Business Court - General Information

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Purpose

The purpose of the Business Court is to provide judicial attention and expertise to certain complex business cases and to facilitate the timely and appropriate resolution of such disputes.

Inception

The Superior Court of Fulton County Business Court has been operational since October of 2005.

The Supreme Court of Georgia promulgated Atlanta Judicial Circuit Rule 1004 governing the procedures of the Business Court on June 3, 2005, as amended on June 6, 2007, May 6, 2009 and September 2010.

Eligible Cases

Cases eligible to be heard in the Business Court must implicate one or more of the following:

1. Georgia Securities Act of 1973, O.C.G.A. § 10-5-1
2. UCC, O.C.G.A. §11-1-101
3. Georgia Business Corporation Code, O.C.G.A. § 14-2-101
4. Uniform Partnership Act, O.C.G.A. § 14-8-1
5. Uniform Limited Partnership Act, O.C.G.A. § 14-9A-1
6. Georgia Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act, O.C.G.A. § 14-9-100
7. Georgia Limited Liability Company Act, O.C.G.A. § 14-11-100
8. Any other action that the parties and the Court believe warrants assignment to the Business Court, including large contract and business tort cases and other complex commercial litigation, and the value of the relief sought is at least one million dollars.
9. Cases involving personal injury, wrongful death, employment discrimination, or low-dollar consumer class action claims, however, are excluded from the Business Court unless all parties consent to the transfer.

Transferring Cases

Cases may be transferred to the Business Court upon the request of the assigned Judge or upon the motion of one party.

1. Transfer of a case may be initiated in one of two ways:
   • The original assigned Superior Court Judge may request that a case be transferred to the Business Court, with notice to the parties.
   • One party (or both in a joint filing) may file a motion with the original assigned Superior Court Judge to request that the case be transferred to the Business Court. (In light of the 2009 Rule Amendment, a revised sample motion is provided. It requires Microsoft Word or OpenOffice to open.)
2. If a party opposes transfer, it may file a brief in opposition to the proposed transfer within twenty (20) days after the motion of one party or the request of the assigned Judge to transfer the case. Any response to such objection shall be promptly filed.
3. The Business Court Committee will vote on all potential transfers to ensure that each case satisfies the requirements of Atlanta Judicial Circuit Rule 1004.
4. If the case is denied, it remains with the original assigned Superior Court Judge.
5. If the case is accepted as a Business Court case, the Chief Judge will sign an Order transferring the case.
6. If your case is accepted into the Business Court on a Motion to transfer, the moving party/parties are responsible for paying a transfer fee in an amount not to exceed $2,500, as set forth in the "Standing Order Regarding Transfer Fee Amount" found here. The transfer fee is used exclusively to fund the Business Court.

Sample Motion To Transfer Case to Business Court