(a) The West Virginia Legislature finds that, due to the complex nature of litigation involving highly technical commercial issues, there is a need for a separate and specialized court docket to be maintained in West Virginia's most populated circuit court districts with specific jurisdiction over actions involving such commercial issues and disputes between businesses.

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Terms Used In West Virginia Code 51-2-15

  • Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.

(b) The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals is authorized to designate a business court division within the circuit court of any judicial district with a population in excess of sixty thousand according to the 2000 Federal Decennial Census.

(c) Upon the determination to designate business court divisions, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals shall promulgate rules for the establishment and jurisdiction of the business court divisions within its circuit court system.