SB 632

                     An Act
ENROLLED SENATE
BILL NO. 632  By: Paxton of the Senate
                                                and
                                        Hilbert and Duel of the
                                        House
       An Act relating to business courts; amending 20 O.S.
       2021, Sections 91.7, 92.1A, 95.1, and 125, as amended
       by Section 2, Chapter 271, O.S.L. 2022 (20 O.S. Supp.
       2024, Section 125), which relate to business court
       divisions, salaries, places of holding court, and
       office of secretary-bailiff; modifying certain
       legislative findings; creating business court
       divisions in certain judicial districts; authorizing
       promulgation of rules and procedures; specifying
       location of business court divisions; requiring
       certain consultation for determining quarters for
       business court divisions; clarifying proper venue;
       providing for salary of judge of business court;
       providing exception for location of holding court;
       authorizing secretary-bailiff for business court
       judges; authorizing appointment of law clerk by
       business court judges; updating statutory language;
       updating statutory reference; providing for
       appointment of business court judges by Governor;
       requiring Senate confirmation; requiring Speaker of
       the House of Representatives to provide certain
       lists; establishing qualifications for appointment of
       business court judges; specifying terms; authorizing
       reappointment; requiring taking and filing of certain
       oath; specifying method of filling vacancies;
       authorizing temporary designation as business court
       judge under certain circumstances; specifying
       authority and jurisdiction of business court;
       specifying amount in controversy jurisdiction;
       establishing subject matter jurisdiction of business
       court; defining term; specifying types of claims
       determined to be complex claims; providing for
       supplemental jurisdiction over certain claims;
       prohibiting exercise of jurisdiction over certain
       claims; prohibiting filing, transferring, or removing
       actions to business court prior to certain date;
       providing for filing with or transferring actions to
       business court; clarifying proper venue; requiring
       transfer from business court upon certain
       determinations; authorizing removal of certain
       actions; establishing procedures for notice of
       removal; stating applicability of Oklahoma Pleading
       Code; establishing requirements for jury trials in
       business court; establishing time limitation for
       disposition of non-jury trials; authorizing extension
       upon agreement of parties; requiring Supreme Court to
       promulgate rules for electronic filing; establishing
       filing fees; providing for codification; and
       providing an effective date.
SUBJECT:   Business courts
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
    SECTION 1.     AMENDATORY    20 O.S. 2021, Section 91.7, is
amended to read as follows:
    Section 91.7. A. The Oklahoma Legislature finds that, due to
the complex nature of litigation involving highly technical
commercial issues, there is a need for a court specialized courts in
Oklahoma’s most populated counties Oklahoma with specific
jurisdiction over actions involving such commercial business issues.
    B. The Supreme Court is authorized to create There is hereby
created a business court division within the district court of any
judicial district containing a municipality county with a population
in excess of three hundred thousand (300,000) five hundred thousand
(500,000), according to the latest Federal Decennial Census.
    C. The Supreme Court shall promulgate rules for the
establishment and jurisdiction of the Each business court divisions
division created shall be categorized and named numerically. The
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Supreme Court shall promulgate rules for the implementation and
administration of the business courts to the extent required by
Article VII of the Oklahoma Constitution. Additional rules and
procedures shall be promulgated by the judges of the business court
divisions. Business Court Division I shall be located in Oklahoma
County and quartered in Oklahoma City; Business Court Division II
shall be located in Tulsa County and quartered in Tulsa. Both
business court divisions shall be quartered in a location as
determined by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in consultation
with any state officials or private parties needed to secure
appropriate court and office space. Proper venue for the respective
divisions shall be set forth in Section 7 of this act.
    SECTION 2.     AMENDATORY     20 O.S. 2021, Section 92.1A, is
amended to read as follows:
    Section 92.1A. For fiscal year 2021 and each fiscal year
thereafter, except as otherwise provided by the Board on Judicial
Compensation after the effective date of this act April 28, 2021,
the following judicial officers shall receive compensation for their
services, payable monthly as follows:
    1. A judge of the district court shall receive an annual salary
of One Hundred Forty-five Thousand Five Hundred Sixty-seven Dollars
($145,567.00);
    2. An associate district judge shall receive an annual salary
of One Hundred Thirty-four Thousand Two Hundred Sixty-one Dollars
($134,261.00); and
    3. A special judge shall receive an annual salary of One
Hundred Twenty-two Thousand Nine Hundred Fifty-four Dollars
($122,954.00); and
    4. A business court judge shall receive an annual salary equal
to that of an associate justice of the Supreme Court.
