Public Notice Detail
Reduced-Cost Litigation Pilot Launched in Ramsey County
Posted: Tuesday, August 21, 2001
ST. PAUL, MN (Aug. 21, 2001) – Today Minnesota Supreme Court Associate Justice James H. Gilbert and Second Judicial District judges announced the launch of a reduced-cost litigation pilot project in Ramsey County. The pilot is designed to save certain civil litigants time and money by scheduling cases for trial in a shorter timeframe and limiting some of the pre-trial “paper battles” that can delay court proceedings.
“The development of this pilot has been an outstanding cooperative effort between our bench and bar to make the system work better,” said Justice Gilbert, who led the effort to develop the pilot. “Protracted civil litigation can be an enormously expensive and uncertain time for the individuals or businesses involved. And there is no shortage of evidence that cost is one of the major concerns people have about utilizing our court system.”
A Minnesota Supreme Court public opinion survey conducted in 1999-2000 showed that 81 percent of Minnesotans disagreed with the statement, “Most people can afford to bring a case to court.”
“This pilot is designed to be responsive to those concerns and provide another option to consider in the civil court process,” added Justice Gilbert.
Cases on the reduced-cost litigation track are assigned to a single judge and are managed to reduce the cost of hearings, motions and any required conferences. A scheduling conference is held within 30 days, the period of discovery is limited to no more than 75 days and a trial date is set within 150 days. The discovery period is often the most costly for the litigants, as each party typically files “interrogatories” and requests for depositions and documents. Once a case has been diverted to the reduced-cost track, further interrogatories are limited and relevant information and documents must be exchanged, preventing additional delay and costs. The use of telephone and interactive video conferencing is also encouraged.
“We are pleased to host this pilot,” said Ramsey County District Court Judge Louise Dovre Bjorkman, who will oversee the project’s implementation at the local level. “At its core, reduced-cost litigation is about making the courts more responsive and accessible to all Minnesotans - something that Ramsey County judges believe in very strongly.”
To participate in the pilot, the parties and the judge must all agree that a case is a suitable candidate for a reduced-cost process. According to Judge Bjorkman, basic commercial or contractual disputes may qualify, especially if the potential costs of the litigation may exceed the total value of the case. Most complex civil litigation and family cases are best dealt with in a traditional civil process.
“Because no one approach will work for everyone, it was very important to us that the pilot be a voluntary option,” said Judge Bjorkman. “But it can provide some relief for certain litigants who find the expense and burdens of a lengthy trial prohibitive. Limiting the ‘paper battle’ before the trial and keeping these cases on a more timely schedule may prove to be a common-sense solution for certain parties.”
The reduced-cost litigation pilot grew out of a committee formed in 1999 to study the feasibility of a business court. While creating a business court was not an option the group endorsed, various subcommittees researched other means of improving and streamlining civil court processes. Over the next two years, bench and bar representatives worked together to refine the concept of a reduced-cost track and obtain feedback from numerous stakeholders, task forces and committees.
The reduced-cost litigation pilot project is effective October 1, 2001, through Supreme Court order. Ramsey County officials will track the use of the pilot throughout the two years that it is in effect.
More information about the pilot is available on the state court system website, at http://www.courts.state.mn.us.