By Carol J. DeFrances

Steven K. Smith

BJS Statisticians 

During a 1-year period ending in June

1992, State courts of general jurisdiction in the Nation's 75 largest counties

disposed of an estimated 366,000 civil

contract disputes involving 1.3 million

plaintiffs and defendants. Contract

cases include allegations of unfulfilled 

written or oral agreements made between such parties as buyers and 

sellers, lenders and borrowers, or 

landlords and tenants.

A representative sample of 11,000

contract cases was drawn from files of

general jurisdiction courts in 45 of the

Nation's 75 largest counties. The sample excluded contract cases disposed

of in Federal courts and in State courts

outside the 75 largest counties. Also

excluded were contract cases disposed of in States' limited jurisdiction

courts. 

Between July 1, 1991, and June 30,

1992, State courts of general jurisdiction in the Nation's 75 largest counties

disposed of an estimated 764,000 tort,

contract, and real property rights cases

(table 1). Contract cases accounted

for approximately half (48%) of all the

disposed cases.

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

Bureau of Justice Statistics

Special Report

Civil Justice Survey of State Courts, 1992

Contract Cases in Large

Counties

February 1996, NCJ-156664

 State courts of general jurisdiction 

in the Nation’s 75 most populous

counties disposed of approximately

366,000 contract cases in 1992. 

 Cases involving contract disputes

comprised about half of all the tort,

contract, and real property cases 

disposed in these jurisdictions. 

 The most frequent type of contract

dispute involved the plaintiff as a

seller seeking compensation from 

a buyer or borrower.

 In contract cases, businesses made

up about two-thirds of the plaintiffs,

and individuals about a quarter. 

 Defendants in contract cases were

most frequently businesses, followed

by individuals. 

 Almost two-thirds of the contract

cases were disposed within 1 year 

of filing the complaint. 

 About half the contract cases were

resolved through an agreed judgment

by the litigating parties. Less than 3%

were concluded by a jury or bench

trial. In an additional quarter of the

cases, the court issued a default judgment because the defendant(s) failed

to respond to the complaint or make a

court appearance.

 Highlights

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Percent of contract cases in the 75 largest counties

Employment

Seller plaintiff

Mortgage foreclosure

Buyer plaintiff

Rental/lease agreements

Fraud

Other contract

Plaintiffs trying to recover payment for goods or services made up 

half the contract cases in the Nation's 75 largest counties, 1992
Types of contract cases 

About half (51.7%) of the contract

cases in this study were complaints

filed by a seller charging a defendant

with failure to comply with an agreement (table 2). The next most frequent

kinds of contract cases involved mortgage foreclosures (18.8%) and cases

in which the buyer of goods or services

was the plaintiff seeking return of

money, rescission of the contract, or

delivery of the goods ordered (12.2%).

Additional types of cases included

rental or lease agreements (5.6%) and

employment-related cases (2.2%).

For an overview of contract and tort

cases disposed in State courts in the

Nation's 75 largest counties, see table

on page 8.

Type of litigants: Plaintiffs

In 68% of the contract cases, the plaintiff was a business (table 3).1

 Individuals were plaintiffs in 26% of the cases;

the remainder were hospitals and government agencies. Businesses made

up a majority of plaintiffs in seller,

mortgage foreclosure, and rental/lease

agreement cases. By contrast, individuals were the most common type of

plaintiff in employment and fraud cases

and in those cases in which a buyer

was seeking a remedy.

Type of litigants: Defendants

In most categories of contract 

cases, businesses predominated 

as defendants.2 Businesses made 

up three-quarters or more of the defendants in buyer plaintiff and employment cases. In fraud, rental or lease 

agreements, and other contract cases,

businesses made up at least half of 

the defendants. A government agency

was the defendant in 13% of the 

employment cases. 

Who sues whom?

Relatively few contract cases (8%) 

involved an individual suing another individual (table 4). Contract cases most

frequently (37%) involved a business

or other organization such as a hospital or government agency suing 

a business. An additional 31% of all

the contract cases involved a nondividual (business, hospital, or government

agency) suing an individual. 