    SECTION 3.     AMENDATORY    20 O.S. 2021, Section 95.1, is
amended to read as follows:
    Section 95.1. A. Unless and until the Supreme Court or the
Presiding Judge presiding judge of the judicial administrative
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district provides otherwise, and excluding any business courts
established pursuant to Section 91.7 of this title, the District
Court district court shall hold court in the county seat of every
county in the district, in any city where a Superior Court superior
court held sessions and at such other places within the district as
the district and associate district judges shall prescribe.
    B. If a governing board of the Court Fund court fund receives a
request from a municipality that court be held within that
municipality and the board determines that sufficient reasons exist
for establishing a court and that sufficient funds and space for a
court are made available by the municipality, the board may
establish a court, presided over by a special judge, in that
municipality. The request to hold court in a municipality shall be
included in the budget submitted by the governing board of the Court
Fund court fund to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and
approved by the Chief Justice.
    SECTION 4.     AMENDATORY     20 O.S. 2021, Section 125, as
amended by Section 2, Chapter 271, O.S.L. 2022 (20 O.S. Supp. 2024,
Section 125), is amended to read as follows:
    Section 125. A. In all counties of the state there is created
the office of secretary-bailiff for district judges and associate
district judges, and a secretary-bailiff for business court judges,
with each such secretary-bailiff to be appointed by order of the
district judge, or associate district judge, or business court judge
to serve at the will of the appointing judge as an unclassified
employee of the state exempt from the provisions of the Oklahoma
Merit System of Personnel Administration. The Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court shall approve by administrative directive the number
and assignments of secretary-bailiffs in all counties of the state.
Each secretary-bailiff shall be paid a salary pursuant to the salary
schedule established by the annual appropriation for the district
courts and in accordance with the job description for the position
to which appointed. For fiscal year 2023 and each fiscal year
thereafter, each secretary-bailiff shall receive an annual salary of
Forty-two Thousand Dollars ($42,000.00). In each business court
division, the business court judge may appoint a law clerk, who
shall be an attorney licensed or eligible to become licensed to
practice law in this state, to serve at the will of the appointing
judge with an annual salary to be set by the Chief Justice. In
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every county of the state each district judge and each associate
district judge, including business court judges in counties with a
business court division, may by order appoint additional necessary
court personnel subject to the approval of the Chief Justice. A
part-time bailiff shall be paid out of the court fund of the county
where appointed at the rate set by administrative directive for each
hour that such person actually attends the court and performs
services, or a pro rata fraction thereof for less than an hour of
service. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, each district
judge and associate district judge may contract with the sheriff of
the county to allow a deputy sheriff to provide bailiff service to
the court.
    B. With the approval of the presiding judge, a special judge
may appoint a secretary-bailiff or other personnel in accordance
with the administrative order of the Chief Justice.
    C. No judge shall engage more than one full-time secretary-
bailiff at any given time except only during the progress of a jury
trial, when a part-time bailiff may be engaged subject to the
approval of the Chief Justice. In the latter event, no more than
one additional bailiff shall be engaged to take charge of the jury.
The costs of meals and lodging of bailiffs ordered to keep a jury
together during the process of a trial or after the jury retires for
deliberation shall be lawfully paid from the court fund.
    D. A district judge who sits regularly in more than one county
may employ only one full-time secretary-bailiff in the judicial
district of the judge, and in any other county of the district the
judge may engage a bailiff only on a part-time basis when such judge
sits in the county as a judge pursuant to the procedures set forth
by the Chief Justice in the administrative directive. The cost of
the operation of the office of a district judge of a multi-county
judicial district, including the purchase of equipment and supplies,
may be apportioned among the counties of that judicial district, or
appropriate division of that district, based upon the percentage of
revenue collected by the courts of the district.
    E. The Administrative Director of the Courts shall develop and
promulgate job descriptions, salary schedules and time-keeping forms
for part-time bailiff personnel. The Chief Justice of the Oklahoma
Supreme Court, through the Office of the Administrative Director of
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the Courts, shall promulgate rules for the compensation for overtime
for all secretary-bailiff and part-time bailiff personnel employed.
    F. Persons employed by a county that does not meet the
requirements of Section 951 of Title 19 of the Oklahoma Statutes,
and who serve as full-time secretary-bailiffs or full-time bailiffs
shall be eligible to participate in the state retirement system and
state insurance programs and any other benefits as are provided to
state employees in the unclassified service. All part-time bailiff
personnel shall be compensated by the local court fund.
