Faster routes for disputes that cannot wait for an ordinary schedule.
Esshaki Legal Media TeamCurrent as of December 2023
Several procedural devices resolve disputes faster than an ordinary case.
Summary proceedings by statute for defined claims — eviction, replevin,
advancement, books and records inspection, and confirmation of arbitration
awards. They have shortened response times and limited discovery.
Expedited discovery on a showing of good cause, weighing the need, the
breadth of the request, the purpose, the burden, and how far in advance of the
ordinary schedule it is sought. Standard in preliminary injunction practice.
Consolidation of the injunction hearing with trial on the merits, which the
court may order, avoids trying the case twice. Parties must be given clear
notice, since evidence and strategy differ.
Motions for judgment on the pleadings where the dispute is a pure question
of contract interpretation and the document is attached.
Agreed schedules. Parties can compress a case by stipulation more
effectively than any rule, and courts approve schedules that are realistic.
Business courts and complex litigation programs in many jurisdictions
offer active management and earlier trial dates.
Trade-offs. Speed costs discovery, and a party with the documents benefits
from compression while a party needing them does not. That asymmetry should
drive the decision to seek expedition.