The Texas Business Court specializing in complex business disputes began operations Sept. 1 before Gov. Greg Abbott swore in the ten inaugural justices of the new court Thursday, Sept. 19 at the Texas A&M University School of Law in Fort Worth. Texas Supreme Court Justice Evan A. Young called the new business court “the most substantial modification of the judicial system of our state since 1891.”
The business court was created when House Bill 19 was signed into law on June 9, 2023 by Gov. Abbott. Several months before that, Abbott had been in North Texas advocating for these new courts when he spoke to business leaders at the Arlington Chamber of Commerce.
The new court system is designed to lighten the load of the rest of the state’s judicial system by putting complex business-oriented cases in front of judges with expertise in handling business law. Before September, those cases would have landed on state district court dockets.
Parties can file cases in either district courts or the new business court system. Even so, the new judicial system will only handle governance cases with more than $5 million in controversy or those involving publicly traded companies as well as contract disputes or other “qualified transactions” where more than $10 million is at stake.
The business court is divided into 11 divisions across Texas. The five divisions covering the state’s largest cities and their surrounding counties are already up and running. The new system adds Texas to the list of more than half of U.S. states that already have a business court system.
Gov. Abbott said these courts will offer more efficient decisions, and thus less expensive ones, for businesses operating in Texas. He also spoke about the importance of having judges experienced in business matters deciding business disputes.
“There are some people who up until now, are judging business cases and have no idea what goes on in the business world,” Abbott said. “Texas businesses deserve to have well-qualified judges with a wealth of experience either as a former judge themselves or as litigants who have been heavily involved in litigating business cases.”
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