Business Court: A New Alternative

1. Business Court: A New Alternative Haley R. Van Loon BrownWinick 666 Grand Avenue, Suite 2000 Des Moines, IA 50309-2510 Telephone: 515-248-6625 Facsimile: 515-248-6626 E-mail: vanloon@brownwinick.com

2. Establishment • On December 21, 2012, the Honorable Mark S. Cady, Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court, issued a Supervisory Order and accompanying Memorandum of Operation establishing the Iowa Business Specialty Court pilot program (the “Program”). • In doing so, Iowa became the 24th state to implement a business specialty court program.

3. Purpose “The primary aims of the Iowa Business Specialty Court will be to move business or complex commercial litigation cases through the court system more expeditiously, with lower costs for litigations and the court system. Businesses and attorneys will benefit from the business court’s published body of case law and providing guidance and promoting risk assessment for fair and cost-effective resolution of such cases.”

4. Purpose (cont.) “Judges will benefit from the development of specialized judicial expertise to be shared with their judicial colleagues. All Iowans should benefit from the creation of a more attractive and cost-effective environment for the resolution of complex business disputes. Non-business case dockets will benefit from the removal of time-consuming, complex business cases from the general docket. The court system as a whole should benefit from the business court’s role as an incubator of innovative court practices that may be applied generally across the justice system.”

5. Details • The Program will operate for a three-year period from May 1, 2013 to May 1, 2016. • The Program will consist of a statewide docket of cases that qualify for, and are voluntarily transferred to, the Program. • Cases in the Program will be tried in the county in which they were filed. • Qualifying cases will only be transferred to the Program where all parties involved consent. • The Program will accept pre-existing and new cases.

6. Business Court Judges The Iowa Supreme Court, with assistance from the Iowa State Court Administrator, selected three Iowa District Court judges to handle cases assigned to the business court during the three-year pilot project. The judges are: • Michael D. Huppert, Des Moines, District Court Judge for the Fifth Judicial District of Iowa. • Annette J. Scieszinski, Albia, District Court Judge for the Eighth Judicial District of Iowa. • John D. Telleen, LeClaire, District Court Judge for the Seventh Judicial District of Iowa.

7. Qualifications • To qualify for the Program, a case must have an amount in controversy of at least $200,000.00 and meet one or more of the following criteria: • (1) arise from technology licensing agreements, including software and biotechnology licensing agreements, or any agreement involving the licensing of any intellectual property right, including patent rights;

8. Qualifications (cont.) • (2) relate to the internal affairs of businesses (i.e., corporations, limited liability companies, general partnerships, limited liability partnerships, sole proprietorships, professional associations, real estate investment trusts, and joint ventures), including the rights or obligations between or among business participants, or the liability or indemnity of business participants, officers, directors, managers, trustees, or partners, among themselves or to the business;

9. Qualifications (cont.) • (3) involve claims of breach of contract, fraud, misrepresentation, or statutory violations between businesses arising out of business transactions or relationships; • (4) be a shareholder derivative or commercial class action; • (5) arise from commercial bank transactions;

10. Qualifications (cont.) • (6) relate to trade secrets, non-compete, non-solicitation, or confidentiality agreements; • (7) involve commercial real property disputes other than residential landlord-tenant disputes and foreclosures; • (8) be a trade secrets, antitrust or securities-related action; or • (9) involve business tort claims between or among two or more business entities or individuals as to their business or investment activities relating to contracts, transactions, or relationships between or among them.

11. Application of Iowa Court Rules Existing Iowa Rules of Civil Procedure, rules of evidence, and other applicable Iowa Court Rules shall be applicable in Iowa Business Specialty Court proceedings. The parties, with the approval of the presiding business court judge, may, however, agree to such streamlined rules of pretrial procedure and discovery as will promote the fair, prompt, and efficient resolution of cases.

12. Evaluation of Pilot Program The State Court Administrator shall conduct, or cause to be conducted, a periodic review of the Iowa Business Specialty Court pilot program assessing whether the program is achieving its purpose and meeting its goals. The Administrator shall report the findings made in the periodic reviews of the program and make any recommendations for its improvement to the supreme court on or before June 1 in the years 2014, 2015 and 2016.

13. Website: www.brownwinick.com Toll Free Phone Number: 1-888-282-3515 OFFICE LOCATIONS: 666 Grand Avenue, Suite 2000 Des Moines, Iowa 50309-2510 Telephone: (515) 242-2400 Facsimile: (515) 283-0231 616 Franklin Place Pella, Iowa 50219 Telephone: (641) 628-4513 Facsimile: (641) 628-8494 DISCLAIMER: No oral or written statement made by BrownWinick attorneys should be interpreted by the recipient as suggesting a need to obtain legal counsel from BrownWinick or any other firm, nor as suggesting a need to take legal action. Do not attempt to solve individual problems upon the basis of general information provided by any BrownWinick attorney, as slight changes in fact situations may cause a material change in legal result.