2 Civil Justice Survey of State Courts

Table 1. Civil cases disposed in

State courts in the Nation's 75 

largest counties, 1992

Case type Number Percent

All civil cases 764,008 100.0% 

Tort cases 378,314 49.5% 

Automobile 227,515 29.8

Premises liability 65,492 8.6

Product liability 12,857 1.7

Intentional tort 10,879 1.4

Medical malpractice 18,452 2.4

Professional malpractice 6,860 .9

Slander/libel 3,159 .4

Toxic substance 6,045 .8

Other tort 27,055 3.5

Contract cases 366,336 48.0% 

Fraud 15,927 2.1

Seller plaintiff 189,246 24.8

Buyer plaintiff 44,744 5.9

Mortgage foreclosure 68,919 9.0

Employment 8,159 1.1

Rental/lease agreements 20,687 2.7

Other contract 18,656 2.4

Real property cases 19,358 2.5% 

Eminent domain 4,631 .6

Title dispute 8,021 1.0

Other real property 6,707 .9

Note: Data on type of case were available

for 99.7% of the 766,000 cases disposed. 

Detail may not sum to 100% because of rounding.

Table 2. Contract case types in

State courts in the Nation's 75 

largest counties, 1992

Case type Number Percent

All contract cases 366,336 100.0% 

Fraud 15,927 4.3

Seller plaintiff 189,246 51.7

Buyer plaintiff 44,744 12.2

Mortgage foreclosure 68,919 18.8

Employment 8,159 2.2

Rental/lease agreements 20,687 5.6

Other contract 18,656 5.1

Note: See page 9 for a detailed description 

of case types. Detail may not sum to 100% 

because of rounding.

Contract cases in Federal district court

consist of those involving private parties

and those in which the U.S. Government

is a party to the suit as either plaintiff 

or defendant. In fiscal year 1992 (October 1991-September 30, 1992) a total of

49,434 contract cases were commenced

in U.S. district courts. This dropped to

31,254 in fiscal year 1994. 

In fiscal year 1992 litigants filed 28,467

private civil cases without the U.S. Government as a party to the complaint. In

fiscal year 1994 the number was 26,439

cases.

Contract cases in which the Federal 

Government was either a plaintiff or defendant have ranged from over 65,600

in fiscal year 1985 to 4,800 in fiscal year

1994. The fluctuation in the number of

Federal Government contract cases is

primarily the result of changes in the

number of cases involving student loan

defaults and recovery of overpayments

to veterans. Student loan filings decreased in 1993 and were expected to

decline further as the collection of delinquent student loans through wage garnishment was authorized in 1991.

Likewise, the Department of Veterans

Affairs has instituted administrative

remedies to settle overpayment of veteran benefits to reduce claims filed 

in U.S. district courts. 

Source: Judicial Business of the United

States Courts: Annual Reports of the 

Director 1985-93. Administrative Office

of the U.S. Courts. 

Contract cases in Federal district courts

1

Plaintiff type for each case is whichever type

appears first in this list: (1) hospital/medical

company, (2) business, (3) government

agency, and (4) individual. For example, any

case involving a hospital plaintiff is categorized

as a case with a "hospital plaintiff" even if there

were also business, individual, or government

plaintiffs in the case. 

2

Defendant type for each case is whichever type

appears first in this list: (1) hospital/medical company, (2) business, (3) government agency, and

(4) individual. 
Over 40% of seller plaintiff, mortgage

foreclosure, and rental/lease cases 

involved a business, a government

agency, or a hospital suing a business.

By contrast, in 58% of the buyer plaintiff cases, an individual sued a business. 

Multiple plaintiffs and defendants

The estimated 366,000 contract cases

disposed in the State general jurisdiction courts of the 75 largest counties

involved a total of approximately 1.3

million litigants. The median number

of litigants per case was 3.0; the 

average was 3.6. Cases with multiple

defendants were more prevalent than

multiple plaintiffs. The average number of defendants in contract cases

was 2.4. The average number of

plaintiffs for all contract cases was 1.2

per case. On average, mortgage foreclosure cases had 3.9 defendants per 

case, followed by fraud cases with 3.1 

defendants per case. 

