Caseloads of the Courts of Washington
Superior Court
Civil Activity - 2019 to 2023
| |
2019 |
2020 |
% Chg (1) |
2021 |
% Chg (1) |
2022 |
% Chg (1) |
2023 |
% Chg (1) |
|
|
| Filings |
| Tort |
6,600 |
6,301 |
-4.5 % |
6,068 |
-3.7 % |
6,049 |
-0.3 % |
5,837 |
-3.5 % |
| Commercial |
11,131 |
4,162 |
-62.6 % |
4,881 |
17.3 % |
4,240 |
-13.1 % |
5,721 |
34.9 % |
| Meretricious Relationship (4) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Property Rights |
12,221 |
4,717 |
-61.4 % |
4,596 |
-2.6 % |
9,603 |
108.9 % |
13,424 |
39.8 % |
| Civil Protection Orders (5) |
3,043 |
2,698 |
-11.3 % |
2,979 |
10.4 % |
11,023 |
270 % |
20,227 |
83.5 % |
| Domestic Violence (5) |
12,574 |
11,045 |
-12.2 % |
11,558 |
4.6 % |
6,104 |
-47.2 % |
|
. % |
| Administrative Law Review |
487 |
398 |
-18.3 % |
436 |
9.5 % |
390 |
-10.6 % |
384 |
-1.5 % |
| Other Petitions and Complaints |
5,763 |
6,520 |
13.1 % |
6,054 |
-7.1 % |
5,962 |
-1.5 % |
5,699 |
-4.4 % |
| Appeals from Lower Courts |
178 |
155 |
-12.9 % |
186 |
20 % |
189 |
1.6 % |
217 |
14.8 % |
| Other Matters Filed |
27,055 |
8,655 |
-68 % |
8,304 |
-4.1 % |
15,213 |
83.2 % |
16,783 |
10.3 % |
| Total Civil Filings |
79,052 |
44,651 |
-43.5 % |
45,062 |
0.9 % |
58,773 |
30.4 % |
68,292 |
16.2 % |
|
|
Resolutions
Before Trial |
| Uncontested/Resolved When Filed (2) |
35,512 |
16,127 |
-54.6 % |
15,542 |
-3.6 % |
22,688 |
46 % |
25,994 |
14.6 % |
| Dismissed by Clerk |
1,817 |
1,954 |
7.5 % |
2,174 |
11.3 % |
1,262 |
-42 % |
1,899 |
50.5 % |
| Change of Venue |
207 |
218 |
5.3 % |
200 |
-8.3 % |
150 |
-25 % |
209 |
39.3 % |
| Decision on Appeal/Review |
196 |
151 |
-23 % |
165 |
9.3 % |
143 |
-13.3 % |
136 |
-4.9 % |
| Dismissed |
10,375 |
8,597 |
-17.1 % |
9,126 |
6.2 % |
10,303 |
12.9 % |
13,216 |
28.3 % |
| Settled/Agreed Judgment |
4,921 |
3,447 |
-30 % |
3,479 |
0.9 % |
3,204 |
-7.9 % |
3,230 |
0.8 % |
| Settled by Arbitration |
471 |
398 |
-15.5 % |
464 |
16.6 % |
326 |
-29.7 % |
257 |
-21.2 % |
| Default/Summary Judgment |
11,505 |
3,576 |
-68.9 % |
3,358 |
-6.1 % |
4,723 |
40.6 % |
5,998 |
27 % |
| Closed by Court After Hearing |
9,072 |
8,622 |
-5 % |
7,193 |
-16.6 % |
8,477 |
17.9 % |
9,947 |
17.3 % |
| Total Pre-Trial Resolutions |
74,076 |
43,090 |
-41.8 % |
41,701 |
-3.2 % |
51,276 |
23 % |
60,886 |
18.7 % |
|
|
| After Trial Commencement |
| Dismissed/Settled |
77 |
56 |
-27.3 % |
77 |
37.5 % |
38 |
-50.6 % |
65 |
71.1 % |
| Court Decision |
291 |
314 |
7.9 % |
273 |
-13.1 % |
529 |
93.8 % |
1,076 |
103.4 % |
| Jury Verdict |
81 |
22 |
. % |
54 |
. % |
64 |
18.5 % |
65 |
1.6 % |
| Total Post-Trial Resolutions |
449 |
392 |
-12.7 % |
404 |
3.1 % |
631 |
56.2 % |
1,206 |
91.1 % |
