Skip Main Navigation





Metro Atlanta Business Case Division - General Information

Purpose

The purpose of the Business Case Division is to provide judicial attention and expertise to certain complex business cases and to facilitate the timely and appropriate resolution of such disputes.

Inception

The Fulton County Superior Court Business Case Division has been operational since October of 2005. In July 2016, it was renamed the Metro Atlanta Business Case Division (Business Case Division). Fulton State Court joined the Business Case Division in January 2020.

Eligible Cases

Cases eligible to be heard in the Business Case Division must implicate one or more of the following:

  1. Georgia Securities Act of 1973, O.C.G.A. §10-5-1
  2. UCC, O.C.G.A. §11-1-101
  3. Georgia Business Corporation Code, O.C.G.A. §14-2-101
  4. Uniform Partnership Act, O.C.G.A. §14-8-1
  5. Uniform Limited Partnership Act, O.C.G.A. §14-9A-1
  6. Georgia Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act, O.C.G.A. §14-9-100
  7. Georgia Limited Liability Company Act, O.C.G.A. §14-11-100
  8. Georgia International Commercial Arbitration Code, O.C.G.A. §9-9-20
  9. Any other action that the parties and the Court believe warrants assignment to the Business Case Division, including large contract and business tort cases and other complex commercial litigation, where the value of the relief sought is at least one million dollars.
  10. Cases involving personal injury, wrongful death, employment discrimination, or low-dollar consumer class action claims, however, are excluded from the Business Case Division unless all parties consent to the transfer.
Transferring Cases

Cases may be transferred to the Business Case Division upon the request of the assigned Judge or upon the motion of one party.

  1. Transfer of a case may be initiated in one of two ways:

    Graphic Depiction of Transfer Process

    • The original assigned Judge may request that a case be transferred to the Business Case Division, with notice to the parties.
    • Any party may file a motion (or parties may move jointly) with the original assigned Judge to request that the case be transferred to the Business Case Division.
  2. If a party opposes transfer, it may file a brief in opposition to the proposed transfer within twenty (20) days after the motion of one party or the request of the assigned Judge to transfer the case. Any response to such objection shall be filed promptly.
  3. The Business Case Division Committee will vote on all potential transfers to ensure that each case satisfies the requirements of Atlanta Judicial Circuit Rule 1004.
  4. If the Motion to Transfer is denied, the case remains with the original assigned Judge.
  5. If the case is accepted as a Business Case Division case, the Chief Judge will sign an Order transferring the case.
  6. In Fulton County, if the case is accepted into the Business Case Division on a Motion to Transfer, the moving party/parties are responsible for paying a transfer fee, as set forth in the Standing Orders Regarding Transfer Fee Amount for Fulton Superior Court and Fulton State Court. The transfer fee is used exclusively to fund the Business Case Division.

A courtesy copy of any motion to transfer and any response to such motion should be emailed to the Metro Atlanta Business Case Division (businesscourt@fultoncountyga.gov).

Sample Motion To Transfer Case to Business Case Division