    G. On October 1, 1989, the position of full-time bailiff shall
be redesignated as the position of secretary-bailiff in accordance
with the job descriptions, salary schedules, and procedures approved
by the Chief Justice. Additional secretary-bailiff positions shall
be created as funding and employee positions are available.
Counties shall be allowed to provide additional support personnel to
the judges sitting in such counties to the extent that funding is
available.
    H. Any secretary-bailiff, who is CLEET-certified certified by
the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training (CLEET) as a
basic peace officer, shall have and exercise all the powers and
authority of a peace officer. The Office of the Administrative
Director of the Courts shall promulgate rules which prescribe the
duties for all CLEET-certified secretary-bailiffs. The provisions
of this subsection will not entitle a CLEET-certified secretary-
bailiff to participate in the Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement
System.
    SECTION 5.     NEW LAW     A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 91.7b of Title 20, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
    A. 1. Each business court shall consist of one business court
judge to be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of
the Senate. If the Legislature is not in regular session when an
appointment is made, the appointee shall assume the office on an
interim basis until the Senate takes final action to either confirm
or reject the appointee. The Governor shall choose an appointee for
any vacancy from a list of three candidates provided by the Speaker
of the House of Representatives. If the Governor rejects all three
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candidates, the Governor may request a subsequent list of candidates
from the Speaker. The Speaker shall provide such subsequent list to
the Governor within forty (40) days of the request. If such
subsequent list is not provided, the Governor may appoint any person
who meets the qualifications set forth in paragraph 2 of this
subsection.
      2.   To be eligible for appointment, a business court judge shall
be:
           a.   at least thirty-five (35) years of age,
           b.   a United States citizen, and
           c.   a licensed attorney in good standing in this state
                with ten (10) or more years of experience in:
                (1)   practicing complex civil business litigation,
                (2)   practicing business transaction law,
                (3)   serving as a judge or clerk of a court with civil
                      jurisdiction, or
                (4)   any combination of experience totaling ten (10)
                      years as described by divisions 1 through 3 of
                      this subparagraph.
    B. 1. A business court judge shall serve a term of eight (8)
years, except as otherwise provided by this subsection, beginning
September 1, 2025, and may be reappointed. The first business court
judge appointed to Business Court Division II shall serve a term of
four (4) years beginning September 1, 2025, and may be reappointed.
A business court judge shall take the constitutional oath of office
required of appointed officers of this state and file the oath with
the Secretary of State. A business court judge shall serve the full
term to which he or she was appointed and shall continue to serve
until a replacement is appointed and assumes office.
    2. If a vacancy occurs in the office of a business court judge
due to death, incapacity, resignation, or impeachment, the Governor
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shall appoint a person to serve for the remainder of the unexpired
term in the same manner as the original appointment.
    3. Upon request by a business court judge, the Chief Justice
may appoint a district court judge to sit in designation temporarily
as a business court judge to assist in caseload management. The
designated district court judge shall have the same authority as the
business court judge in relation to the cases assigned to them
during such designation.
    SECTION 6.     NEW LAW     A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 91.7c of Title 20, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
    A. In an action where damages are requested under subsection B
or C of this section, the amount in controversy shall be at least
Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00).
    B. When a business court division is created pursuant to
Section 91.7 of Title 20 of the Oklahoma Statutes, certain cases,
excluding arbitration cases, filed on or after January 1, 2026, may
be assigned to the business court docket. The business court shall
have the power to grant any relief that may be granted by a district
court and may exercise concurrent jurisdiction and the powers of a
court of equity, to the extent that such powers are exercised.
