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On Sept. 1, 2018, cases in the New Jersey Superior Court’s Complex Business Litigation Program (CBLP) became subject to a brand new set of rules. The new rules, which can be found in a new Chapter XI within Part IV of the Rules Governing the Courts of the State of New Jersey, borrow liberally from the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the rules in specialized business courts in sister states and are designed to make case management and discovery in complex commercial and construction cases more efficient.
What Is the Complex Business Litigation Program?
On Jan. 1, 2015, after the Working Group on Business Litigation assessed the performance of pilot commercial-litigation programs in Bergen and Essex counties, the New Jersey Supreme Court expanded the program throughout state, calling the program the Complex Business Litigation Program. Under the program, each vicinage appointed a special Complex Business Litigation judge to be responsible for managing all aspects of all qualifying complex commercial and construction cases. To qualify for the program, a matter must be designated by a litigant in its Civil Case Information Statement as a complex commercial (Code 508) or complex construction (Code 513) matter, and at least $200,000 must be in controversy. Because each qualifying matter in a vicinage is managed by a single Complex Business Litigation judge, each case will enjoy the benefit of individualized case management by a jurist experienced in managing and resolving similar matters.
