Oregon establishes a "commercial court" specially for business disputes

Thanks to a pilot program that became effective on October 1, parties to business litigation in Oregon can now receive specialized treatment in their own "commercial court."  The novel program operates under the auspices of the Lane County Circuit Court.  The commercial court is designed to handle complex disputes that would be burdensome to the regular court docket.  According to the program's Operating Statement, the commercial court will provide judges and litigants with mechanisms for "fair, efficient and expeditious management of commercial and business litigation." 
The court's features include assignment of each case to a judge with special expertise for all proceedings, and the posting of written decisions in commercial cases on the court's web site.  Parties whose cases are assigned to the court must agree to participate in early alternative dispute resolution efforts, and to make an effort to conduct limited-issue discovery for the purpose of early dispositive motions or settlement. 
Cases pending outside of Lane County may under certain circumstances be transferred to the program by a motion for change of venue.
At a conference yesterday sponsored by the Oregon Law Institute, new Chief Justice Paul J. De Muniz described the commercial court program as one of his initiatives to ensure that Oregon has a competent judicial system on which the business community and the public at large can rely.