Notwithstanding the amount in controversy, where equitable relief is
requested in a business dispute, a business court may hear an
action:
    1. Arising under the Uniform Arbitration Act, Section 1851 et
seq. of Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
    2. Arising under the Uniform Commercial Code, Section 1-101 et
seq. of Title 12A of the Oklahoma Statutes;
    3. Arising under the Oklahoma General Corporation Act, Section
1001 et seq. of Title 18 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
    4. Arising under the Oklahoma Limited Liability Company Act,
Section 2000 et seq. of Title 18 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
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    5. Arising under the Oklahoma Revised Uniform Partnership Act,
Section 1-100 et seq. of Title 54 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
    6. Arising under the Uniform Limited Partnership Act of 2010,
Section 500-101A et seq. of Title 54 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
    7. Arising under the Oklahoma Uniform Securities Act of 2004,
Section 1-101 et seq. of Title 71 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
    8. Arising under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, Section 85 et
seq. of Title 78 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
   9.    Shareholder and unitholder derivative actions;
    10. That relates to the internal affairs of businesses
including, but not limited to, rights or obligations between or
among business participants regarding the liability or indemnity of
business participants, officers, directors, managers, trustees,
controlling shareholders or members, or partners;
    11. Where the complaint includes a professional malpractice
claim arising out of a business dispute;
    12. Involving tort claims between or among two or more business
entities or individuals as to their business or investment
activities relating to contracts, transactions, or relationships
between or among such entities or individuals;
    13. For breach of contract, fraud, or misrepresentation between
businesses arising out of business transactions or relationships;
    14. Arising from e-commerce agreements, technology licensing
agreements including, but not limited to, software and biotechnology
license agreements, or any other agreement involving the licensing
of any intellectual property right including, but not limited to, an
agreement relating to patent rights; and
   15.   Involving commercial real property.
    C. A business court shall have jurisdiction to hear complex
cases. For purposes of this act, “complex case” means an action
that requires exceptional judicial management to avoid placing
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unnecessary burdens on the court or the litigants, expedite the
case, keep costs reasonable, and promote effective decision-making
by the court, parties, and counsel. In deciding whether an action
is a complex case, the court shall consider factors including, but
not limited to, whether the action is likely to involve:
    1. Numerous hearings, and pretrial and dispositive motions
raising difficult or novel legal issues that will be time-consuming
to resolve;
    2. Management of a large number of witnesses or a substantial
amount of documentary evidence;
    3. Management of a large number of separately represented
parties;
   4.   Multiple expert witnesses;
    5. Coordination with related actions pending in one or more
courts in other counties, states, or countries, or in a federal
court;
   6.   Substantial post-judgment judicial supervision; or
   7.   Legal or technical issues of complexity.
    D. An action is presumptively a complex case, subject to
rebuttal, if it involves one or more of the following types of
claims:
   1.   Antitrust or trade regulation claims;
    2. Intellectual property matters including, but not limited to,
trade secrets, copyrights, and patents;
    3. Securities claims or investment losses involving more than
two parties;
    4. Environmental or toxic tort claims involving more than two
parties;
   5.   Ownership or control of business claims;
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   6.   Insurance coverage claims;
    7. Construction defect claims involving many parties or
structures;
   8.   Product liability claims; or
   9.   Mass tort claims.
Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to include individual
consumer claims or transactions involving a retail customer of goods
or services who uses or intends to use such goods or services
primarily for personal, family, or household purposes; provided,
however, this paragraph shall not be construed to preclude the court
from exercising jurisdiction over mass actions or class actions
involving such individual consumer claims.
    E. A business court shall have supplemental jurisdiction over
any other claim related to a case or controversy within the court’s
jurisdiction that forms part of the same case or controversy. If a
party objects to the business court’s supplemental jurisdiction over
other claims, the business court judge may remand those claims to
the district court.
    F. A business court shall not have authority to exercise
jurisdiction over claims arising under federal or state law, as
applicable, involving:
    1. The Oklahoma Consumer Protection Act, Section 751 et seq. of
Title 15 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
    2. Against a governmental entity or political subdivision under
Title 19 of the Oklahoma Statutes or under The Governmental Tort
Claims Act, Section 151 et seq. of Title 51 of the Oklahoma
Statutes;
    3. Guardianship matters under Title 30 of the Oklahoma
Statutes;
   4.   Probate matters under Title 58 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
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    5. A deceptive trade practice as set forth in Section 53 of
Title 78 of the Oklahoma Statutes, to the extent such matter is not
a business dispute;
   6.   Residential landlord and tenant;
   7.   Personal injury and wrongful death;
   8.   Domestic relations;
   9.   Foreclosures;
    10. Individual consumer claims or transactions involving a
retail customer of goods or services who uses or intends to use such
goods or services primarily for personal, family, or household
purposes; provided, however, this paragraph shall not be construed
to preclude the court from exercising jurisdiction over mass actions
or class actions involving such individual consumer claims;
    11. Collections in matters involving a corporation or other
entity subject to the farming and ranching statutes of this state or
an individual farmer; or
    12. Cases that would generally be considered consumer
transactions or human relation matters.