 Contract Cases in Large Counties 3

Table 4. Pairings of primary litigants in contract cases in the Nation's 75 largest counties, 1992

All contract cases

 

 Seller plaintiff Buyer plaintiff

 Mortgage

 foreclosure

Rental/lease

agreements

Plaintiff versus

primary defendant

Number

of cases Percent

Number

of cases Percent

Number

of cases Percent

Number

of cases Percent

Number

of cases Percent

All contract cases 365,221 100.0% 188,608 100.0% 44,611 100.0% 68,779 100.0% 20,545 100.0%

Individual versus:

Individual 28,990 7.9% 13,284 7.0% 3,041 6.8% 2,902 4.2% 2,306 11.2%

Government 1,866 .5 338 .2 90 .2 448 .7 18 .1

Businessa 61,049 16.7 13,657 7.2 26,068 58.4 2,786 4.1 2,525 12.3

Hospitalb 1,902 .5 143 .1 626 1.4 183 .3 96 .5

Nonindividual versus:

Individual 114,645 31.4% 77,549 41.1% 1,653 3.7% 25,313 36.8% 5,315 25.9%

Government 5,924 1.6 830 .4 105 .2 4,465 6.5 249 1.2

Businessa 136,333 37.3 77,279 41.0 11,024 24.7 29,921 43.5 8,902 43.3

Hospitalb 3,977 1.1 1,334 .7 129 .3 1,988 2.9 249 1.2

Other litigant pairingsc 10,536 3.0 4,194 2.2 1,875 4.2 774 1.1 884 4.3

Note: Data on litigant pairings were available for 99.7% of all cases. 

See note on table 3. Detail may not sum to 100% because of rounding.

a

Includes insurance companies, banks and financial companies, 

other businesses, and other organizations.

b

Includes medical companies.

c

Includes contract cases with an individual and a nonindividual 

as the plaintiffs and a single defendant.

Table 3. Types of plaintiffs or defendants, by types of contract cases 

in the Nation's 75 largest counties, 1992

Plaintiffs Defendants

Selected 

case type Total Individual

Government Businessa Hospitalb Total Individual

Government Businessa Hospitalb

All contract cases 100% 25.7% 4.1% 67.5% 2.7% 100% 40.4% 2.2% 55.8% 1.7%

Fraud 100 67.1 2.2 29.9 .8 100 29.9 1.1 65.5 3.5

Seller plaintiff 100 14.6 3.1 78.0 4.3 100 49.3 .6 49.3 .8

Buyer plaintiff 100 66.9 2.3 30.1 .6 100 11.4 .6 86.2 1.8

Mortgage foreclosure 100 9.3 10.1 80.6 0 100 41.6 7.2 48.0 3.2

Employment 100 80.0 3.1 16.8 .1 100 10.1 12.6 75.2 2.1

Rental/lease agreements 100 24.2 1.5 73.7 .6 100 38.3 1.3 58.7 1.7

Other contract 100 43.7 .7 49.9 5.7 100 39.5 .4 57.7 2.3

Note: Plaintiff or defendant type for each case is whichever type appears 

first in this list: (1) hospital/medical company, (2) business, (3) government 

agency, and (4) individual. For example, any case involving a hospital defendant 

is categorized as a hospital even if there were also business, individual, 

or government defendants in the case. Zero indicates no cases in the sample. 

Detail may not sum to 100% because of rounding.

a

Includes insurance companies, banks and 

financial companies, other businesses, and other

organizations.

b

Includes medical companies.
4 Civil Justice Survey of State Courts

Insurance companies and contract cases

Insurance companies as plaintiff

An insurance company was the plaintiff in 13,290 contract

cases. In about 12,000, or 90% of these cases, an insurance

company was the only plaintiff. In the remainder an insurance

company was one of at least two plaintiffs.*

Who do insurance companies sue in contract cases?

Insurance companies as a single plaintiff sued:

 Number of cases

 Individual only 47% 5,642

 Business only 24 2,910

 Insurance company only 4 515

 Other single defendants 2 222

 Business and individual only 15 1,762

 Other multiple defendants 8 964

 Total 100% 12,015

What types of contract cases were insurance company 

plaintiffs involved in?

Three-fourths of the 12,000 contract cases in which an insurance company was the single plaintiff involved contract seller

cases. Generally, these were cases in which the insurance

company was seeking payment for damages.

How were contract cases brought by insurance company 

plaintiffs disposed?

Among the contract suits brought by an insurance company

acting alone 

46% were disposed by agreed judgment

28% by default judgment

10% by dismissal

 9% by summary judgment

 7% by other means such as arbitration, jury or bench 

 trial, or transfer to another court.

