Oregon Judicial Department’s Civil Justice Improvements Task Force Report to the Chief Justice June 20, 2018 1 Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction __________________________________________________________ 5 2.0 Call to Action Report and Recommendations ________________________________ 5 3.0 OJD CJI Task Force, Mission and Membership ______________________________ 7 3.1 Mission ________________________________________________________ 7 3.2 Membership ____________________________________________________ 9 4.0 Work of the OJD CJI Task Force _________________________________________ 10 5.0 Oregon Circuit Courts, 2016 Statistical Data ________________________________ 12 6.0 OJD CJI Task Force Recommendations ___________________________________ 14 6.1 Call to Action Recommendation 1: Courts must take responsibility for managing civil cases from time of filing to disposition. ___________________ 14 6.1.1 Moving Cases Toward Resolution Under UTCR 7.020 __________ 14 6.1.2 Setting Firm Trial Dates __________________________________ 15 6.1.3 Additional Considerations, Court Management of Cases to Timely Disposition ____________________________________________ 17 6.1.4 Additional Considerations, Litigant Expectations about Case Management and Trial Processes __________________________ 19 6.2 Call to Action Recommendation 2: Beginning at the time each civil case is filed, courts must match resources with the needs of the case. ____________ 21 6.3 Call to Action Recommendation 3: Courts should use a mandatory pathway-assignment system to achieve right-sized case management. _____ 22 6.4 Call to Action Recommendation 4: Courts should implement a Streamlined Pathway for cases that present uncomplicated facts and legal issues, and require minimal judicial intervention but close court supervision. ___________ 23 6.4.1 Streamlined Cases Upon Filing, Based on Case Type: Residential Forcible Entry and Detainer (FED) (landlord-tenant) and Small Claims ________________________________________________ 24 6.4.2 "Streamlined" Civil Jury Cases, UTCR 5.150 __________________ 25 6.4.3 Streamlined Cases After Filing: Dismissal or Default Order and Judgment Under UTCR 7.020 _____________________________ 31 6.5 Call to Action Recommendation 5: Courts should implement a Complex Pathway for cases that present multiple legal and factual issues, involve many parties, or otherwise are likely to require close court supervision. _____ 32 6.5.1 Designation as a "Complex Case" Under UTCR 7.030 __________ 32 6.5.2 Oregon Complex Litigation Court, UTCR Chapter 23 ____________ 34 2 6.6 Call to Action Recommendation 6: Courts should implement a General Pathway for cases whose characteristics do not justify assignment to either the Streamlined or Complex Pathway. _______________________________ 35 6.6.1 Managing General Pathway Cases Under UTCR 7.020 _________ 35 6.6.2 Tracking General Pathway Cases, Informally Resolving Discovery Disputes, and Holding Case Management Conferences _________ 36 6.7 Call to Action Recommendation 7: Courts should develop civil case management teams consisting of a responsible judge supported by appropriately trained staff. ________________________________________ 37 6.7.1 Civil Case Management Structure and Responsibilities in the Oregon Circuit Courts ____________________________________ 37 6.8 Call to Action Recommendation 8: For right-size case management to become the norm, not the exception, courts must provide judges and court staff with training that specifically supports and empowers right-sized case management. Courts should partner with bar leaders to create programs that educate lawyers about the requirements of newly instituted case management practices. __________________________________________ 38 6.8.1 Judicial and Staff Training ________________________________ 38 6.8.2 State and Local Bar Association Outreach ____________________ 40 6.9 Call to Action Recommendation 9: Courts should establish judicial assignment criteria that are objective, transparent, and mindful of a judge's experience in effective case management. ___________________________ 40 6.9.1 Judicial Assignments, Generally ____________________________ 41 6.9.2 Judicial Experience and Assignments, Transparency ___________ 42 6.10 Call to Action Recommendation 10: Courts must take full advantage of technology to implement right-size case management and achieve useful litigant-court interaction. __________________________________________ 43 6.10.1 Oregon eCourt and Automation ____________________________ 43 6.11 Call to Action Recommendation 11: Courts must devote special attention to high-volume dockets that are typically composed of cases involving consumer debt, landlord-tenant, and other contract claims. _______________ 44 6.11.1 Procedural Fairness and Access to Justice ___________________ 45 6.11.2 Online Resources -- General Information, Forms, and Case Information ____________________________________________ 47 6.11.3 Mediation _____________________________________________ 49 6.11.4 Residential Forcible Entry and Detainer (FED) Cases __________ 50 6.11.5 Consumer Debt Collection Cases ___________________________ 51 6.12 Call to Action Recommendation 12: Courts must manage uncontested cases to assure steady, timely progress toward resolution. _______________ 57 6.12.1 Statewide Enforcement of UTCR 7.020 ______________________ 58 3 6.13 Call to Action Recommendation 13: Courts must take all necessary steps to increase convenience to litigants by simplifying the court-litigant interface and creating on-demand court assistance services. _____________________ 58 6.13.1 Judicial and Court Staff Interaction with Lawyers and Litigants ____ 59 6.13.2 Telephone and Video Appearances _________________________ 60 6.13.3 Resources for Litigants ___________________________________ 61 7.0 Conclusion __________________________________________________________ 63 APPENDICES ______________________________________________________________ 65 APPENDIX A ________________________________________________________ 66 APPENDIX B ________________________________________________________ 68 APPENDIX C _______________________________________________________ 76 APPENDIX D _______________________________________________________ 77 APPENDIX E ________________________________________________________ 78 APPENDIX F ________________________________________________________ 83 APPENDIX G _______________________________________________________ 86 APPENDIX H _______________________________________________________ 88 APPENDIX I ________________________________________________________ 90 APPENDIX J ________________________________________________________ 93 APPENDIX K ________________________________________________________ 96 APPENDIX L _______________________________________________________ 107 APPENDIX M ______________________________________________________ 108 APPENDIX N ______________________________________________________ 112 APPENDIX O ______________________________________________________ 114 APPENDIX P _______________________________________________________ 116 APPENDIX Q ______________________________________________________ 121 4 OREGON JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT CIVIL JUSTICE IMPROVEMENTS (CJI) TASK FORCE REPORT TO THE CHIEF JUSTICE 1.0 Introduction While state court improvement efforts understandably often focus on criminal and family law cases, civil cases -- which account for a significant percentage of cases filed in state courts -- tend to receive less attention. In recent years, however, questions have arisen about how to more effectively and efficiently manage civil cases of all kinds, to the benefit of the litigants and the courts alike. This report evaluates civil case management in the Oregon state courts and makes recommendations for civil justice improvements in a variety of areas. As will be seen, Oregon courts already have many tools and practices in place to help ensure effective case management. The recommendations in this report are intended to recognize both what is currently working well and what could be improved; to address identified gaps; to promote statewide consistency where appropriate; and to improve access to justice and procedural fairness in the courts. 2.0 Call to Action Report and Recommendations With the support of the National Center for State Courts (NCSC), the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ) in 2014 appointed a Civil Justice Improvements Committee (CJIC), chaired by Oregon Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas A. Balmer, to research and prepare recommendations on improvements in processing and resolving civil cases in state courts. In 2016, the CJIC issued its report, entitled Call to Action: Achieving Civil Justice for All (July 2016), which was intended to serve as "a roadmap for restoring function and faith" in the civil justice system.1 Call to Action 4. As part of its work, the CJIC undertook a multijurisdictional, statistical study of the civil litigation landscape in general jurisdiction courts ("Landscape"), which "presented a very different picture of civil litigation than most lawyers and judges envisioned based on their own experiences and on common criticisms of the American civil justice system." Id. at 8. Specifically, "[a]though high-value tort and commercial contract disputes are the predominant focus of contemporary debates, collectively they comprised only a small proportion of the Landscape caseload." Id. Instead, high- volume civil cases filed in state courts today most often involve debt collection, landlord- tenant disputes, mortgage