Introduction to Civil Case Reporting

 

The civil case reporting matrices appearing in this State Court Guide to Statistical Reporting have undergone significant changes since the publication of the State Court Model Statistical Dictionary, 1989.  Three features of the new reporting scheme deserve special mention and discussion.

 

First, the General Civil (i.e., tort, contract, and real property) segment of the new format has been expanded to reflect recent studies that show that some types of general civil cases (e.g., premises liability torts) heretofore not specifically counted by the Court Statistics Project constitute a sizable portion of the court’s caseload and should be included in national caseload statistics.  General civil case type categories now include ten subcategories of tort cases, nine subcategories of contract cases, and two subcategories of real property cases.  The remaining civil case type categories, the non-general civil cases, have also been expanded to include more concise subcategories for probate/estate cases, civil appeals, and writs.

 

Second, the redesigned Caseload Summary matrix captures more detailed information about case activity.  In addition to reporting new filings and dispositions, the prototype now allows for the reporting of Active and Inactive pending cases, Reopened and Reactivated cases, Entry of Judgment and Reopened Dispositions, and cases that are Placed on Inactive Status.  The reporting categories have been augmented to gain a better understanding of court workload, and examples have been included to explain how to record different case management events.

 

Third, the revised civil Manner of Disposition matrix provides options that (1) distinguish whether cases were disposed with or without judicial intervention (e.g., conference or hearing) and (2) capture the extent of judicial intervention needed (i.e., whether trials reached a conclusion or were settled or dismissed before a verdict or judgment).  A new category captures civil cases that were disposed through court-annexed alternative dispute resolution (ADR) programs.  Cases resolved by ADR—primarily mediation or arbitration proceedings—should be included in the court’s caseload since the case typically remains within the jurisdiction of the court that made the referral.  Thus, the new matrix provides a means to track both traditional court and ADR civil case resolutions.