THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, September 6, 1995 TAG: 9509060568
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY MASON PETERS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
Creation of a North Carolina Business Court to handle complex corporate litigation was announced Tuesday in Raleigh by State Attorney General Mike Easley and Chief Justice Burley Mitchell of the North Carolina Supreme Court.
``The General Assembly at the last session created a new judgeship for the Business Court, and Gov. James B. Hunt Jr. will fill the position within two or three months,'' said a spokesman for Easley.
The appointment to the Business Court bench will be for six years at an $86,000 annual salary. The Business Court judge will rank with Superior Court judges.
As described by Easley, the Business Court will move toward speedier resolution of complex litigation that often accompanies business disputes. The court should create a more favorable atmosphere for corporations in North Carolina, Easley said.
Easley was chairman of a Commission on Business Laws and the Economy that in the spring recommended creating a special court within the state judiciary to focus on legal disputes in business and industry.
``No other state has such a court; only one other state - Delaware - has something similar. This is unique and good for North Carolina,'' said Easley in an announcement ceremony with Chief Justice Mitchell at the Department of Justice building in Raleigh.
``Having a court that deals exclusively with complex business issues is a calling card for business and industry,'' Easley said. ``It tells business that we have a legal climate that allows you to come here and grow and prosper.''
Mitchell said the Business Court was being established by the adoption of new rules for the state's General Rules of Practice and Procedure for the Superior and District Courts.
``Since 1988, we have had a rule for designating cases as exceptional,'' said Mitchell.
``The Commission on Business Laws and the Economy recommended that we amend this rule to allow for a special judge to handle complex business cases,'' Mitchell said.
``It is my hope that this will result in a substantial body of law on complex legal issues and providing business with timely, well-reasoned decisions.
``The way this will work is: An action is filed, as normal, in Superior Court. Then, either the judge can - on his own - recommend to my office that a case be designated as a complex (exceptional) business case, or one or both of the parties may ask the judge to request that designation,'' said Mitchell.
Mitchell said that the judge selected by the governor for the Business Court ``will be a specially named judge who hears primarily complex business cases.''
Mitchell also announced a second rule change designed to help speed business litigation.
``The (other) rule change . . . will give parties in cases that exceed a half-million dollars a chance to have their case decided through a summary procedure that speeds up the court process.
``This procedure will shorten deadlines for discovery and other phases of the case and put limits on the amount and breadth of materials offered as proof by both sides,'' Mitchell said.
The attorney general said the rule change creating the new court would send a message to corporations in other states and countries that North Carolina has a judicial system that recognizes the legal special problems of business.
``For more than a year the Commission on Business Laws and the Economy studied our state's statutes, regulations and court system. We looked for ways to make our laws work better for business and create more jobs for our citizens,'' said Easley. by CNB