OKLAHOMA CITY – Calling it an unconstitutional act by the Oklahoma Legislature, the new law that created a business court system in the state was overturned by the state Supreme Court last week.
Writing for the 6-2 majority, Justice Noma Gurich said Senate Bill 632 – the measure that created the business court system – was unconstitutional. The court’s ruling was handed down Oct. 8.
Justices James R. Winchester, James Edmondson, Douglas Combs, Richard Darby and Dustin Rowe agreed with Gurich, though Rowe, the court’s chief justice, also dissented in part.
Opponents included Justices Dana Kuehn and Travis Jett. Justice John Kane abstained from voting on the issue.
“While I agree that the Legislature cannot create or vest judicial power in a court not enumerated in Article 7, § 1 of the Oklahoma Constitution, the Legislature can create a new division within an enumerated court and has done so in the past,” Rowe wrote in his dissent. “The Legislature's creation of such a division is not itself unconstitutional. However, it is S.B. 632's provisions regarding the selection of judges for the business court division that conflicts with Oklahoma's constitutional strictures.”
Gurich countered that the law was unconstitutional because it circumvented the election of business court judges.
“The Governor contends that the business court judge appointment and reappointment processes do not violate Article VII, Section 9 because he insists business court judges are not district judges.”
However, Gurich wrote that the court found “the Governor's arguments internally inconsistent.”
“On one hand, he asserts that business court judges are not district court judges because the business court is not part of the district court. On the other, he states that the business courts will be ‘division[s] within the existing courts of two judicial districts’ and divisions within the district court system. Either way, S.B. 632 is unconstitutional.”
Gov. Kevin Stitt has been a principal figure behind the support – and legislation – that created the business court system. In January, during his State of the State address, the governor said a business court system would take the politics out of people’s business.
“I’ve been vocal about getting business courts set up in Oklahoma,” the governor said during his speech to both houses of the Oklahoma Legislature. “I saw court systems in other states playing politics with people’s businesses. I wanted to make sure that never happens in Oklahoma. I’m grateful for the work Jon Echols (former House Majority Leader) and Secretary Starling have done to research and execute this idea. Let’s get business courts finished this session and make sure business disputes and complicated contracts will be handled by judges with business expertise.”
However, shortly after SB 632 was signed this year it was challenged in court. Attorneys for the Governor delivered oral arguments in support of the law.
The attorneys, the governor wrote in a media statement, urged the Court to “reject a meritless lawsuit brought by trial lawyers seeking to block the implementation of Oklahoma’s new opt-in business court system.”
“Business courts are a game-changer for Oklahoma, so of course the old guard is panicking,” the governor said. “Our business court system will make it easier for businesses to grow, invest, and hire more Oklahomans — because they’ll finally have certainty in how disputes are handled. We’re ready to move forward. This lawsuit is exactly what you'd expect from trial lawyers who treat the courtroom like a business model. They’re worried about losing billable hours and that’s why they’re scrambling to stop our progress before it starts — we’re moving their cheese.”
Last week the state’s high court disagreed.
“If SB 632 was truly aiming to create a new court separate from the district courts, it has exceeded the boundaries of the Oklahoma Constitution,” Gurich wrote. “Absent a constitutional amendment, judicial power is vested only in the following eight courts: 'Supreme Court, the Court of Criminal Appeals, the Court on the Judiciary, the State Industrial Court, the Court of Bank Review, the Court of Tax Review' and 'such intermediate appellate courts as may be provided by statute' and 'District Courts.'
A business court, she said, is not one of the existing, enumerated courts with judicial power. “And the Legislature cannot create or vest judicial power in a new court,” Gurich said.
For his part, Stitt said he was disappointed in the high court’s ruling.
“The OK Supreme Court’s decision blocking the business courts law is disappointing and contrasts with our reputation as a business-friendly state,” the governor wrote in a posting on social media. “There is still strong bipartisan support and a clear path forward. I remain committed to making Oklahoma top 10 in everything we do.”
State lawmakers will return to the state Capitol in February 2026 for the Second Session of the 60th Oklahoma Legislature.