Rule Changes Will Foster Efficiency and Predictability

Several recently adopted changes to the rules of New York’s Commercial Division highlight the broad impact that Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman’s June 2012 Task Force Report has made, and continues to make, on the state’s business courts. These changes, which include increased monetary thresholds, limits on depositions and interrogatories, and a mandatory mediation program in New York County, are designed to make New York’s commercial courts more business friendly and to reduce the time and expense of litigation. Some of the rule changes bring Commercial Division practice in line with existing federal court practice. This article surveys the new rules that have been adopted and other potential changes outlined in the Task Force Report that would, if adopted, further reform the Commercial Division. We anticipate that the changes will produce greater efficiency and cost predictability, which will in turn make the Commercial Division a more desirable forum for business litigants.

The Task Force Report

In June 2012, the Chief Judge’s Task Force on Commercial Litigation in the 21st Century issued a report (the Task Force Report) that recommended wide-ranging changes to the rules, practices, and structure of the Commercial Division. The recommendations focused on docket reform, judicial support and engagement, procedural reforms, proposals to facilitate early case resolution, procedures to support international arbitration, and long-term strategic goals. Recognizing the important role that the rule of law and efficient, high quality commercial courts play in maintaining New York’s status as a world-leading financial and commercial center, Lippman declared the goal of the Task Force to “make sure that New York remains at the cutting edge of how commercial disputes are resolved […] and set a new vision for how we in the New York State court system might better serve the needs of the business community and our state’s economy.” State of the Judicary, Feb. 14, 2012. Task Force co-chair and former Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye underscored the need for more efficient case resolution procedures to satisfy the needs of litigants when she commented that the Commercial Division is “overburdened” by a “burgeoning, increasingly complex workload”.