Insurance companies as defendant

An insurance company was named as a defendant in about

25,400 contract cases. In about half of these lawsuits, the 

insurance company was the sole defendant. Another 16% 

involved an insurance company and a business as codefendants, and 12% involved an insurance company 

and a bank.

Who sues insurance companies?

In the 13,000 contract cases in which an insurance company 

was named as the sole defendant, 84% were initiated by an 

individual, 7% by a business, 4% by another insurance company, 3% by multiple plaintiffs, and 2% by a bank, other 

organization, or hospital.

What types of suits were insurance company defendants 

involved in?

As defendants, insurance companies were primarily involved 

in buyer plaintiff cases. Generally, these were cases in which

an insurance company was sued for refusal to pay a claim. 

Insurance companies were also defendants in seller plaintiff

cases which may have involved matters such as real estate 

or finance. Overall, insurance companies named as the only

defendant were involved in the following types of cases:

 Number of cases 

 Buyer plaintiff 71% 9,275

 Seller plaintiff 20 2,570

 Fraud 4 461

 Mortgage foreclosure -- --

 Employment -- --

 Rental/lease agreements -- --

 Other contract 4 467

 Total 100% 12,996

 --Less than 1%.

How were cases filed against insurance company defendants

disposed?

In contract cases with an insurance company as the only 

defendant, 72% were resolved by agreed judgment, 9% by

transfer to another court, 6% by summary judgment, 6% by 

dismissal, and 7% by other means such as arbitration,

jury or bench trial, or default judgment. 

Jury cases

How did insurance companies fare as plaintiffs

in jury trial cases?

An insurance company was the sole plaintiff in an estimated 61

contract cases resolved by jury trial in the Nation's 75 largest

counties during the year ending June 30, 1992. As the only

plaintiff, insurance companies won 74% of the jury trial verdicts

in contract cases. Juries awarded altogether $9 million in compensatory and punitive damages. The average final amount

awarded was $192,000, and the median recovery was $22,000.

How did insurance companies fare as defendants 

in jury trial cases?

In an estimated 155 contract cases disposed by jury trial in the

top 75 counties, an insurance company was named as the sole

defendant. In 59% of these cases, the jury found the insurance

company liable for damages and awarded a total of $45 million

in compensatory and punitive damages to the plaintiff winners.

The average final amount awarded was $492,000, and the 

median recovery was $26,000.

Punitive damages

Punitive damages are reserved for claims in which the defendant's conduct was grossly negligent or intentional. Under

the laws in almost all States, only tort claims qualify for punitive

damages. If a contract case involved punitive damages, it 

involved a related tort claim. In 5 of the 155 contract cases disposed by jury trial in which an insurance company was the sole

defendant, plaintiffs were awarded punitive damages. 

The total amount of punitive damages awarded in these 

5 cases was $15 million. The average punitive damage 

award was $3 million, and the median award was $200,000.

*In cases with insurance companies as one of multiple plaintiffs or 

defendants, a variety of plaintiff and defendant combinations occurred. 

Consequently, it is not possible to determine the specific role of the insurance company relative to the other plaintiffs or defendants in these cases.

Therefore, where possible, data are presented for those cases in which

an insurance company is the sole plaintiff or defendant. 
 Contract Cases in Large Counties 5

Banks and financial companies and contract cases

Banks as plaintiff

In approximately 97,000 contract cases, a bank or financial

company was a plaintiff. In 91% of these cases, the bank 

or financial company was the sole plaintiff.*

Who do banks and financial companies sue in contract

cases?

A bank or financial company as a single plaintiff sued:

 Number of cases

 Individual only 61% 54,091 

 Business only 5 4,112 

 Other single defendants 1 924 

 Business and individual only 14 12,290 

 Government and individual only 5 3,979 

 Other multiple defendants 14 12,779 

 Total 100% 88,175

What types of contract cases were bank or financial 

company plaintiffs involved in?

Half of the 88,200 cases in which a bank or financial company was the only plaintiff involved contract seller cases,

42% involved contract mortgage foreclosure cases, 4%

rental/lease cases, and 3% other types of contract cases.

How were contract cases brought by a bank or financial 

company disposed?

