A program at Providence Superior Court aimed at moving business cases off the court docket quicker has been successful in its first 18 months and should be continued statewide, say members of the Rhode Island legal community.
More than 371 cases have already appeared on the court’s business calendar, and close to 140 of the cases, or 38 percent, have been resolved. While the statistics might seem low to people unfamiliar with the courts, Superior Court Judge Michael Silverstein, who presides over the business calendar each day, said the progress has been substantial.
“This is very fast, extraordinarily fast,” he said of the statistics. “You have to remember some of these cases were filed yesterday, others are in mediation or arbitration. I rendered two decisions today.”
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The program, implemented by Presiding Superior Court Justice Joseph F. Rodgers Jr., is being run at Superior Court in Providence, which handles cases from Providence and Bristol counties. The legal community would like the Superior Courts in Washington, Kent and Newport counties to adopt a similar business calendar.
“This idea has been a resounding success,” said Michael St. Pierre, a partner with the Warwick firm of Revens, Revens, & St. Pierre, and president of the Rhode Island Bar Association. “The model is working very well. If there is anything that can be done to improve it, I think it would be to bring it to rest of Rhode Island’s counties. There aren’t just business concerns in Providence, I think that businesses in South Kingstown and Newport could benefit from a program like this.”
The original idea, Silverstein said, was to create a streamlined and unified process in cases involving local business and jobs.
“Historically, the time that it has taken for business matters to wend their way through the courts system was immense,” he said. “There was a recognition by the Presiding Justice that the system essentially could be more effective if you concentrated it in one place with one judge. There was a belief that we need to get these issues resolved more quickly so that business people can pay attention to their business and the economy of the state would benefit.”
According to the original administrative order that created the calendar, the kind of cases that can be assigned to the business calendar include: breach of contract of fiduciary duties, fraud, misrepresentation, business tort, or statutory violations arising out of business dealing and/or transactions; transactions governed by the Uniform Commercial Code; shareholder derivative actions; commercial class actions; commercial bank transactions; business insolvency and receiverships; and matters affecting internal affairs or governance of business organizations.
Silverstein said that in order for a case to be put on the state’s business calendar an attorney from either side of a case must request it. Both sides are required to fill out a form that Silverstein discusses with them before deciding whether or not it belongs on his docket. Once a case is assigned to the calendar, Silverstein said, he hears every aspect of it. Either side is allowed to have a jury trial, but so far, Silverstein said, that hasn’t happened.
“There are benefits to that,” he said. “It allows me as the judge to know a lot about the case from the outset. It helps push for settlement and faster resolution. And it centralizes all of the state’s receivership matters.”
Silverstein said the prompt handling of receivership cases has had the most impact on the state’s economy. He said he has had a lot of success with the 142 cases heard in the court falling under the receivership category.
“By having a more streamlined process we can move more expeditiously to sell businesses to new owners,” Silverstein said. “Through our sales process some of these businesses end up with new owners that invest more money in them. That means employees retain their jobs and the state’s economy can benefit.”
The idea of having a specialized calendar isn’t unique to Rhode Island. Silverstein said a handful of other states, including New York, Massachusetts, and Maine, have similar models set up.
“I think the business community really appreciates this,” Silverstein said. “It’s something that just makes sense.”
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