Business disputes do not all belong in the same forum. Some are ordinary civil cases. Some are contract cases that happen to involve companies but do not meet the requirements for business-court assignment. Others fall squarely within Michigan’s specialized business court system and should be identified as business court cases at the outset. For businesses in Ann Arbor and throughout Washtenaw County, the question is not simply whether the case involves a company. The better question is whether the parties, the claims, the requested relief, and the procedural posture fit Michigan’s definition of a “business or commercial dispute.” ¹
Michigan created business court dockets so that qualifying commercial cases could be handled in a forum designed for business litigation. The Washtenaw County Business Court is part of that statewide framework. It is not a separate courthouse, and it is not a private arbitration forum. It is a specialized docket within the circuit court system, governed by Michigan statutes, Michigan Court Rules, and Washtenaw County’s local administrative plan. A case belongs there when it satisfies the statutory criteria for a business or commercial dispute and falls within the court’s jurisdiction and venue requirements. ²
The starting point is Michigan Compiled Laws § 600.8031, which defines the kinds of disputes that may be treated as business or commercial disputes. The statute focuses on both who the parties are and what the dispute is about. A lawsuit between business enterprises will often qualify, unless the only claims in the case are among the categories expressly excluded by statute. A case may also qualify when at least one party is a business enterprise and the opposing party has a business-related relationship to it, such as a present or former owner, manager, shareholder, member, director, officer, agent, employee, supplier, guarantor of a commercial loan, or competitor, so long as the claims arise out of that
relationship. ¹
That relationship-based requirement is important. A lawsuit does not become a business court case merely because one party owns a business, works for a business, or once did business with another party. The claims must arise from the business relationship itself. For example, a dispute between members of a limited liability company over management rights, distributions, access to records, or alleged self-dealing will usually look like a business court case because the dispute arises from the parties’ ownership and governance relationship. By contrast, an unrelated personal injury claim against a company usually does not belong in business court merely because the defendant happens to be a business. ¹
Business court jurisdiction also includes certain nonprofit disputes. If one party is a nonprofit organization and the claims arise from that organization’s structure, governance, or finances, the case may qualify as a business or commercial dispute. That means the business court framework is not limited to for-profit companies. A dispute involving the internal governance of a nonprofit, disputes overboard authority, financial control, or organizational structure may fall within the statute if the statutory elements are met. ¹
The most obvious business court cases are disputes about the life, ownership, management, or finances of a business. Cases involving the sale, merger, purchase, combination, dissolution, liquidation, organizational structure, governance, or finances of a business enterprise are expressly included within the statutory definition. In practical terms, this captures many cases where the central issue is who controls the company, who owns what interest, whether a transaction was proper, whether a business should be dissolved, or whether managers, members, officers, or directors complied with their obligations. ¹
Internal business disputes often present exactly the kinds of issues the business court was designed to manage. These cases may involve closely held corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships, professional corporations, joint ventures, or other entities. The parties may be business partners who no longer trust each other, shareholders challenging management decisions, LLC members disputing operating agreement rights, or former owners contesting a buyout. The claims may include breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, oppression, conversion of business assets, accounting, declaratory relief, injunctions, or dissolution. The specific label attached to the claim matters less than whether the action arises from the business relationship identified in the statute. ¹
Contract disputes may also belong in Washtenaw County Business Court, but not every contract dispute qualifies. The statute includes actions arising out of contractual agreements or other business dealings, including licensing, trade secret, intellectual property, antitrust, securities, noncompete, nonsolicitation, and confidentiality agreements, provided any required administrative or contractual dispute-resolution processes have been exhausted when applicable. ¹ A breach of contract suit between two companies over a supply agreement, services contract, software development agreement, commercial lease, licensing arrangement, asset purchase agreement, or confidentiality agreement will often be a strong candidate for business court treatment.
