This section of the site contains orders of statewide interest recently issued by the Iowa Supreme Court. Orders will be posted in this section for one year from the date they are first posted.

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Des Moines, September 3, 2014– Iowa State Court Administrator David Boyd was named vice-chair of the Board of Directors of the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) and president of the Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA) at the NCSC Board meeting and COSCA annual meeting. COSCA is a national organization that represents the top judicial officers of the 50 states and U.S. territories. Both positions are one-year terms.

"We are honored that David has moved into a leadership role with the National Center and in the nation's court community," said Mary C. McQueen, NCSC president. "He's an outstanding leader and positive force, and his knowledge and experience are invaluable to the National Center."

Boyd joined COSCA in 2003 and the NCSC Board of Directors in 2012. During that time, he worked diligently to promote several key court initiatives, including strengthening educational opportunities for court administrators.

Boyd was named Iowa State Court Administrator in May 2003. He previously served as Deputy State Court Administrator for 19 years and as a trial court administrator for 7 years. He also serves as Executive Secretary to the Iowa Commission on Judicial Qualifications and the State Judicial Nominating Commission and is the administrator of the Iowa Judicial Retirement System.

COSCA is comprised of the chief executives of the court systems in each state, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories. The conference is committed to strengthening the judicial branch by improving the quality of state courts and increasing the public's trust and confidence in the justice system.

The National Center, headquartered in Williamsburg, Va., is a non-profit court organization dedicated to improving the administration of justice by providing leadership and service to the state courts. NCSC, founded in 1971 by the Conference of Chief Justices and Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court Warren E. Burger, provides education, training, and technology, management, and research services to the nation's state courts.

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Des Moines, August 28, 2014– Today, the Iowa Supreme Court approved new court rules intended to reduce the cost and time needed to resolve many civil lawsuits.

One new set of rules establishes special, expedited procedures for lawsuits with less than $75,000 at stake.

In addition, the court has made changes to the pretrial rules that govern all civil cases. These changes are intended to modify practices that have led to unneeded litigation delay and expense.

"Unfortunately, prior to these new rules, people with valid legal claims were being priced out of our civil justice system," Iowa Supreme Court Justice Edward Mansfield, chair of the committee that recommended the changes, said. "Thanks to the hard work and diverse perspectives of the committee members from around the state, we have made some changes. We expect these new rules will reduce, for all parties, the costs and time associated with civil jury trials."

A supreme court committee of district judges, private practice attorneys, civil procedure professors, and a government and a corporate counsel was tasked to come up with reforms to govern all civil cases and a second track for smaller-value cases. After a number of meetings and extensive research, the committee developed the proposals that the supreme court published for public comment on November 1, 2013 and approved in final form today.

Under the expedited civil action rules, the person or entity who files the lawsuit may choose to use expedited process, the case must be tried in one year or less, and the award is limited to $75,000. Pretrial procedures are limited. At trial, the case will be heard by a six person jury and the attorneys on each side will have a six hour limit to present the facts of the case.

The rules that apply to all cases require that both sides participate in a mandatory conference with each other shortly after the lawsuit is filed. Immediately thereafter, both sides are required to provide initial disclosures and a plan for the litigation. The initial disclosures must include identification of persons with information about the case and copies of relevant documents. This is intended to avoid surprises and get basic information about the facts of the dispute out early.

"This new approach to litigation will offer greater access to justice for Iowans with legitimate claims and defenses that were not considered cost effective in the traditional court system," Chief Justice Mark Cady said. "The expedited process, along with our small claims courts and business courts, offer Iowans multiple options for resolving civil disputes of all sizes. The supreme court is dedicated to finding innovative ways to provide faster and less costly resolution of legal disputes."

The order, support material, and the new rules are posted on the Iowa Judicial Branch website at: http://www.iowacourts.gov/Court_Rules__Forms/Recent_Amendments__New_Iowa_Court_Rules/

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