On October 7, 2024, the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued an order discontinuing the state’s seven-year-old business court pilot project. Under the order, cases already assigned to the business court docket will continue to be adjudicated in that forum, but no new cases will be assigned to the business court moving forward.
The Wisconsin business court program began in 2017 as a 3-year pilot project, operating in eight counties. The project was extended in 2020 and in 2022, respectively, with an end date of July 30, 2024. The Wisconsin Business Court Advisory Committee was tasked to create a report recommending whether the pilot program should become permanent or be terminated. On May 30, 2024, the committee filed a petition with the state supreme court, requesting that the pilot be extended until July 31, 2026 to give the committee more time to collect additional data and prepare a final and complete report. The supreme court agreed to hear the petition, solicited comments, and held a hearing on September 24, 2024.
The court received many written comments from organizations, judges, and lawyers, some supporting extending the business court project and others opposing an extension. Ultimately, in a 4-3 vote, the supreme court denied the petition and terminated Wisconsin’s business court program.
An article with more information on this development can be found on the Wisconsin State Bar’s website here.
Thank you to Mitchell L. Bach for bringing this to our attention.
Posted by Doug Toering and Matt Rose of Mantese Honigman, P.C.
