| Bar Bulletin |
March,
2003 |
| MSBA News |
|
Maryland Launches
First Business
and Technology Court in Nation
By Janet
Stidman Eveleth
In today’s
high-tech world, technology and business issues are increasingly complex.
Across the nation, technological innovations and developments are flooding
the market, accompanied by a steady stream of new rules, regulations and
controls to protect the public. Many of these advancements evolve into
legal matters and eventually end up at the courthouse. In response to this
trend, many states have created special business courts to deal with these
complicated business cases.
The state of
Maryland, however, has taken it one step further, creating a virtual
business and technology court. Maryland is the first state in the nation
to channel technology and complex business cases through a designated case
management track. Business and Technology Case Management Programs (BTCMP)
are now up and running in most circuit courts in the state.
Effective January
1, 2003, new Rule 16205 of the Maryland Rules of Procedure mandates
a statewide BTCMP, requiring circuit courts to designate three judges in
each jurisdiction earmarked for this new case management track. To date,
circuit court BTCMPs are in varying stages of implementation, contingent
on the individual jurisdiction and geographic location.
This new case
management track should prove advantageous to attorneys, litigants and the
courts. Complex business and technology cases are now assigned to a
separate management track which is heard by judges who have undergone
specialized training in economic, business and technology law. Their
education, and that of pertinent court personnel, will include the
application of specialized case management techniques and technology for
the handling of these cases.
This proactive
approach to business and technology cases fosters judicial competence and
continuity. Once assigned, the case stays with one judge from start to
finish and is handled in a consistent and timely manner. This should yield
more rational, legally accurate and predictable rulings from the special
track judges. A higher settlement should also be realized. As an added
benefit, all written judicial opinions from all jurisdictions will be
available online, serving as a valuable resource to attorneys, judges and
businesspersons.
Lawyers may request
this special track for their complex business and technology cases. A
designated judge or court administrator will determine whether the case
merits the BTCMP track and assign the case accordingly. The judges have a
great deal of flexibility on assignment decisions. ADR will play a key
role and will be used to the fullest extent possible in this case
management track.
BTCMP is the
outcome of legislation passed by the 2000 Maryland General Assembly. The
Legislature created a broad-based Business and Technology Task Force to
study the feasibility of creating a business and technology court division
to enable circuit courts to efficiently handle business and technology
matters. In its final report, in December 2000, the task force recommended
a statewide program with specially trained judges and mediators to resolve
substantial disputes affecting business entities, including specialized
issues involving technology.
MSBA, led by its
Business Law Section, was supportive of this measure and instrumental in
its development. The Association co-sponsored the official BTCMP kickoff
on February 13, 2003, at the Clarence Mitchell Courthouse in Baltimore,
where the Honorable Robert M. Bell, the Honorable Casper Taylor, the
Honorable Steven I. Platt, Woody Preston and other key supporters were
recognized for their contributions to this new tracking system.
Platt, a Prince
George’s County Circuit Court Judge instrumental in launching BTCMP,
reports, “Maryland attorneys, many of whom have already embraced existing
technological advances within their profession and continue to keep
abreast of emerging developments, will find that the BTCMP will
substantially aid them in their practices.”
“Attorneys will
find themselves in front of knowledgeable judges and will, therefore,
spend less time having to educate the Judiciary as to the general law
surrounding such cases,” Platt continues. “These attorneys may also
eventually find themselves in virtual courtrooms, filing pleadings
electronically and corresponding with the Court through video conferencing
and other less traditional means. In addition, attorneys, as well as their
clients, will find that the Court is not only willing, but also able, to
give these often complex and time consuming cases the attention they
deserve.”
Baltimore City’s
BTCMP has been up and running since January 1. “This comprehensive
approach to business and technology cases is definitely user-friendly,”
stresses the Honorable Albert J. Matricciani, Jr., BTCMP director and
assignment judge for the Circuit Court of Baltimore City, who is quite
enthusiastic about this new process. “It gives us a brand new filing
manner and ensures that these cases are handled in a consistent, timely
fashion.”
“It expedites the
handling of cases and moves them quickly through the system with timely
scheduling, especially through the use of ADR,” continues Matricciani.
“Our new track is a much more efficient way of managing complex cases of
this nature.”
In many states,
business courts are already making a difference, improving the efficiency
of court operations and expediting caseloads. With its new business and
technology track, Maryland’s
circuit courts anticipate similar success. By removing business and
technology cases from general circuit court civil dockets, BTCMP is
expediting the handling of these cases and, at the same time, alleviating
court dockets and improving the efficiency of all circuit court
operations.
Through BTCMP, Maryland’s
Judiciary has found a sophisticated and effective way to accommodate the
needs of the state’s legal and business worlds in our high-tech electronic
age. In addition, it is building a valuable online resource and reference
guide, preserving business and technology legal decisions for the future.
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