A subcommittee charged with recommending procedural rules for the new business courts made its report to the Supreme Court Advisory Committee. The SCAC will take up the recommendations at its next meeting on October 13.
The subcommittee consisted of practitioners, judges, and representatives of the business community, including TCJL’s own Robert Levy. We all owe the members an enormous debt of gratitude for working tirelessly throughout the summer to finish this important work.
When the recommendations become public, we will of course post them on our website. For the moment, we can give you a brief overview of the subject areas covered by the proposed rules:
- The rules will be located at the end of Part II of the TRCP (Rules 331-345
- Business court judges will be required to conduct proceedings, including remote proceedings, in a courtroom or chambers of the court, in accordance with HB 19.
- Cases may be initiated in the business court by pleading “sufficient facts to establish jurisdiction and venue” in the court.
- A motion to remand will be the appropriate procedure to challenge jurisdiction in the court.
- The rules contemplate random assignment of cases transferred to the business course.
- For the first few years of the business court, the subcommittee recommends that the presiding judge of the administrative region hear requests for transfer to the business court.
- Bench exchanges will be permitted.
- The business court’s determination of venue will be made on motion by a party, not sua sponte, as in civil cases generally.
- Motions to remove a case to the business court, as well as responses to motions to remand from the business court to a district court, will not be constitute a general appearance or waive a venue challenge.
- The subcommittee recommends referring to federal court precedent with regard to the business court’s treatment of TROs, temporary injunctions, and other district court orders.
- The committee recommends uniform 30-day limits on motions to challenge jurisdiction and motions to remand.
- Orders and opinions of business court judges should be considered persuasive but not precedential, just as federal district court opinions are not binding on other judges in that division or district.
- The subcommittee recommends that Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 47.4 guide business court judges in determining when written opinions should be issued on a “significant issue or law or procedure.”
- Citing a lack of information, the subcommittee does not recommend a fee schedule, thus leaving the issue to SCOTX.
- The subcommittee recommends leaving rules for pretrial management conferences for case-management orders and discovery control plans to local rules of the business court.
Again, we commend the members of the subcommittee for their thorough and conscientious work on these recommendations. Once they have been laid out at the SCAC on October 13, public comment will be invited.
