Arizona Gov.-elect Katie Hobbs files sanctions against former candidate Kari Lake

Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, who was announced the winner of the gubernatorial race just days ago, joined a Maricopa County motion seeking sanctions against her opponent, Kari Lake.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson ruled against Lake’s challenge to the result of the November gubernatorial race in which Hobbs was declared the winner by about half a percentage point.

Thompson, who was appointed by then-Gov. Jan Brewer, a Republican, found the court was not presented with clear and convincing evidence of widespread misconduct Lake alleged influenced the 2022 general election results.

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Lake’s claims included problems with ballot printers at some polling places on Election Day were the result of intentional misconduct. Thompson said Lake’s witnesses claimed to have no knowledge of the alleged misconduct.

On Monday, Hobbs requested the court award her $36,990 in attorneys’ fees and expenses for the court proceedings attached to Lake’s challenge.

The secretary hired Coppersmith Brockelman PLC attorney Andrew Gaona, who has been with the firm for 12 years, to represent her during an expedited election proceeding that, according to the filing, “required extensive work by counsel in a very short period.”

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The attorneys were required to draft a motion to dismiss, prepare for an evidentiary hearing and participate in the two-day evidentiary hearing.

“As a result of the efforts of the Secretary’s counsel and the other Defendants, the Court denied Plaintiff’s remarkable request for relief in its entirety,” the court filing read. “Accordingly, the Secretary prevailed, and achieved a total victory in this litigation.

“For the foregoing reasons, the Secretary respectfully requests that the Court award her $36,990 in reasonable attorneys’ fees and ‘expenses’ incurred in this action,” the filing concluded.

When broken down, the fees are comprised of 94.3 hours worked by CB, totaling $31,090, plus an additional $5,900 for services retained from expert witness Ryan Macias.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Hobbs and Lake for comment.