UNDATED (WOWO): Indiana plans a fall launch for its first courts dedicated exclusively to business disputes. 

Chief Justice Loretta Rush says shareholder suits, trade secrets suits, and other litigation pitting businesses against each other tend to be complex and time-consuming. And because cases such as criminal and divorce actions are legally required to move quickly, business cases can easily drag on for years. 

Rush says creating separate commercial courts will allow the judges for those courts to receive special training, and have access to special masters to assist with legal research and preliminary issues. She says that will not only make the courts more efficient, but will help businesses by providing quicker resolution to cases which otherwise could cloud long-range decision-making. 

The state will open just a handful of commercial courts this fall as a pilot project, then review them in one-to-three years to see what adjustments need to be made. 

Allen Superior Judge Craig Bobay will head a 19-member working group which will spend the summer working out how those courts will operate, including how many there will be and where.