Nevada Business Search

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Business Courts

Nevada business court dockets were created based on the model of business courts within Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina. The establishment of the business court is an embodiment of Nevada's efforts to attract corporations and other business entities to organize in Nevada. The main goals of the business court are to provide early, comprehensive case management to avoid business interruption during pending litigation; provide close management of factually and/or legally complex commercial litigation; and provide consistency of decisions to enable business planning. Along with these goals, Nevada wants to ensure that any legal disputes will be handled efficiently, competently, and predictably, and that Nevada businesses will continue operations with minimal interruption.

Official business courts are established in Reno (Second Judicial District Court) and Las Vegas (Eighth Judicial District Court).


Types of Cases

Generally, the types of cases that may be filed in the Business Court include:

  • Disputes concerning the validity, control, operation, or governance of entities created under NRS Chapters 78-88, including shareholder derivative suits.
  • Disputes concerning trademarks asserted under Nevada law, causes of action asserted pursuant to the Nevada Trade Secrets Act, the Nevada Securities Act, involving investment securities described in Article 8 of the Nevada UCC, or commodities described in NRS Chapter 90.
  • Disputes between two business entities where the court determines that the case would benefit from enhanced case management.

      -- Business entities on both sides of the "v," and the case involves complex facts and/or legal issues.

      -- This is the "catchall" provision, and it is left to the discretion of the Business Court Judges to determine whether the case is appropriate for Business Court.

Case Management Enhancements

  • Requiring cases to appear for periodic status conferences with joint status reports to promote effective case management.
  • Being available for hearings on short notice due to the designated conflict/back-up judges that are able to hear the matter in cases of emergency.
  • Scheduling early NRCP 16 conferences with parties to streamline issues and determine if early settlement conferences would be productive.
  • Designating a case as complex and remove discovery issues from Discovery Commissioner.
  • Encouraging parties to consolidate trial on the merits with preliminary injunction evidentiary hearings.

Further Benefits of Nevada's Business Court

  • Selection of judges is based on their specialized experience in business litigation.
  • Reduced civil caseload allows business court judges to give greater attention to their court matters and to manage those cases aggressively.
  • Speedy resolution of cases.
  • Business Court Settlement Conference Programs

    -- The goal of these conferences include expediting the case, streamlining issues for discovery purposes, and determining whether the parties are willing to attend an early settlement conference. Even if settlement is not being considered, this conference should "kick off" and expedite the litigation process.

  • Electronic Filing Order

    -- Facilitates efficient and organized case management in complex cases where multiple parties and claims have been joined.

    -- Saves law firms and their clients significant costs associated with preparing multiple copies of large pleadings.