Judges: First year of Iowa Business Specialty Court program has gone well

Judges of the Iowa Business Specialty Court say the first year of the pilot program has gone well with 11 cases on the docket, but nine of those have already settled so they hope more attorneys and clients move their cases to the court geared to handle complex litigation.

According to an evaluation of the court published in August by State Court Administration, the judges are meeting the goals of the pilot which is to move these complex cases more efficiently through the system, to lower costs for plaintiffs and defendants, and to develop published business court case law and innovative practices that could be applied in other court proceedings.

The pilot program started last year after the Iowa Supreme Court adopted the recommendation from the Iowa Civil Justice Reform Task Force. Cases eligible for this docket must have claims totaling $200,000 or more and involve certain types of litigation. The program is voluntary and all parties must agree to the move or the case can stay on the regular court docket.

Business Court Judge Annette Scieszinski, of the 8th Judicial District, said working on the court has been 'inspirational” for her because the judicial branch has encouraged the judges to find innovative ways to streamline the process.

In one of Scieszinski's first cases, multiple attorneys and clients were involved and some were out of state and even out of country.

'We accomplished in one day what usually might take months to set up and get rulings on,” Scieszinski said. 'We had all the decision-makers in one room.”

Scieszinski said this is where her management skills came into play and didn't have anything necessarily to do with business expertise. She had an itinerary for the meeting to address specific issues. Instead of Scieszinski doing a written ruling on the motions or issues, which can take some time, she made immediate rulings on the record.

'This brought an understanding and transparency because they (attorneys and clients) heard each step,” Scieszinski said. 'I hope they felt they were part of the decision. And it also saved costs for all parties.”

Business Court Judge Michael Huppert, of the 5th Judicial District, said appointing one judge to one case has been a big success. In many of the counties, one judge specially assigned to one case only occurs with the serious felonies. In other cases, each motion may have different judges and since they aren't familiar with the case it takes some time. With one judge, one case, the rulings are more consistent and can be made in less time.

Joe Harris, a Cedar Rapids attorney, said it's interesting to have a settlement judge, along with a trial judge assigned to each case because in his case, Judge John Telleen, the settlement judge, reached out to the parties when he thought it was time for mediation.

'There is a real economy with the specialty court,” Harris said. 'We can just email the judge if there's an issue that comes up. On the regular docket, you could wait two or three weeks to get a hearing for the issue.”

Telleen, of 7th Judicial District, said the speed of resolution will most likely be higher on this docket because the judges become involved early on and have the ability to set aside as much time as needed.

'There's not that flexibility on the regular docket,” Telleen said.

Greg Lederer, attorney with Lederer, Weston and Craig in Cedar Rapids, said his case ended after a two day settlement conference and he and the client didn't think mediation would be successful.

'The judges work hard to make it a success,” Lederer said.

William Miller, attorney with Dorsey and Whitney in Des Moines who had two cases in the specialty court, said he thought attorneys would be open to mediation with a judge, as opposed to private mediation outside of court.

'Having the settlement judge appointed is unique for state court,” Miller said. 'The judge knows the issues, the parties and they can handle the complex cases. I commend the (Iowa) Supreme Court for starting this.”

The judges also pointed out the use of technology helps expedite the court process. The business court is trying out Court Call, a video conference system. Judges usually have to travel to the counties where the civil suits originate, but now many of the motions and issues can be handled more quickly by video.

Court Call provides all the equipment necessary and there's no cost to the judicial branch. Each party pays a fee for the conferences but they will likely save money on travel and expenses. The business judges can also use the video conferencing in their other court dockets since their courthouses set up with the equipment.

Iowa Supreme Court Justice Daryl Hecht, said trying out new technology and finding other innovative solutions that could be applied across the districts is just one of the benefits from the first year.

Hecht said he thinks more parties will move to the specialty court as 'word-of-mouth” spreads from attorneys and business leaders about their experience.

'The data we've looked at from other states with business courts show a steady growth over time, as confidence in the process is developed,” Hecht said.

Hecht said they also have focused on getting specialized training for the judges which has included business court training programs at the National Judicial College.

Hecht said annual reviews will be made each year and adjustments will be made based on those evaluations but he is reluctant to tweak things too soon.

'By next summer, after two years, we will have a better idea of any needed changes we should make,” Hecht said.