Commercial transaction cases are another common category. Disputes involving commercial bank transactions, financing arrangements, guaranties of commercial loans, security agreements, collections between businesses, and other business-to-business transactions may fall within the business court statute. ¹ In those cases, the court is not merely deciding whether money is owed. It may also be necessary to address how the transaction was structured, whether commercial documents are enforceable, whether a guaranty applies, whether collateral rights were preserved, or whether business defenses defeat the claim. These issues often benefit from early case management and focused motion practice.
Technology disputes can also belong in business court. Michigan’s definition specifically includes disputes involving information technology, software, and website development, maintenance, or hosting. ¹ In Washtenaw County, where many companies operate in software, research, health technology, mobility, manufacturing technology, and university-adjacent ventures, this category can be particularly significant. A failed software implementation, a dispute over code ownership, a disagreement about maintenance obligations, or a conflict over a platform-development contract may qualify if the parties and claims satisfy the statutory framework.
Intellectual property and confidentiality disputes often overlap with business court jurisdiction. A case involving trade secrets, licensing, restrictive covenants, nonsolicitation obligations, noncompete provisions, confidentiality agreements, customer lists, proprietary information, source code, branding, business methods, or technology rights may fit the statute when the dispute arises from business dealings. ¹ These disputes frequently require urgent relief because the alleged harm may be ongoing. A plaintiff may seek a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction, return of data, preservation of evidence, or an order preventing further use of confidential information. When the dispute otherwise qualifies, business court assignment can provide a structured forum for addressing those issues promptly.
Commercial real property disputes may also belong in business court, but the details matter. The statute includes cases involving commercial real property. ¹ A dispute over a commercial lease, development agreement, purchase agreement, easement affecting commercial property, business-use property rights, or commercial occupancy issue may qualify. However, the statute expressly excludes landlord-tenant matters involving only residential property, and it also excludes certain foreclosure and lien-related matters, including land contract, mortgage, construction, and condominium lien foreclosure matters and actions involving enforcement of condominium and homeowners association governing
documents. ¹ The fact that real estate is involved does not end the analysis; the nature of the property and the nature of the claim must be examined.
Business insurance disputes may qualify when they arise out of business or commercial insurance policies. ¹ For example, a coverage dispute involving a commercial general liability policy, business interruption coverage, professional liability policy, directors and officers coverage, errors and omissions coverage, or another business insurance policy may be a business court matter if the statutory requirements are met. However, Michigan law excludes motor vehicle insurance coverage disputes and insurance coverage disputes in which an insured or alleged insured is an individual consumer. ¹ A business coverage dispute should therefore be distinguished from consumer insurance litigation before the case is designated.
A business dispute may also belong in business court even when the complaint includes nonbusiness claims. Michigan law provides that an action must be assigned to a business court if all or part of the action includes a business or commercial dispute. The statute further provides that a qualifying action filed in a court with a business docket must be maintained in business court even if it also includes claims that are not business or commercial disputes, including excluded claims. ² This is a critical point for pleadings. A case may not avoid business court merely because the parties add related claims that, standing alone, would not have been business court claims.
The reverse is also true. If a case does not initially include a business or commercial dispute but later does so because of a counterclaim, cross-claim, third-party complaint, amendment, or other modification, it may need to be reassigned to business court after the qualifying claim is added. ² This can happen when a plaintiff files a relatively straightforward civil complaint, but a defendant responds with a counterclaim involving ownership rights, fiduciary obligations, shareholder disputes, trade secrets, or other business claims. The procedural posture can change the assignment analysis.
The monetary and relief requirements also matter. Under Michigan law, the business court has jurisdiction over business and commercial disputes in which equitable or declaratory relief is sought or in which the matter otherwise meets circuit court jurisdictional requirements. ² In practical terms, cases seeking injunctions, declaratory judgments, dissolution, specific performance, or other equitable relief may satisfy the jurisdictional requirement even where the relief is not purely monetary. Where only money damages are sought, counsel should consider whether the case meets the circuit court’s monetary jurisdiction requirements before designating it for business court.
