New study judges business litigation

Businesses wanting to expand or relocate may have an easier time making their decisions with the help of a new research project developed by local attorneys.

The study will contain evaluations of business litigation in appellate courts throughout the country.

Oklahoma City attorney Marc Nuttle has formed Citizens for Judicial Review, a business association comprised of local corporations and small businesses with a total of 45 members. Each of these members, through subscriptions, will have access to the judicial information provided by Nuttle. Money for the project has come from several subscribers who have paid upfront for the service. Other subscribers will pay for the information once it becomes available. The list of subscribers is confidential. Nuttle plans to provide information concerning Oklahoma's appellate courts first, and then expand into other jurisdictions across the country. Nuttle is working with Oklahoma City attorney Sam Hammons and a staff of seven researchers who are compiling the information for the study. Hammons is careful to note, however, that he is not conducting any research for the Oklahoma portion of the project. "Because of my relationship with several judges in the community and because I have been an attorney in Oklahoma for several years, I didn't want to have problems with possible bias," said Hammons. The purpose of the report, says Nuttle, is to fill in the gaps in information presently available to the business community. Nuttle believes businesses have fairly good access to legislative decisions, but a real desire exists for information about judicial activity. "The report is designed as a tool for CJR members to use in litigation strategies and investment decisions," said Nuttle. "For example, certain decrees raise interest rates. We want to make this information available to our subscribers." Also involved in the project is Tulsa marketing consultant Ron Howell. Howell's job is to market the product and to increase the number of subscribers to the service. "We want to help our subscribers determine strategies in litigation, tax issues, workers compensation. "We want to provide an apparent history from which people can work," said Howell. But some concern exists about making broad, sweeping generalizations of trends in jurisdictions. "Any type of evaluation of the judicial process requires caution because factors which the evaluator selects can influence the results," said Judge Kenneth Buettner of the Oklahoma Court of Appeals. "Evaluators should be cautious because the duty of judges is to enforce the law. Judges are restricted in their decisions by statutes and previous decisions," said Buettner. Nuttle, however, says his product will be objective. "It will be a nonpartisan, unemotional analysis of how certain decrees affect economy for business." Decisions from the Oklahoma Supreme Court and the courts of appeals relevant to business will be available by early this fall, and product development for information in other jurisdictions will continue for a year to 18 months. Nuttle plans to produce a general publication first and then to tailor information to fit subscribers' needs. "We have a product menu in development," said Nuttle. The price of the information, according to Howell, depends upon the user's demands. "It will cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars, depending on the subscriber's needs." The CJR president hopes to make available both a written publication and eventually an on-line service for updated information.

Copyright 1996
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