Comments on Proposed Amendment to 22 NYCRR § 202.70(d) (Rules of the Commercial Division), Relating to the Assignment of Cases to the Commercial Division

SUMMARY

The Committee on State Courts of Superior Jurisdiction expressed opposition to the Office of Court Administration’s proposed amendment of 22 NYCRR § 202.70(d) (Rule of the Commercial Division) as it relates to the assignment of cases in the Commercial Division. The proposed amendment would require that, absent good cause shown, a party wishing to have a case assigned to the Commercial Division must file a Commercial Division RJI within 90 days of service of the Complaint. In the report, the Committee argues that, if the parties are content to conduct discovery without such involvement and do not have any issues that actually require judicial resolution, there is no reason to penalize them by making a Commercial Division assignment unavailable simply because they were able to proceed for some time without the aid of the courts.