SB 369 Virginia Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Civil actions; assignment as business litigation action, requirements, delayed effective date.

Summary

Civil actions; assignment as business litigation action; requirements. Allows counsel for any party or the judge of the circuit court initially assigned to certain civil actions to request to have such action assigned by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia to have such civil action assigned as a business litigation action. The bill provides that an action to be eligible to be considered a business litigation action, the action shall (i) have a minimum amount in controversy of $1,000,000, (ii) present special complexity, including specialized issues or acute litigation management needs, and (iii) fall into one or more of several enumerated categories of civil actions. The bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2027.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Feb 2026

House of Delegates Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Last action Mar 2, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Courts of Justice Substitute · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended from its original introduction to a substitute version by the Courts of Justice Committee. The substantive policy content remains largely the same, creating a new specialized docket for complex business litigation in Virginia circuit courts. The main change is that the bill now amends an existing statute (§ 17.1-105) rather than adding entirely new sections, and the section numbers were changed from 8.01-267.10-12 to 8.01-217.1-2. The eligibility criteria, dollar thresholds, and ineligible case types remain identical.

Scope change

The scope of the bill remains unchanged - it still creates a specialized docket for complex business litigation in Virginia circuit courts. The amendment now modifies an existing statute about judge designations rather than creating entirely new sections.

TECHNICAL

The bill was restructured as an amendment to existing statute § 17.1-105 rather than adding entirely new sections, which is a common legislative technique to integrate new provisions into existing legal frameworks.

DEFINITION

Section numbers were changed from 8.01-267.10 through 8.01-267.12 to 8.01-217.1 and 8.01-217.2, and the chapter reference changed from Chapter 5.2 to Article 20.1 in Chapter 3 of Title 8.01.

REQUIREMENT

New subsection D1 was added to § 17.1-105, which specifically addresses the designation of judges for business or complex litigation actions, integrating the new docket provisions into the existing judge designation statute.

ELIGIBILITY

All eligibility criteria remain the same: cases must have at least $100,000 in controversy, present special complexity, and fall into specific categories like corporate governance, IP disputes, or antitrust litigation. The same 12 categories of ineligible cases (medical malpractice, personal injury, etc.) remain unchanged.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 12, 2026

How they voted

39–0

Passed

Total votes 39

Feb 12, 2026

D Democratic20

20 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican19

19 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 23, 2026

Lower · Passed

Subcommittee recommends continuing to (Voice Vote)

lower

Feb 19, 2026

Committee

Assigned HCJ sub: Civil

lower

Feb 19, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice

lower

Feb 16, 2026

Upper · Passed

Read third time and passed Senate (36-Y 3-N 0-A)

upper

Feb 12, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)

upper

Feb 11, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from Finance and Appropriations (12-Y 3-N)

upper

Jan 28, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (10-Y 1-N 2-A)

upper

Jan 28, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate committee offered

upper

Jan 13, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors