It’s a common occurrence in New York state courts: a civil case drags on for a few years, through extensive discovery and up to trial and, alas, it’s determined that the case could have been thrown out long ago because it was time-barred or a lack of jurisdiction.

But the court system has passed an amendment to the rules for the New York Commercial Division that could save parties from this pitfall. It has implemented a rule encouraging litigants to move for instant trials or evidentiary hearings in the early stages of a case when threshold matters arise.