Of the 88,200 contract lawsuits in which a bank or financial

company was the sole plaintiff 

39% were disposed by agreed judgment

38% by default judgment

11% by dismissal 

 8% by summary judgment

 4% by other means such as jury or bench trial, 

 arbitration, or transfer to another court.

Banks as defendant

About 36,000 contract cases involved a bank or financial 

company as a defendant. In 13% of these cases, the bank

or financial company was named as the only defendant.

Banks as defendants in contract cases were most frequently

involved in cases with multiple defendants.

What types of cases were bank or financial company 

defendants involved in?

A bank or financial company named as a single or one 

of multiple defendants were involved in the following types

of contract cases:

 Number of cases

 Mortgage foreclosure 55% 19,686

 Seller plaintiff 19 6,695

 Buyer plaintiff 12 4,314

 Fraud 5 1,913

 Employment 1 499

 Rental/lease agreements 5 1,688

 Other contract 3 1,147

 Total 100% 35,941

How were cases filed against a bank or financial 

company disposed?

Fifty-eight percent of the 36,000 cases with a bank or financial company named as at least one of the defendants were

disposed of by agreed judgment, 20% by default judgment,

9% by dismissal, 8% by summary judgment, and 6% by

other means such as jury or bench trial, arbitration, or transfer to another court.

Jury cases

How did banks or financial companies fare as plaintiffs 

in jury trial cases?

In an estimated 54 contract cases disposed by jury trial in

the Nation's 75 largest counties, a bank was the only type of

plaintiff who brought the suit. In two-thirds of these cases,

the bank won the jury trial verdict. Juries awarded a total of

$12 million in compensatory and punitive damages to bank

plaintiff winners. The average amount awarded was

$333,000, and the median amount was $63,000.

How did banks or financial companies fare as defendants

in jury trial cases?

A bank was the only defendant in an estimated 26 contract

cases concluded by jury trial. In 48% of these cases, the

jury found in favor of the plaintiff. Juries awarded $1.6 million in damages to these plaintiff winners. The average

award was $130,000, and the median recovery was

$145,000.

*In cases with a bank or a financial company as one of multiple 

plaintiffs or defendants, a variety of plaintiff and defendant combinations

occurred. Consequently, it is not possible to determine the specific 

role of the bank or the financial company relative to other plaintiffs or 

defendants in these cases. Therefore, where possible, data are presented for those cases in which a bank or financial company was the

sole plaintiff or defendant. 
Trial verdicts

About 3% of the contract cases were

resolved by trial (jury or bench) in the

Nation's 75 most populous counties

during the 1-year period. Of the 9,500

cases that did go to trial, about a quarter were disposed of by a jury verdict.

Bench trial verdicts

About 2% of contract cases were disposed by bench trial (trial by a judge

rather than a jury). In the contract

cases that did receive a bench verdict,

the plaintiff was the winner in 73% of

the cases (table 5). Among types of

contract cases with sufficient data to

permit estimation, plaintiffs won in 90%

of rental/lease cases, 85% of seller

plaintiff cases, and 66% of buyer 

plaintiff cases.

Jury trial verdicts

Of the contract cases disposed by a

jury trial in State general jurisdiction

courts in the Nation's 75 largest counties during the 1-year period ending

June 30, 1992, the plaintiff won 63% 

of the cases (table 6). The median 

final amount (compensatory and punitive damages reduced for contributory

negligence, if applicable) awarded to

these plaintiff winners was $56,000,

and the mean amount awarded was

$620,000. The likelihood of plaintiff

success varied by type of contract

case, as did the final amounts

awarded. 

6 Civil Justice Survey of State Courts

Table 5. Percent of bench trial verdicts 

in favor of plaintiffs or defendants in the 

Nation's 75 largest counties, 1992

Winner

 All 

 cases*

 Seller

 plaintiff

 Buyer 

 plaintiff

Rental/lease

agreements

Plaintiff 73% 85% 66% 90% 

Defendant 24 11 35 10 

Mixed 3 3 0 0 

Number 

of cases 5,295 2,446 816 631 

Note: Data were available for 75.3% of contract cases that were 

disposed of by a bench trial. Zero indicates no cases in the sample. 

Detail may not sum to 100% because of rounding.

*Includes mortgage foreclosure, employment, fraud, and other 

contract cases that could not be estimated separately because 

of too few sample cases. 

