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BUSINESS AND CONSUMER DOCKET

MORE INFORMATION

View the Administrative Order establishing the Business and Consumer Court and its pilot procedural rules.

The Business and Consumer Docket Advisory Committee will continue to assist the Court in assuring that the BCD is responsive to the public’s needs.

If you have questions comments or suggestions regarding the new Court, please contact the Court and the Advisory Committee through e-mail: BCD@maine.gov

Judges of BCD

Chief Justice Thomas E. Humphrey of the Superior Court

and

Justice John Nivison of the Superior Court

The Business and Consumer Court began operations in June 2007 with ChiefJustice Thomas E. Humphrey and Chief Judge John C. Nivison serving as its first judges. Created to provide Maine’s businesses and consumers with prompt and consistent access to justice, the Business and Consumer Court reviews cases that relate to the operations and governance of businesses, as well as consumer rights cases. As a result of improvement in the management and resolution of business and consumer civil cases, parties can expect more certainty in the scheduling of pretrial conferences and the date of trial. An additional long-term goal for the Business and Consumer Court is to create a body of case law precedent that will allow businesses and consumers to have a better understanding of the law, encouraging them to settle their disputes before filing lawsuits.

The goals of the Business and Consumer Court are to provide predictable judicial action in selected cases involving business and or consumer disputes; avoid placing unnecessary burdens on the court and the litigants in such cases, keep litigation costs reasonable; and promote an effective and efficient process for resolving such disputes. Cases that may be considered for transfer to the Business and Consumer Court are jury and nonjury civil actions and family matters that do not involve children, in which

    1. the principal claim or claims involve matters of significance to the transactions, operation or governance of a business entity and/or the rights of a consumer arising out of transactions or other dealings with a business entity, and

    2. the case requires specialized and differentiated judicial management.