Rule 23.010.Oregon Complex Litigation Court
Current through August 1, 2026 · Last verified September 12, 2026
Full Text of Rule 23.010
Plain-English Summary
The Oregon Complex Litigation Court, or OCLC, is a home for cases too big to move well on an ordinary docket. UTCR 23.010 draws no bright line around complexity. It lists what the judges weigh: how many parties are involved, how tangled the legal questions are, how tangled the facts are, how hard discovery looks, and how long the trial is expected to run. The list is open, so other features of a case can count too.
Joining the OCLC does not lift a case out of the rest of the rules. Every other UTCR chapter keeps applying unless a rule in this chapter says otherwise, so the formatting, filing, and decorum requirements a lawyer already follows go with the case. Venue goes with it too. Assignment to the OCLC gives the case a judge, not a new county, and only a motion and order for a change of venue under ORS 14.110 moves it.
A panel of three circuit court presiding judges, appointed by the Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, manages the OCLC. The panel decides which cases come in under UTCR 23.020, which judge takes each one, and which cases go back out under UTCR 23.030. The parties' first conversation, though, is with the presiding judge or designee of the court with venue.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Oregon Complex Litigation Court?
It is a way of assigning demanding cases to a single circuit court judge who supervises them from assignment through trial. It is not a separate courthouse and not a separate kind of court. The case stays a circuit court case, in the court with venue, with an OCLC judge in charge of it.
What makes a case complex enough for the OCLC?
UTCR 23.010 lists the number of parties, the complexity of the legal issues, the complexity of the factual issues, the complexity of discovery, and the anticipated length of trial. No single factor decides it, and no number of parties or months of trial guarantees admission.
The list is expressly open, so a judge may weigh something else about a case that makes ordinary calendaring a poor fit.
Does moving a case to the OCLC change where it is tried?
No. Assignment to the OCLC does not change venue. Venue moves only on a motion and an order for a change of venue under ORS 14.110, the same way it would in any other case.
Do the regular trial court rules still apply in the OCLC?
Yes. The UTCR apply to a case in the OCLC except where a rule in this chapter provides otherwise. Read chapter 23 as an added layer of case management on top of the rules you already follow, not as a replacement for them.
Who manages the Oregon Complex Litigation Court?
A panel of three circuit court presiding judges, appointed by the Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court. The panel accepts cases, assigns each accepted case to one OCLC judge, and signs off before a case is sent back to an ordinary docket.