After a three-year pilot project, the Iowa Business Specialty Court will remain as part of the Iowa court system. This business court came about as a key recommendation of the 2012 Report of the Iowa Civil Justice Reform Task Force. Since then, the court has accepted a wide range of commercial cases involving $200,000 or more in dispute. Three judges—Michael Huppert, Annette Scieszinski, and John Telleen—reside over these business cases. The supervisory order states, “It is intended to establish a separately managed docket within Iowa’s unified court system that will leverage judicial expertise and litigants’ desire to tailor case management practices best suited for resolving substantial business disputes fairly and expeditiously.”
Attorneys and litigants who have agreed to have their cases assigned to the business court’s docket have returned with strong support for the court. These reviews played a significant part in the Supreme Court’s decision for the project to continue in the Iowa court system. The business court has undergone yearly evaluations since its inception, which can be found here: http://www.iowacourts.gov/About_the_Courts/Specialty_Courts/Business_Court/
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