The Supreme Court of Ohio
& The Ohio Judicial System

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Jan. 18, 2012
Task Force Recommends Permanent Commercial Dockets Program

A Supreme Court of Ohio task force on Tuesday recommended that certain qualified courts can create separate dockets to resolve business-to-business disputes.

This recommendation and 26 others are contained in the final report of the Task Force on Commercial Dockets.

Temporary rules adopted by the Supreme Court in 2008 called for a multi-court pilot program to assess the best method of establishing commercial civil litigation dockets in the state. Commercial dockets in common pleas courts in Cuyahoga, Franklin, Hamilton and Lucas counties have been operating since January 2009.

Over that time, the types of cases that came before commercial docket judges included business liquidations, trade secret disputes, non-compete contracts and shareholder disagreements.

Some of the report’s other recommendations include:

• Expanding the program to other courts by setting the parameters for which courts can establish commercial dockets.
• Requiring commercial docket judges to complete additional continuing education requirements.
• Creating a new Commission on Commercial Dockets to oversee the program.
• Operating commercial dockets with at least two judges.

The report found that the benefits of the program included accelerating decisions, creating expertise among judges, and achieving consistency in court decisions around the state.

View the task force report.

Comments on the report should be directed to:

John VanNorman, Policy and Research Counsel
65 S. Front St., Seventh Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
or
john.vannorman@sc.ohio.gov.