Courts get breathing room for civil cases

Kim Smith

Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2002 | 8:57 a.m.

Back in July, Clark County judges found themselves in a quandary. They had a backlog of more than 200 construction-defect cases and no place to try them.

Having already been forced to rent two off-site courtrooms to accommodate the cases, the judges learned one of them was booked for a yearlong trial and the other, located in the Foley Federal Building, was taken back by the federal government.

"We simply didn't have a courtroom available that was large enough for us to try the number of large complex civil cases that we have right now," Assistant Court Administrator Rick Loop said.

"In construction-defect cases you can have more than 30 attorneys in the well because they represent general contractors, all of the subcontractors, the insurance companies, the homeowners associations and the homeowners."

Somewhat daunted, court administrators began looking for options. In August they found that half of the Stan Hunterton building, 333 S. Sixth St., was available, and in September, the Clark County Commission approved a four-year lease.

The 8,800-square-foot Clark County Complex Litigation Center will host its first trial by the end of the month. A grand opening ceremony is scheduled for Oct. 28.

In addition to hosting construction-defect cases, the center will see its share of medical malpractice and other complex civil cases.

"The paint will hardly be dry when we try the first case," said Charles Short, court administrator.

Loop said that in exchange for paying $19,000 a month in rent for four years, the landlords will spend $200,000 in improvements. The building boasts a 3,000-square-foot courtroom, a jury deliberation room, conference rooms, judges chambers and room for support staff and evidence storage.

Pews, jury chairs and portions of the judge's bench were salvaged from the former federal courthouse for use at the center, Loop said.

"We literally saved the county thousands of dollars," Loop said.

The county's start-up cost, which includes moving expenses, electrical work and personal computers, is about $30,000, Loop said.

"The county's been wonderful about recognizing our need to have this facility so we can get to trial," Loop said. "Just think, within two and a half months of losing the Foley Federal Building we have another facility."

In the end, it's the taxpayers of Clark County who win, Loop said.

"A house is the most expensive investment people make and when something goes wrong, they want their day in court," Loop said. "These construction-defect cases affect thousands of people in our community and it's in everyone's best interest to try these cases as quickly as possible."

District Judge Michael Cherry, who spends half his time trying civil cases, agreed with Loop.

"If we can have firm trial dates and we can stack these cases one after the other, I think we'll be able to settle a lot of them," Cherry said.

In other words, if attorneys know judges are available to try cases and courtrooms are available, the chances of settlements in such cases increase tremendously, Cherry said.

Cherry praised Loop, Short, Chief District Judge Mark Gibbons and the county commission for their fast work in creating the center.

"It's a real godsend to get this building. It shows the confidence the commissioners have in the judiciary -- that we can get these cases through the system," Cherry said.

Not only can judges try complex civil litigation cases during the day, but they can also hold settlement conferences at night at the center, Cherry said.

"It was disgraceful to have to have settlement conferences without the proper facilities, but now we have the facilities," Cherry said.