The Business Court Docket of the Jefferson Circuit Court has been approved by the Kentucky Supreme Court to begin operations on January 1, 2020. Thomas E. Rutledge, a member of SKO’s Business Services and Business Litigation groups, was a member of the committee appointed by the Kentucky Supreme Court to assist it in organizing the Business Court.
“I was honored to be appointed to the committee working on the launch of the Business Court Docket here in Jefferson County. Delaware’s dominance in the laws of business organization is driven by the expertise of its Chancery Court, which focuses solely on business issues,” Rutledge observed. “While no other state’s effort has had that degree of prominence, states across the country have recognized that a business court has many advantages. From an economic development perspective, judges who regularly see business law disputes can speed resolution of those disputes through their familiarity with issues unique to businesses. At the same time, by removing those pieces of complex litigation from the non-business court docket judges, they have more time to focus on other matters. It is a win-win for everyone involved.”
Working with a team of other attorneys, court personnel, Justice Lisabeth Hughes of the Kentucky Supreme Court and Jefferson Circuit Court Judges Angela McCormick Bisig and Charles L. Cunningham, Jr., Rutledge’s efforts were focused on what types of cases would be heard as part of the Business Court Docket and the procedures that would apply designating a case to the Business Court.
Tom’s practice is devoted to the law of business organizations, on federal and state taxation and federal and state securities laws. He often works with the members of the SKO Business Litigation Group in disputes between shareholders of corporations, partners in partnerships and members in LLCs. A nationally recognized speaker on the law of business organizations, his publications include as co-author of Ribstein & Keatinge on Limited Liability Companies, which he joined in 2018 in place of the late Professor Ribstein. He serves as an expert witness on a variety of topics involving business organization law including fiduciary duties and the structure and operations of a “series” LLC.