Table 6. Jury trial verdicts for contract cases with plaintiff winners 

in State courts in the Nation's 75 largest counties, 1992

 

 Plaintiff winners

 Final amount awarded 

 to plaintiff winnersa

Case type

Number of

jury cases

Number

of cases

 

Percent Total Median Mean

All contract casesb 2,205 1,387 62.9% $820,098,000 $56,000 $620,000

Fraud 317 181 57.1 117,209,000 70,000 678,000

Seller plaintiff 610 433 70.9 88,368,000 35,000 212,000

Buyer plaintiff 593 380 64.0 173,965,000 45,000 479,000

Employment 308 172 56.1 249,206,000 141,000 1,462,000

Rental/lease agreements 132 97 73.3 159,734,000 71,000 1,881,000

Other contract 239 123 51.3 31,616,000 49,000 280,000

Note: Data presented in this box are drawn from the civil jury dataset collected in the BJS Civil 

Justice Survey of State Courts, 1992. Data on case type and jury award winners were available 

for 99.5% of all contract cases. Detail may not sum to total because of rounding.

a

Final amount awarded to plaintiff winners excludes cases in which the data were missing. 

Data on final award amounts were available for 95.3% of plaintiff winners. Final amount 

awarded includes both compensatory awarded (reduced for contributory negligence, if applicable) 

and punitive damage awards.

b

Includes mortgage foreclosure cases that could not be estimated separately because 

of too few sample cases. 

Table 7. Types of civil judgment, by selected types of contract cases in the Nation's 75 largest counties, 1992

Percent of cases, by type of judgment

Selected 

case type Total

Jury trial

verdict

Bench trial

verdict

Summary

judgment

Default

judgment

Arbitration

award

Agreed

judgmenta Dismissedb Transfer

Other

dispositionc

All contract cases 100% .7% 1.9% 5.5% 26.0% 1.7% 49.4% 12.0% 2.6% .2%

Fraud 100 2.0 5.1 3.5 7.8 1.5 61.9 13.3 4.1 1.0

Seller plaintiff 100 .5 1.7 4.8 30.6 2.0 44.8 13.9 1.7 .2

Buyer plaintiff 100 1.1 2.4 4.2 8.5 2.8 65.9 8.8 6.1 .3

Mortgage foreclosure 100 .1 1.0 10.0 37.3 .2 43.5 7.2 .7 0

Employment 100 4.0 1.8 4.4 3.1 .2 65.1 15.6 5.8 0

Rental/lease agreements 100 .4 3.6 3.6 19.0 2.2 54.6 13.6 2.7 .2

Other contract 100 1.3 2.6 4.4 12.4 1.7 55.0 14.2 8.1 .4

Note: Data on case type and type of judgment were available 

for 99.7% of all cases. Zero indicates no cases in the sample. 

Detail may not sum to 100% because of rounding.

a

Includes voluntary dismissals. 

b

Includes those cases dismissed for lack of prosecution or failure 

to serve the complaint on the defendant. 

c

Includes directed verdicts and cases that were settled after 

a trial started or after a jury or bench verdict was entered.
Types of contract case dispositions

The majority of contract cases were resolved either through an agreed judgment (49%) or by default judgment

(26%) (table 7). Courts dismissed

12% of the cases. Less than 3% of

the cases were disposed by a trial

(bench or jury). 

Approximately a third of seller plaintiff

and mortgage foreclosure cases received a default judgment because 

the defendant failed to respond to the

complaint or appear at a scheduled

hearing. 

Uncontested contract cases

In half (51%) of all the contract cases,

the defendant failed to file an answer

to the complaint. Failure to answer in

a timely manner (usually within 30 to

45 days) gives the plaintiff the right

to file a motion for default judgment.

About 45% of the uncontested cases

were disposed of by default judgment,

37% by agreed judgment, 16% by 

dismissal, and 2% by transfer to 

another State or Federal court. The

median case processing time for 

uncontested cases was 5 months.

Case processing time

The average processing time from 

filing of the complaint to disposition for

contract cases was 13 months (table

8). The median time was 8.3 months.

Among the different kinds of contract

cases, employment and fraud cases

had a mean case processing time of

about 20 months, and mortgage foreclosure cases had a mean time of 10

months from filing to disposition. 