Washtenaw County’s local business court plan also addresses the local structure of the docket. The local administrative order establishes the Washtenaw County Business Court as a specialized business court within the Washtenaw County Trial Court and ties local assignment to the statutory definition of business or commercial disputes.⁵ The local plan confirms that business court cases are not merely labeled and left alone; they are subject to review, assignment mechanisms, and docket management procedures designed for commercial litigation.
The filing party’s obligation begins with the pleading. Michigan Court Rule 2.112(O) requires a party to verify on the face of the initial pleading that the case meets the statutory requirements for assignment to the business court when the case involves a business or commercial dispute and the court maintains a business court docket.⁴ This is not just a clerical preference. Proper designation helps the clerk, the assigned judge, and the opposing party understand that the case is being filed as a business court matter. It also helps avoid delay, reassignment disputes, and later motion practice over whether the case was placed on the correct docket.
The same rule applies when a business dispute enters the case later. If a cross-claim, counterclaim, third-party complaint, amendment, or other modification adds a business or commercial dispute, the filing party must verify on the face of that pleading that the case meets the statutory requirements for business court assignment.⁴ This rule reflects the reality that business court status is not frozen at the moment the original complaint is filed. A case can become a business court case because of what is later pleaded.
If a party fails to make the designation, the case is not necessarily lost to business court. Michigan Court Rule 2.112(O) allows a party to file a motion for a determination that the case is eligible for business court assignment when a pleading alleges a business or commercial dispute but does not verify the business court designation.⁴ The court may also act on its own initiative. If the court determines that the statutory requirements are met, the case must be assigned to business court.⁴ This makes business court eligibility a substantive question, not merely a checkbox.
Washtenaw County’s local plan addresses local assignment procedures as well. The plan provides that pleadings should clearly identify on the first page that a case is to be designated as a business court case in accordance with MCR 2.112(O).⁵ The local plan also contemplates assignment by motion, stipulation, or judicial determination under specified circumstances.⁵ In other words, the business court designation can arise from the filing party’s initial designation, the parties’ agreement, a party’s motion, or the court’s own review.
A party that disagrees with business court assignment may seek review through the chief judge mechanism provided by statute and rule. Michigan law allows the chief judge of the judicial circuit to review certain assignment decisions upon motion of a party, and the chief judge’s ruling is not treated as an appealable order. ² MCR 2.112(O) similarly recognizes review by the chief judge.⁴ This gives parties a way to address assignment disputes without turning the docketing question into a separate appeal.
Just as a case can be assigned to business court, it can also be removed from the business court docket if it does not meet the eligibility criteria. Washtenaw County’s local administrative order contemplates removal by motion or by court-issued order to show cause when the case does not qualify.⁵ That safeguard matters because business court designation should be based on the substance of the case, not strategic preference. A party may prefer one docket over another, but the assignment question turns on statute, rule, and the local plan.
The statutory exclusions deserve close attention. Michigan law expressly excludes personal injury actions, including wrongful death and malpractice actions. ¹ It also excludes product liability actions in which any claimant is an individual. ¹ These exclusions help preserve the business court for commercial disputes rather than tort cases that happen to involve a business defendant. A company may be sued in many kinds of cases, but the business court is not the default forum for every case involving a company.
Family, probate, criminal, condemnation, lower-court appeals, administrative appeals, and judgment-enforcement proceedings are also excluded. ¹ These cases have their own legal frameworks, procedures, and judicial assignments. A dispute over business assets may sometimes intersect with divorce, probate, or judgment collection, but the mere presence of business property does not automatically convert those proceedings into business court cases. The correct forum depends on the nature of the proceeding and the statutory exclusions.
Employment claims require careful analysis. The statute excludes employment discrimination claims, civil rights claims, and wrongful discharge claims, except for actions involving corporate officers or directors. ¹ At the same time, disputes involving business employees, agents, officers, directors, restrictive covenants, confidentiality agreements, trade secrets, and business relationships can sometimes fall within the included categories. ¹ The distinction often depends on whether the case is fundamentally an employment civil rights or wrongful discharge action, or instead a business dispute arising from corporate status, fiduciary duties, restrictive covenants, or protection of business assets.