    SECTION 7.     NEW LAW     A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 91.7d of Title 20, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
    A. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no action shall
be eligible to be filed, transferred, or removed to a business court
division prior to January 1, 2026. Except as provided in subsection
F of Section 6 of this act, actions shall be brought before the
business court as follows:
    1. An action within the subject matter jurisdiction of the
business court may be filed in the business court. An action that
arises in a county located within the jurisdiction of the United
States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma shall be
filed in Business Court Division I; an action that arises in a
county located within the jurisdiction of the United States District
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Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma or Eastern District of
Oklahoma shall be filed in Business Court Division II. Venue may be
established as provided by law or, if a written contract specifies a
county as venue for the action, as provided by the contract;
    2. If the business court determines it does not have
jurisdiction over the action, the business court shall:
        a.   transfer the action to a district court in a county
             with jurisdiction over the action, or
        b.   dismiss the action without prejudice to the rights of
             the parties; and
    3. If the business court determines that the venue is improper
as to the action, the business court shall transfer the action to
the court of proper venue, but the business court judge shall
continue to preside over the action.
    B. 1. A district court in this state may transfer an action to
the business court division of proper venue if the district court
judge determines the business court has subject matter jurisdiction
over the action.
    2. A party to an action filed in a district court that is
within the jurisdiction of the business court may remove the action
to the business court. If the business court does not have
jurisdiction of the action, the business court shall remand the
action to the court in which the action was originally filed.
    C. A party may file an agreed notice of removal to the business
court at any time during the pendency of the action. If all parties
to the action have not agreed to remove the action, the notice of
removal shall be filed:
    1. Not later than thirty (30) days after the date the party
requesting removal of the action discovered, or reasonably should
have discovered, facts establishing the business court’s
jurisdiction over the action; provided, however, in no event shall a
party have less than the amount of time to respond to the action
than to remove to the business court; or
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    2. If an application for temporary injunction is pending on the
date the party requesting removal of the action discovered, or
reasonably should have discovered, facts establishing the business
court’s jurisdiction over the action, not later than thirty (30)
days after the date the application is granted, denied, or denied as
a matter of law.
    D. The notice of removal shall be filed with the business court
and the district court in which the action was originally filed. On
receipt of the notice, the clerk of the court in which the action
was originally filed shall immediately transfer the action to the
business court in accordance with the Oklahoma Pleading Code,
Section 2001 et seq. of Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes, and the
court clerk shall assign the action to the appropriate division of
the business court.
    E. Unless otherwise provided in this section, all pleadings
shall be governed by the Oklahoma Pleading Code.
    SECTION 8.     NEW LAW     A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 91.7e of Title 20, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
    A. A jury trial may be reserved by a party if claimed within a
time period established by law. A jury trial conducted by the
business court judge shall be held in the county where the contract
stipulates as proper venue, where the action was originally filed,
if removed, or in any county of proper jurisdiction if originally
filed in a business court.
    B. Non-jury trials in a business court shall be resolved within
twelve (12) months of the filing of the action. The twelve-month
disposition schedule may be extended if both parties agree to a
longer resolution period, or upon a finding by the business court of
extraordinary cause for such an extension, which shall be appealable
to the Supreme Court. An extension shall be memorialized in writing
by all parties and approved by the court.
    SECTION 9.     NEW LAW     A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 91.7f of Title 20, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
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    A. The Supreme Court shall provide for electronic filing of
documents in the business courts of this state and shall promulgate
rules for the filing of documents transmitted by electronic devices.
    B. A fee of One Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($1,500.00) shall
be charged and collected by the court clerk at the time of filing
any action in, or upon the filing of a motion for removal to, a
business court division established pursuant to Section 91.7 of
Title 20 of the Oklahoma Statutes. Fees shall be charged and
collected pursuant to the fee schedule established for district
courts.
   SECTION 10.   This act shall become effective September 1, 2025.
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   Passed the Senate the 28th day of May, 2025.
                                      Presiding Officer of the Senate
   Passed the House of Representatives the 28th day of May, 2025.
                                       Presiding Officer of the House
                                                   of Representatives
                         OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
   Received by the Office of the Governor this ____________________
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By: _________________________________
   Approved by the Governor of the State of Oklahoma this _________
day of ___________________, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
                                     _________________________________
                                     Governor of the State of Oklahoma
                     OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE
   Received by the Office of the Secretary of State this __________
day of __________________, 20 _______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By: _________________________________
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