SB 275

This bill statutorily recognizes specialized dockets for treatment courts and for

commercial cases. The bill recognizes in statute treatment courts, which are defined

in the bill to include adult drug treatment court, juvenile drug treatment court,

operating while intoxicated treatment court, mental health treatment court, family

dependency treatment court, veterans treatment court, hybrid treatment court, and

tribal healing to wellness court.

The bill also statutorily recognizes a specialized docket for commercial cases.

Under the bill, the chief justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, taking into

consideration recommendations from the relevant chief judges of the judicial

administrative districts, must select circuit court judges who will be assigned to the

commercial court docket upon each judge's agreement to serve. The bill provides that

a judge who presides over cases on the commercial court docket is not prohibited from

working on any other assigned docket.

Under the bill, certain commercial case types must be assigned to the

commercial court docket, including cases involving any of the following: 1) the

governance or internal affairs of business organizations; 2) tortious or statutorily

prohibited business activity, unfair competition, or antitrust claims; 3) the sale,

consolidation, or merger of a business organization or the conversion, share

exchange, or sale of substantially all of the assets of a business organization; 4) the

issuance, sale, or transfer of securities; 5) intellectual property rights; 6) the

relationship between a franchisor and franchisee or similar distribution

relationship; 7) certain claims or disputes involving the Uniform Commercial Code,

when the amount in controversy exceeds $100,000; (8) receiverships in excess of

$250,000; (9) confirmation of arbitration awards and compelling or enforcing

arbitration awards when the amount in controversy exceeds $100,000; and (10) real

estate construction disputes when the amount in controversy exceeds $250,000. The

bill provides that certain types of cases are ineligible for assignment to the

commercial court docket, including small claims cases, cases involving a

governmental entity or political subdivision seeking to enforce a statutory or

regulatory restriction or prohibition, or disputes between landlords and tenants.

The commercial court docket created under the bill is a commercial case docket

that generally involves disputes between commercial entities rather than

individuals and does not include actions typically involving individuals such as

personal injury suits, products liability, malpractice, or other tort claims, or landlord

and tenant disputes or similar claims. Under the bill, parties may jointly move for

discretionary assignment of a case to the commercial court docket if the case is one

that is not identified under the mandatory criteria, but is not otherwise ineligible for

assignment. The bill provides that a decision granting or denying a motion for a

discretionary assignment of a case to the commercial court docket is final and

nonappealable.