Civil Justice Reform Report Published by Nebraska Supreme Court Working Group

In 2013, the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ) formed a committee to study and make recommendations regarding the civil litigation systems at the state level. That committee published a 2016 report entitled Call to Action: Achieving Civil Justice for All (2016 CCJ Report). That report generally concluded that courts must take steps that allow civil cases to be adjudicated more quickly and at less cost to litigants. The committee made several recommendations for courts to consider in improving their civil justice systems.

After the publication of the Report, the Nebraska Supreme Court convened a Civil Justice Reform Working Group (the Working Group) as a part of its Access to Justice Commission. The Court invited a group of judges, court staff, and attorneys with a wide range of perspectives to participate in the Working Group. The Working Group was charged with considering the recommendations of the 2016 CCJ Report and making similar recommendations for Nebraska’s civil justice system.

The Working Group presented the Civil Justice Reform Working Group Report to the Access to Justice Commission, which accepted the report in October 2024. The report was subsequently received and reviewed by the Nebraska Supreme Court in November 2024. The final report is available on the Nebraska Judicial Branch website (Publications & Reports, Court Services) and will be available to newly appointed judges during orientation.

Most of the recommendations suggest steps for judges to consider in managing civil cases, with the exception of domestic relations cases (dissolution, paternity, child support, modifications). The overall recommendation is that courts should continue to actively manage civil cases from the time of filing to disposition. To facilitate this, the Working Group made the following case management recommendations:

1. The trial judge should receive notice when the last responsive pleading is filed to enable the court to actively assist in case progression.
2. Upon receiving notice of the final responsive pleading, the trial judge should hold an initial planning conference to discuss progression of the case. Following the conference, the trial judge should issue a progression order.
3. The trial judge should, when possible, set a date certain for trial.
4. The trial judge should make use of mandatory initial disclosures in appropriate cases.
5. The trial judge should use status conferences as a tool to assist in moving the case toward a resolution.
6. Trial courts should use available tools to make discovery smoother and more efficient.
7. Trial courts should limit excessive discovery.

The Working Group also made a policy recommendation. The Working Group believes that while the idea of the County Court Expedited Civil Actions Act, enacted in 2020, is positive, anecdotal evidence is that few parties have elected to proceed under the act. To address this, the Working Group recommended that increasing the potential recovery to $100,000 and expanding jurisdiction to the district court may result in more plaintiffs electing to proceed under the act.