| Total Resolutions |
74,525 |
43,482 |
-41.7 % |
42,105 |
-3.2 % |
51,907 |
23.3 % |
62,092 |
19.6 % |
|
|
| Proceedings (6) |
| Non-Jury Trial |
370 |
307 |
-17 % |
299 |
-2.6 % |
358 |
19.7 % |
420 |
17.3 % |
| Jury Trial |
145 |
25 |
. % |
62 |
. % |
93 |
50 % |
131 |
40.9 % |
| Trial Settlement Hearing |
302 |
239 |
-20.9 % |
191 |
-20.1 % |
208 |
8.9 % |
220 |
5.8 % |
| Pre-Resolution Motion/Conference |
26,515 |
21,161 |
-20.2 % |
23,880 |
12.8 % |
30,652 |
28.4 % |
39,401 |
28.5 % |
| VoirDire Only Hearing |
2 |
0 |
. % |
0 |
|
5 |
|
4 |
. % |
| RALJ Hearing |
76 |
68 |
-10.5 % |
65 |
-4.4 % |
73 |
12.3 % |
101 |
38.4 % |
| Uncontested Resolution Hearing |
1,655 |
628 |
-62.1 % |
434 |
-30.9 % |
760 |
75.1 % |
1,034 |
36.1 % |
| Post-Resolution Motion Hearing |
5,858 |
5,483 |
-6.4 % |
6,045 |
10.2 % |
6,296 |
4.2 % |
7,287 |
15.7 % |
| Total Other Matter Hearing (3) |
203 |
150 |
-26.1 % |
179 |
19.3 % |
148 |
-17.3 % |
110 |
-25.7 % |
| Total Proceedings |
35,126 |
28,061 |
-20.1 % |
31,155 |
11 % |
38,593 |
23.9 % |
48,708 |
26.2 % |
| Average Proceedings/Resolution |
0.5 |
0.6 |
|
0.7 |
|
0.7 |
|
0.8 |
|
|
|
(1) Percentages not shown when numbers are less than 30.
(2) Includes both uncontested resolutions and cases that were resolved when filed.
(3) Includes all trial and non-trial proceedings associated with civil "matters filed with clerk."
(4) Meretricious Relationship was end-effective dated on 12/31/2010. See Domestic – Committed Intimate Relationship.
(5) Effective 7/1/2022, the Civil Protection Orders category includes case filing activity for the Civil Protection Order (CPO) action set out under Chapt. 7.105 RCW and Foreign Protection Order (FPO). The Domestic Violence category reflects no case filing activity as of 7/1/2022. (a) Between July 2013 and June 2022, the Civil Protection Orders category reported case filing activity in the following causes of action: Unlawful Harassment (HAR), Sexual Assault Protection (SXP), and Stalking Protection Orders (STK). These protection order types are now included in the Civil Protection Order case type effective 7/1/2022; (b) Between July 2013 and June 2022, the Domestic Violence category included the following causes of action: Domestic Violence Protection (DVP), Vulnerable Adult Protection (VAP), and Foreign Protection Orders (FPO). These protection order types are also included in the Civil Protection Order case type effective 7/1/2022. Prior to July 2013, the Sexual Assault Protection Order (SXP) cases were included in the Domestic Violence category. As a result, the Domestic Violence categories have been over-reported by the SXP cases since 2006. See the “Notes” tab for details.
|
