FOURTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT

COMMERCIAL DOCKET

 

 

M E M O R A N D U M

November 21, 2006

                       

 

FROM:            Gilbert A. Martinez

                     Chief Judge

 

RE:                Commercial Docket

 

            The Fourth Judicial District announces the establishment of a new subdivision of the civil docket to be known as the “Commercial Docket.”  The Commercial Docket is designed to leverage limited judicial resources to maximize services to the community. 

 

The Fourth Judicial District (El Paso and Teller counties) has a long history of innovation to serve the needs of the community.  The District previously established one of the first mediation programs in the nation designed to speed resolution of criminal cases, created a ‘self-help’ clinic to help citizens proceed in legal matters without an attorney, designed expedited procedures for divorce proceedings, played a leading role in the Court Care program to provide child care for citizens making court appearances, and implemented expedited and priority processes for matters involving the safety and welfare of children.  The new Commercial Docket continues with this tradition by speeding the resolution of civil cases that have broad and significant impact on the community beyond the parties named in the lawsuit. 

 

The Commercial Docket will address cases involving a significant community impact.  In general, it will handle cases in which:

 

·         Members of the community, beyond the named parties, are obstructed by the existence of a dispute;

·         A request is made for equitable relief that impacts the community at large; and/or

·         The issues are unusually complex requiring additional judicial resources.

 

For example, a case may present a dispute between contractors and an owner on a construction project.  The existence of the dispute causes the stoppage or reduction of work on the project, ousting hundreds of workers from employment.  Such a lawsuit will be resolved on an expedited basis by the Commercial Docket to minimize broader negative impacts on the community.

 

The Commercial Docket will develop specific pre-trial procedures consistent with the Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure that facilitate early, active case management to resolve disputes efficiently, and are uniform between the divisions.  Under these procedures, the judges handling the Commercial Docket will focus on the early management and efficient resolution of disputes.

 

The judges initially assigned to the subdivision are the Hon. Lawrence Schwartz and Hon. David Prince.  It will become operative on March 1, 2007.  The creation of the Commercial Docket has been and is expected to continue to be a joint effort by the legal community and the courts to improve the efficient resolution of disputes.  The law firm of Sparks, Wilson, Borges, Brandt and Johnson will host a meeting of the Commercial Docket Implementation Committee and members of the bar on January 25, 2007 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. to obtain additional input from the bar on the pre-trial procedures being developed for the Commercial Docket.

 

More information about the scope of the subdivision, how to have a case assigned to it, and the pre-trial procedures being developed will be posted to the Fourth Judicial District’s website at www.gofourth.org as it becomes available.  A copy of the Chief Judge’s Directive establishing the Commercial Docket subdivision and defining the scope of cases it will handle is attached.

 

Requests for additional information may be directed to any member of the Implementation Committee:  Hon. David Prince, chair, (448-7504), Hon. Timothy Simmons (227-5129), Hon. Kirk Samelson (227-5193), Hon. David Shakes (448-7514), Scott Johnson (634-5700), and Edward McCord (590-9983).

 

The Fourth Judicial District:  Using teamwork to provide better service in responding to the needs of those whom we serve.

 

Commercial Docket Practice Standards