Contract cases disposed by jury trial

had a mean processing time of over

2.5 years (table 9). Agreed judgment

cases took on average just over 1 year

to dispose. Cases disposed of by 

default judgment took approximately 

7 months from the filing of the complaint to the disposition.

 Contract Cases in Large Counties 7

Legal representation

In the vast majority of contract cases,

plaintiffs and defendants had professional legal representation. About 

6% of contract cases had at least one

pro se litigant who represented himself

or herself. Rental or lease agreement

cases had a pro se litigant in about 8%

of cases. 

Table 8. Case processing time, by selected types of contract cases in the Nation's 75 largest counties, 1992

Case processing time for contract cases

Percent of contract cases disposed

Selected 

case type

 Number 

 of cases

Mean

(months)

Median

(months)

Less than

1 year

1 year to

less than 

2 years

2 years to

less than 

3 years

3 years to

less than 

4 years

 4 or

 more years

All contract cases 364,800 13.0 mo 8.3 mo 63.8% 22.5% 6.8% 3.2% 3.7% 

Fraud 15,927 20.4 13.8 41.7 31.8 9.5 5.8 11.1

Seller plaintiff 188,385 11.9 7.7 66.9 21.3 6.4 2.5 2.9

Buyer plaintiff 44,473 16.8 11.3 52.6 26.6 9.4 5.4 5.9

Mortgage foreclosure 68,804 9.7 5.7 76.3 16.8 3.2 1.9 1.7

Employment 8,116 20.2 13.6 41.3 31.8 10.6 7.0 9.4

Rental/lease agreements 20,589 13.9 9.7 57.7 27.4 7.7 3.1 4.0

Other contract 18,505 16.7 12.4 48.7 28.2 12.2 5.2 5.7

Note: Data on case processing time were available for 99.6% of all cases. Detail may not sum to 100% because of rounding.

Table 9. Case processing time, by types of contract 

disposition in the Nation's 75 largest counties, 1992

Contract cases

Disposition type

Number 

of cases

 Case processing 

 time (months)

 Percent Mean Median

All contract cases 363,923 100.0% 13.0 mo 8.3 mo

Judgment

Default 94,775 26.0 7.0 4.5

Summary 19,894 5.5 10.8 8.4

Agreed judgmenta 179,809 49.4 13.4 9.1

Dismissed 43,772 12.0 23.0 15.5

Transfer 9,464 2.6 9.6 5.1

Arbitration award 6,014 1.7 13.7 11.1

Trial

Bench 7,035 1.9 22.5 17.3

Jury 2,441 .7 31.5 31.1

Other dispositionb 719 .2 20.3 14.5

Note: Data on disposition type and case processing time were available for 99.3% 

of all cases. Detail may not sum to 100% because of rounding.

a

Includes voluntary dismissals.

b

Includes directed verdicts and cases that were settled after a trial started or after

a jury or bench verdict was entered.
County-level data

The volume and composition of contract cases disposed, their average

case processing time, and the types 

of litigants involved differed across the

individual State courts sampled in this

study (appendix tables 1-3). A variety

of factors may contribute to these 

differences, including State contract

law, court operations, and the type 

and level of commercial activity in 

the jurisdiction.

The 1992 data revealed that:

 In DuPage County, Illinois, primarily

a residential county, 88% of the contract cases involved mortgage

foreclosures.

 In Fresno County, California, the 

effect of a backlog relief program was

reflected in longer overall case processing times as the court disposed of

numerous older cases during the study

period.

 In Cuyahoga County, Ohio, 48% of

contract cases involved mortgage foreclosure, a sizable proportion of which

were property tax delinquency cases 

in which the county was the plaintiff.

 In Wayne County, Michigan, 55% 

of the contract cases were buyer plaintiff. A substantial part of these cases

were individuals suing an insurance

company, possibly related to no-fault

insurance claims.

Methodology

Sample

The sample is a 2-stage stratified sample with 45 of the 75 most populous

counties selected at the first stage.

The 75 counties were divided into 4

strata based on civil disposition data

for 1990 obtained through telephone

interviews with court staff in the general jurisdiction trial courts. Stratum 

1 consisted of the 14 counties with the

largest number of civil case dispositions. Every county in stratum 1 was

selected for the sample. Stratum 2

consisted of 15 counties, with 12 chosen for the sample. From stratum 3,

10 of the 20 counties were selected.

