Plans are being finalised for a new Business Court which will handle complex commercial disputes from September.
Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday appointed former Bexar County Commissioner Marialyn Bernard and San Antonio attorney Stacey Sharp as supervisors of Commercial Court Division 4, which will serve 22 counties, including Bexar County, from Eagle Pass to Port Aransas.
The court was created by the Republican-led Legislature during the last session to hear highly specialized, high-dollar cases that previously were heard in state district courts.
“These are very specialized courts with a unique understanding of the business world, and that’s very important,” said Bernard, who as an assistant U.S. attorney handled several cases involving billion-dollar corporations.
The appointed judges will decide where in the region to open the stores.
Bexar County seems the most logical choice, but local leaders aren’t sure exactly where it would be located in the already-full courthouse.
Ms. Bernard served on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals for 10 years and earned her law degree from Saint Mary’s University. She has experience in forensic litigation.
Sharp runs his own firm, Sharp Appellate PLLC, earned his law degree and teaches at the University of Texas at Austin, and serves as chairman of the Alamo Heights Independent School District board of trustees.
Political Movement
In states that elect judges along partisan lines, there have been mixed feelings about the new court.
Currently, business-related cases are overseen by district court judges, some of whom see the move to create a business court as political.
The last Republican district court judge elected in Bexar County was voted out in 2022, and no Republicans are running for office in 2024. According to a new state law creating business courts, five areas, including major metropolitan areas, will have courts this year.
But lawyers who handle these types of cases say the courts could help.
“Companies doing business in Texas really need a specialty court that understands the types of business litigation that regular state district courts can’t necessarily handle,” Bernard told The San Antonio Report. “This is something that’s been needed for a long time, and I think it’s a great idea.”
Bernard is currently the only Republican district judge in Bexar County and was appointed by Gov. Abbott earlier this year to represent the 73rd Civil District Court after Democrat Judge David Canales resigned. Her term was set to end after the November election.
Judges in the new business court will not be elected, but will be appointed by the governor to two-year terms, and unlike other judges in Texas, there will be no age limit.
