At a recent Continuing Legal Education Seminar held on December 2, 2011, Chief Judge Vincent Phelps of the 17^th Judicial District indicated that he believes that cases should take around eight months to get to trial under the new Colorado Civil Procedure Rules for “Business Actions.” He further indicated that trial dates scheduled for cases governed by the new Pilot Rules will take precedence over any conflicting trial dates relating to non-Pilot Rule cases.

I would not be surprised if smart plaintiff attorneys are purposefully waiting to file their new cases until on or after January 1, 2012. In that way, they can take advantage of the new Pilot Rules and of defendants who are not aware of them or are in denial about how quickly cases will proceed under them. Time will tell