The Use of General Magistrates in Commercial Litigation Cases

One of the biggest complaints people have about the legal system is the time that it can take to get a case from the moment a lawsuit is filed to a resolution. Part of the problem is just overworked and overloaded court systems; there just aren’t enough judges and courthouses and resources to manage all the litigation that courts have to handle.

Why So Slow?

To give you an idea of how things get backed up, imagine that the Plaintiff asks for a document from the Defendant. The Defendant objects. Unless the parties can work it out, the matter has to go before a judge to decide. If that judge doesn’t have an opening on his or her calendar for 6 weeks, that’s six weeks a party waits just to try and get a single document. The whole case can be put on hold effectively during that time.

Multiply that time by all the other hearings that are necessary through the course of litigation and you start to see why it can take so long for a case to resolve.

Using General Magistrates

One way to quicken this is through the use of general magistrates, or GMs. A GM is a legal professional (who may not actually be a judge) who acts like a judge in your case. The GM will handle whatever matters the judge in your case delegates to him or her.

So, for example, a GM could be appointed to hear all hearings before trial. Or, a GM could be used only to manage any disputes over discovery between the parties. A GM could be appointed just to hear a single hearing on one issue.

Like the judge, the GM cannot have any conflict with, or relationship with, any of the parties and must remain totally neutral. The GM is a government employee, a part of the judicial branch, and not a private business the way, for example, an arbitrator would be.

Why Use a General Magistrate?

So why would you want someone who isn’t the judge in your case to hear and decide important matters about your case?

The main reason is time; the GMs calendar is almost always more available than the judge’s calendar. You get quick access to someone who can make quick decisions, thus moving the entire case along faster.

The GM isn’t completely autonomous, so the presiding judge is still your judge. The GM’s decisions have to be approved by the judge, although they almost always are, unless a party challenges a GMs decision.

When Magistrates are Used

GMs are best used in more complex cases, where there are a lot of hearings, and a lot of parties involved.

They also are of course good in cases where time is of the essence. They are often used in family law cases, where parties need immediate decisions, but GMs also can be used in commercial litigation cases, where parties may face the imminent risk of financial damages if quick access to a decision maker cannot be obtained.

Get your commercial litigation case moving the right way. Call the West Palm Beach commercial litigation lawyers at Pike & Lustig today for help with your business law case.

Sources:

jud11.flcourts.org/General-Magistrates

17th.flcourts.org/general-magistrates/