2). For instance, each plaintiff seeking to serve as a class representative must file with the complaint a sworn certification and must publish notice to members of the purported class. See A.R.S. § 44-2081(B), (D). The court then appoints a “lead plaintiff” in accordance with procedures which mirror those in 15 U.S.C. § 78u-4(a)(3). See A.R.S. § 44-2081(E), (F).

Not believing our eyes, we ran to the Arizona Revised Statutes and looked it up. Turns out the statute was passed just after the PSLRA went into effect and has been on the books since April 1996. Of course, our good friends SLUSA and CAFA have made this particular statute not much more than an interesting anecdote.