Virginia · 2026 Regular Session · Bill
HB 604: Specialty civil court dockets; business and complex litigation dockets established.
In committee Official data
- Introduced
- In committee
- Passed one chamber
- Passed both chambers
- Enacted
Last official action: ·Record last updated:
Plain-language summary
HB 604 is a bill introduced in the Virginia House on January 13, 2026. According to its official title, it concerns: Specialty civil court dockets; business and complex litigation dockets established. Primary sponsor: Rod Willett (Democratic). It lists 1 additional sponsor. Most recent recorded action (February 4, 2026): Continued to next session in Courts of Justice (Voice Vote).
Generated automatically from the official title, sponsor list, and status record only. It does not characterize the bill’s purpose or effects. How summaries are written
Official summary
Abstract published by the legislature (via Open States). Text as published by the legislature; reproduced verbatim.
Specialty civil court dockets; business and complex litigation dockets established; criteria for eligible actions. Establishes a specialty docket, known as the business and complex litigation docket, to assist circuit courts with certain civil actions that involve specialized legal issues, complex contexts, intricate transactions, multiple parties, or other complicating factors. The bill provides that for an action to be eligible to be considered for a business and complex litigation docket, the action shall (i) present special complexity, including specialized issues or acute litigation management needs, and (ii) fall into one or more of several enumerated categories of civil actions. The bill also requires that such eligible action has a minimum amount in controversy of $100,000. The bill also enumerates several types of civil actions that are ineligible for such specialty docket but creates an exception for any such action that demonstrates extraordinary circumstances that would require specialized docket management. The bill creates a process by which counsel for any party or the circuit court judge initially assigned to an eligible action may request that the matter be transferred to the specialty docket and directs the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia, in collaboration with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia and the Specialty Docket Advisory Committee studying business and complex litigation dockets, to establish any rules or procedures as necessary for the transfer of such eligible actions.
Sponsors
Sponsors by party (alphabetical): Democratic 2
| Name | Role | Party | Chamber | District |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rod Willett | Primary sponsor | Democratic | House | 58 |
| Rip Sullivan | Co-sponsor | Democratic | House | 6 |
“Support” is shown only as formal sponsorship recorded by the legislature. Roll-call votes are available on the official bill page.
Recent official actions
- Continued to next session in Courts of Justice (Voice Vote)
- Subcommittee recommends continuing to (Voice Vote)
- Assigned HCJ sub: Civil
- Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
- Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26102359D