If you and your company are about to become involved in a major lawsuit, it may be to your advantage to engage in New Jersey’s Complex Business Litigation Program. The New Jersey Judiciary explains that the purpose of this special program is to more easily resolve complex commercial, business and construction cases by assigning them to judges who receive specialized training in these types of cases.
Automatic placement into the CBLP occurs if your case entails a minimum of $200,000 in controversy and your attorney or the opposing party’s attorney designates it as a complex commercial or construction case. Should your case fail to meet the $200,000 threshold, you can still participate in the program by having your attorney file a motion for inclusion with a CBLP judge.
Specific types of suitable CBLP cases
In general, your case qualifies for CBLP inclusion if it entails any of the following:
- Numerous separately represented parties
- Numerous expert or lay witnesses
- A substantial amount of electronic or documentary evidence
- A potentially significant damage award
- A potentially lengthy amount of time to complete the trial
Examples of specific types of cases suitable for CBLP inclusion include the following:
- Contract disputes
- Intellectual property disputes
- Unfair competition disputes
- Business torts
- Nonconsumer Uniform Commercial Code disputes
- Constructive trust or equitable lien suits
To further help you and your attorney determine the appropriateness of CBLP inclusion for your case, the New Jersey Judiciary provides online CBLP guidelines and model forms and orders, as well as the rules of court under which CBLP judges conduct the cases coming under their jurisdiction.
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