Business court strives to bring parties to settlement

Bob Perry, a district judge in Washoe County, sometimes holds his breath when complicated business disputes questions about intellectual property, for instance, or issues of corporate control land in the judicial system.

"The judge needs to know all about the procedures and practices in that field of business," says Perry.

"Otherwise, it would be like a football referee who has never played the game."

The judiciary in Washoe County says an eight-year-old program that puts business-law cases in front of judges experienced in business essentially, referees who have played the game is proving successful.

Perhaps most importantly, business cases are moving quickly through the system, says Judge Brent Adams, who helped create the program and acts as the presiding judge of business court.

On average, business law cases reached a disposition within 336 days after filing during the 12 months ended June 30.

In large measure, Adams says that reflects tight management of the cases by judges, who begin pushing the parties toward a settlement as quickly as possible.

And they do so, Perry says, by ensuring that plaintiffs and defendants keep a close eye on the business implications of lawsuits that sometimes can get emotional.

Perry, for instance, routinely asks parties to business lawsuits if they know what the legal charges are likely to be if they don't settle a case.

"It needs to be a business decision," he tells them. "What's it going to cost you?"

The alternative to a closely managed case, judges say, can be catastrophic to businesses. Traditional litigation can last for years, disrupting everything from sales to relationships with creditors, and some businesses can be destroyed by the disruptions.

"We've been able to settle a pretty good chunk of the business cases that come before us," says Perry, and Adams notes that some of those cases are resolved during the very first settlement conference called by a judge.

If cases aren't settled, the plaintiff and defendant leave the first conference with a schedule and a plan to get the case moving in a cost-effective way.

Along with Adams and Perry, District Judge Steven Elliott hears business court cases in Washoe County. They hear a full load of other civil and criminal cases, but business court cases get priority on their

calendars.

At the end of June, 87 business court cases were pending in Washoe County. The business court doesn't handle wrongful termination, products liability, personal injury or landlord-tenant cases.

The business court in Washoe County is based on a model used in Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and North Carolina. It came into reality in late 2000, and a similar program was launched in Clark County a few months later.

Adams says a glimmer of the program's success came from its very first case in Washoe County.

A brother and sister disputed the ownership of a glass company, and a traditional court case to resolve their claims might have lasted for years while virtually destroying the ability of the business to function.

Under the business court model, an in-court auction of the business was conducted within three weeks. One party got the company. The other got cash, and used it to launch a new company.

In fact, Adams said, judges now look for ways to use the case-management tactics developed in business court to help speed a variety of other civil actions.