Three judges selected for the Iowa Business Specialty Court pilot program

Three judges from different judicial districts were appointed Monday to serve on the three year pilot Iowa Business Specialty Court.

The district judges are: Michael Huppert, of Des Moines from the 5th district; Annette Scieszinski, of Albia from the 8th district; and John Telleen, of LeClaire from the 7th district.

The judges were selected based on their educational background, experience with complex commercial cases and their desire to participate in the program. Iowa Supreme Court Justice Mark Cady, the other associate judges and the state court administrator interviewed and selected the judges.

The transfer of eligible cases to the business court docket will begin May 1, Cady said. Cases already filed and pending on May 1, and new cases filed after that date which met the criteria for the court can be transferred with the consent of the lawyers and their clients.

The business court will handle cases involving commercial civil cases with claims of $200,000 or more, according to the order establishing the court. The pilot program is a result of the Iowa Civil Justice Reform Task Force, which was formed to find ways to make the civil court system more efficient, less complicated and more affordable.