This distinction matters in noncompete, nonsolicitation, and trade secret litigation. A lawsuit against a former employee may belong in business court when it arises from business-related restrictive covenants, customer solicitation, confidential information, or trade secret issues. But if the core claim is employment discrimination or a civil rights violation, the statutory exclusion may control. The pleading should be drafted carefully so that the court can determine the correct assignment based on the actual claims and relationships involved. ¹
Residential landlord-tenant disputes do not belong in business court simply because a landlord operates as an LLC or corporation. The statute excludes landlord-tenant matters involving only residential property. ¹ Commercial lease disputes, by contrast, may qualify when they involve commercial real property and otherwise meet the statutory criteria. This is a frequent source of confusion. The business form of the landlord is not the key issue. The more important questions are whether the property is residential or commercial and whether the dispute falls within an included or excluded category.
Foreclosure and lien matters also require caution. Michigan law excludes land contract, mortgage, construction, and condominium lien foreclosure matters, as well as actions involving enforcement of condominium and homeowners association governing documents. ¹ A dispute connected to a commercial development or construction project might sound commercial in everyday language, but that does not automatically make it a business court case if the proceeding falls within an express statutory exclusion. The legal form of the claim matters.
For a Washtenaw County business, the practical question is often whether business court assignment will change how the case is managed. The answer is yes, in meaningful ways. Washtenaw County’s local plan contemplates business-court-specific docket management, including initial court conferences, initial disclosures, case management planning, ADR facilitation, discovery scheduling, motion practice, and trial scheduling.⁵ This does not mean the business court is informal or detached from the Michigan Court Rules. It means the case may receive structured management tailored to commercial litigation.
Early case management can be especially important in business disputes because commercial cases often turn on documents, electronic information, ownership records, contracts, financial data, and witness testimony from people involved in the business. A business court scheduling order can frame the case early, identify the central issues, address confidentiality concerns, and set a path for discovery and motion practice. For businesses, this can reduce uncertainty and help the parties understand whether the case is likely to settle, narrow, or proceed toward trial.
Alternative dispute resolution is also central to many business court cases. Washtenaw County’s local plan contemplates initial facilitation through ADR within the time and manner set by the court following the initial court conference.⁵ That early intervention can be valuable because business litigation is often expensive, disruptive, and relationship-driven. Even when the case does not settle early, ADR can help narrow issues, expose weaknesses, and create a realistic litigation plan.
The business court may also be well suited for cases requiring prompt injunctive relief. A dispute involving trade secrets, customer solicitation, software access, ownership control, corporate governance, or misappropriation of business assets may require quick judicial attention. A business court designation does not guarantee a particular outcome or faster relief in every case, but a specialized docket can provide a more focused procedural setting for urgent commercial issues.
Attorneys should evaluate business court assignment before filing, not after the first scheduling problem arises. The complaint should identify the business relationships, the nature of the commercial dispute, the relief sought, and the basis for business court assignment. When the case involves both business and nonbusiness claims, the pleading should make clear which claims satisfy the business court statute and why the case should be maintained on that docket. This approach helps the court make the assignment decision efficiently and reduces the likelihood of avoidable disputes.
Defendants should also evaluate the issue immediately after service. A defendant may agree that the case belongs in business court, may believe the plaintiff failed to designate it properly, or may believe the case was incorrectly designated. The answer, counterclaim, or motion practice may affect the assignment. If the defendant intends to assert a qualifying counterclaim, the case may become a business court matter even if the original complaint did not appear to qualify. ²
Business court assignment can also influence litigation strategy. A party may need to prepare for early disclosures, early ADR, focused case conferences, and more detailed scheduling discussions. Counsel should be ready to explain the key contracts, the business relationship, the disputed transaction, the central witnesses, the categories of documents, likely expert issues, confidentiality concerns, and whether early motion practice may resolve all or part of the case. A business court case is often best approached with a clear theory of the dispute from the beginning.
