Rule 23.020.Assignment of Cases to the Oclc

Current through August 1, 2026 · Last verified September 12, 2026

In one sentenceUTCR 23.020 sets the only path into the Oregon Complex Litigation Court: the parties, the presiding judge or designee of the court with venue, and the managing panel must all agree, a stipulated order follows, and the panel then assigns one OCLC judge.

Full Text of Rule 23.020

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(1) Assignment of a case to the OCLC requires agreement of the parties, the presiding judge or designee of the court with venue, and the managing panel of the OCLC.

(2) The following must occur for a case to be considered for assignment to the OCLC:

(a) The parties and the presiding judge or designee of the court with venue must confer to determine whether there is agreement to assign the case to the OCLC and to determine the special needs, facts, and issues of the case.

(b) The presiding judge or designee of the court with venue and the managing panel of the OCLC must confer to discuss whether the case is appropriate for assignment to the OCLC and to discuss the special needs, facts, and issues of the case.

(3) If the agreement required by UTCR 23.020(1) is reached and the managing panel accepts a case into the OCLC, the parties must submit a stipulated order for assignment of the case to the OCLC to the presiding judge or designee of the court with venue over the case and to the managing panel of the OCLC.

(4) Once a case is accepted into the OCLC, the managing panel of the OCLC will assign the case to a single OCLC judge.

(5) After assignment of the case to the OCLC judge, the parties must:

(a) File all documents in the court with venue; and

(b) If directed by the OCLC judge, provide copies of all filed documents to that judge in the manner that the judge directs.

End

Plain-English Summary

A case does not arrive in the OCLC by motion. It arrives by agreement. The parties must agree, the presiding judge or designee of the court with venue must agree, and the managing panel of the OCLC must agree. Any one of them can leave the case where it is.

Two conferences do the work. First the parties sit down with the presiding judge or designee to find out whether there is agreement and to lay out the special needs, facts, and issues of the case. Then that presiding judge or designee takes the case to the managing panel, and the two of them discuss whether it belongs in the OCLC and what it will need.

If the agreement holds and the panel accepts the case, the parties prepare a stipulated order assigning the case to the OCLC and submit it to both the presiding judge or designee and the panel. The panel then names one OCLC judge to take the case.

Filing does not move with the judge. Every document is still filed in the court with venue. Separately, the OCLC judge may direct the parties to provide copies of everything filed, in whatever manner the judge specifies, so the judge has the record without the case leaving its own court.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a case get assigned to the Oregon Complex Litigation Court?

The parties confer with the presiding judge or designee of the court with venue. If they agree the case belongs in the OCLC, that judge takes it to the managing panel. If the panel accepts, the parties submit a stipulated order for assignment to both the presiding judge or designee and the panel.

Can one party force a case into the OCLC?

No. Assignment requires agreement of the parties, the presiding judge or designee of the court with venue, and the managing panel. There is no contested motion to be assigned to the OCLC, and an objecting party ends the discussion.

Where do I file documents after a case is assigned to an OCLC judge?

In the court with venue, exactly as before. If the OCLC judge wants copies, the judge will direct the parties to provide them and will say how. Those copies are in addition to the filing, not a substitute for it.

Who picks the OCLC judge for a case?

The managing panel. Once the panel accepts a case into the OCLC, it assigns the case to a single OCLC judge, who then supervises the case under UTCR 23.040.

What is discussed at the conference before a case goes to the OCLC?

Whether there is agreement to assign the case, and what the case will need. The rule asks the parties and the presiding judge or designee to identify the special needs, facts, and issues of the case, and it asks the presiding judge or designee and the panel to cover the same ground.

Source & verification. The rule text is reproduced verbatim from the official Oregon Uniform Trial Court Rules (UTCR 23.020). Prescribed by the Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court (UTCR 1.020). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified September 12, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: OCLC assignmentstipulated order OCLCassign case to Oregon Complex Litigation CourtOCLC managing panelpresiding judge OCLC agreement