The Nevada Supreme Court has created a business court commission in the latest move to curb Delaware’s dominance in the corporate filings market.

Nevada Supreme Court Chief Justice Douglas Herndon announced plans on Thursday to create a commission to develop rules and regulations for a Nevada business court. A petition from Herndon will be filed next month with the Supreme Court to approve the commission, with the dedicated business court expected to be operational within the following year.

The court would exclusively assign business law cases, involving shareholder rights, mergers and acquisitions and other business-related matters, to sitting district court judges.

The commission will invite stakeholders to participate in enacting rule for the business court; identify and create training and certificate processes to certify judges for the court; decide how judges will be chosen; among others. It will include members of the Nevada Legislature, the governor’s office, judges from district courts, attorneys who specifically practice in the area of business law, representatives of the broader business community and other members of the State Bar of Nevada.

“We currently have tremendous district judges working very hard on our state’s business law cases, and we want to find ways to better support them,” Herndon said. “I’m confident that within our own court system we can enhance our existing approach to business law cases and create a dedicated court where district court judges hear only business cases and do it without any additional fiscal impact on the state.”

Competing with Delaware

With the establishment of a business court in Nevada, the hope is to cut into Delaware’s dominance in corporate filings. Recently, Sphere Entertainment Co., TripAdvisor, Inc., and other big-name companies have moved their legal headquarters to Nevada bringing new revenue into the state.

The new effort has garnered attention from the Nevada Legislature this session with Assembly Joint Resolution 8 which proposes amending the Nevada Constitution to establish a business court. The proposed new section of the constitution would require the Legislature to create a business court of at least three appointed judges who would be nominated by what it called a “Special Nominating Commission” and then appointed by the governor to six-year terms.

Currently, district courts in Washoe and Clark counties handle business disputes, but judges with a mix of criminal, civil and business cases on their dockets can get bogged down.

“We have been closely following the discussion related to Assembly Joint Resolution 8 in the Nevada Legislature and compliment the Legislature for focusing on the desire to greatly improve how the courts resolve complex business matters,” Herndon said.

Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar has also taken notice of Delaware’s dominance. Aguilar, a Democrat, said Nevada brought in about $235 million in commercial and incorporation fees; while Delaware makes about $2 billion in incorporation-related revenue annually, according to data from the Blue Hen State.

“My whole goal here is to take away market share from Delaware,” Aguilar said to the Review-Journal.

Currently, the legislation has passed through the Assembly, but has yet to make its way to the Senate. Because it would amend the Constitution, the resolution must pass the Legislature in two consecutive sessions before going to the voters for final approval.

_____

©2025 Las Vegas Review-Journal. Visit reviewjournal.com.. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.