The presence of a business court does not eliminate the need to evaluate arbitration clauses, forum-selection clauses, venue, jurisdiction, or contractual pre-suit procedures. Some business contracts require mediation, arbitration, executive negotiation, notice-and-cure periods, or other dispute-resolution steps before litigation. Michigan’s business court statute expressly recognizes that certain contractual and business-dealing claims may require exhaustion of available administrative or contractual dispute-resolution processes. ¹ A party that overlooks those requirements may face a motion to dismiss, stay, or compel arbitration.
Venue should be considered separately from business court eligibility. A case may be a business or commercial dispute, but the question remains whether Washtenaw County is the proper venue. Michigan law states that venue of a suit in business court is as otherwise provided by the venue chapter. ² Thus, business court status does not create venue in Washtenaw County if venue would otherwise be improper. Businesses should analyze where the parties are located, where the events occurred, where the contract is to be performed, and whether any forum-selection clause applies.
The most useful way to decide whether a case belongs in Washtenaw County Business Court is to work through the issue in order. First, identify the parties and determine whether they are business enterprises, nonprofits, or individuals connected to a business relationship. Second, identify the claims and ask whether they arise from ownership, management, governance, finance, commercial transactions, contracts, technology, intellectual property, commercial insurance, or commercial real property. Third, check the statutory exclusions. Fourth, confirm jurisdiction, requested relief, and venue. Fifth, comply with the pleading verification and local designation requirements.
When those elements point toward business court, the case should be designated accordingly. When they do not, counsel should resist the temptation to label the case as a business court matter merely because doing so seems advantageous. Business court is not a prestige label, and it is not a shortcut around ordinary civil procedure. It is a specialized docket for a defined category of disputes. The strongest designations are those that can be supported directly from the pleadings and the statute.
For Washtenaw County companies, owners, executives, investors, suppliers, lenders, employees with business-related obligations, and nonprofit leaders, business court eligibility should be part of the first litigation assessment. The assignment can shape the pace, management, and strategy of the case. It can affect how early the parties must organize documents, evaluate ADR, prepare for motion practice, and present the commercial context to the court. Most importantly, it can prevent costly detours over whether the case is on the right docket.
A business dispute belongs in Washtenaw County Business Court when it is truly a statutory business or commercial dispute, when it satisfies jurisdictional and venue requirements, when it is not controlled solely by an exclusion, and when the pleadings properly identify the basis for assignment. In close cases, the answer often turns on the relationship among the parties and the source of the claims. The more the dispute concerns the organization, governance, ownership, financing, commercial transactions, technology, confidential information, contracts, or commercial property of a business, the more likely it is to belong on the business court docket. The more the case concerns personal injury, consumer insurance, residential landlord-tenant issues, family matters, probate proceedings, civil rights, or other excluded categories, the less likely it is to belong there. Careful classification at the beginning of the case can save time, reduce procedural confusion, and place the dispute before the court best suited to manage it.
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Sources
1- Michigan Compiled Laws § 600.8031, “Definitions; business or commercial disputes.” https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-600-8031
2- Michigan Compiled Laws § 600.8035, “Business court; jurisdiction; venue; assignment.” https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=MCL-600-8035
3- Michigan Compiled Laws § 600.8033, “Business court; operation; plan; administrative order; purpose.” https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-600-8033
4- Michigan Court Rule 2.112(O), “Business and Commercial Disputes.” https://www.courts.michigan.gov/siteassets/rules-instructions-administrative-orders/michigan-court-rules/court-rules-book-ch-2-responsive-html5.zip/index.html#t=Court_Rules_Book_Ch_2%2FCourt_Rules_Chapter_2%2FCourt_Rules_Chapter_2.htm
5- Washtenaw County Trial Court Local Administrative Order 2019-02J, “Business Court,” effective April 8, 2019. https://www.washtenaw.org/4442/Local-Administrative-Orders
This article is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Business court assignment depends on the facts, pleadings, claims, parties, relief requested, applicable court rules, and current law.