Nine of the twenty-six counties in stratum 4 were included in the sample. 

At the second stage, either a systematic or random sample of 400-450 tort,

contract, and real property rights cases

disposed between July 1, 1991, and

June 30, 1992, was selected within the

State general jurisdiction trial court of

each county. Data on 11,000 contract

cases were collected in the 45 courts. 

Sampling error

Since the data in this report came from

a sample, a sampling error (standard

error) is associated with each reported

number. In general, if the difference

between two numbers is greater than

twice the standard error for that difference, there is 95 percent confidence 

of a real difference and that the apparent difference is not simply the result

of using a sample rather than the entire population. All the differences discussed in this report were statistically

significant at or above the 95 percent

confidence level. 

The 75 counties' estimate of 366,000

contract cases had a coefficient of

variation of 7%. Standard error estimation took into account the survey's

sample design features.

8 Civil Justice Survey of State Courts

Overview of contract and tort cases disposed in State courts 

in the Nation's 75 largest counties, 1992

The following presents some basic characteristics of contract and tort cases.

Contract cases Tort cases

 Number Number

Case type of case Percent of case Percent

Type of disposition:

 Agreed settlement 180,496 49.4% 277,168 73.4%

 Bench trial 7,035 1.9 2,211 .6

 Jury trial 2,441 .7 8,852 2.3

 Summary judgment 20,236 5.5 6,504 1.7

 Default judgment 94,860 26.0 11,799 3.1

 Dismissed 43,813 12.0 35,604 9.5

 Arbitration award 6,093 1.7 13,161 3.5

 Transfer 9,570 2.6 19,295 5.1

 Other disposition 719 .2 2,828 .7

Type of plaintiff litigants:a

 Individual 94,280 25.7% 354,006 93.6%

 Business 247,343 67.5 22,704 6.0

 Government 14,966 4.1 1,281 .3

 Hospital 9,748 2.7 322 .1

Type of defendant litigants:a 

 Individual 147,876 40.4% 190,872 50.5%

 Business 204,397 55.8 149,937 39.6

 Government 8,000 2.2 20,252 5.4

 Hospital 6,063 1.7 17,253 4.6

Pairings of primary litigants:

 Individual v. individual 28,990 7.9% 176,815 46.9%

 Individual v. business 61,049 16.7 139,156 36.9

 Nonindividual v. individual 114,645 31.4 7,527 2.0

 Nonindividual v. business 136,333 37.3 6,326 1.7

 Other litigant pairings 24,205 6.7 46,965 12.4

Case processing time from filing of the 

complaint to disposition (in months): 

 Median 364,781 8.3 378,313 13.7

 Mean 364,781 13.0 378,313 19.3

Final amount awarded to plaintiff

winners in civil jury cases:

 Median 1,322 $56,000 4,584 $51,000

 Mean 1,322 $620,000 4,584 $408,000

Note: Detail may not sum to 100% because of rounding.

a

See note on table 3.
Data recording and 

unobtainable information

For each sampled case, a standard

coding form was manually completed

by court staff on-site to record information about the litigants, case type, disposition type, and processing time. 

Information for which data were not

available included the cost of litigation

for the parties involved, as well as for

others, and the results of settlement.

Contract case type definitions

Contracts  Cases which include all

allegations of breach of contract. Specific case types include seller plaintiff 

(seller of goods or services, including

lenders, seek payment of money owed

to them by a buyer, including borrowers); buyer plaintiff (purchasers of

goods or services seek return of their

money, rescission of the contract, or 

delivery of the specified goods ordered); mortgage contract/foreclosure

(foreclosures on real property, commercial, or residential  because the

title to real property is transferred to

the lender if the claim is successful, it

could be included under real property

cases  and property tax delinquency

cases); fraud (financial damages incurred because of intentional or negligent misrepresentation regarding a

product or company; also considered 

a type of tort claim, but because it

arises out of commercial transactions,

it was included under contracts); employment claim (claim involving employment or hiring process, including

claims of employment discrimination;

worker's compensation claims, handled primarily through an administrative process, were not included);

rental/lease agreement; and other 

contract claims (including partnership

claims, stockholder claims, and subrogation issues). 

Contract case disposition definitions

Default judgment Occurs when 

a litigant has failed to file an answer 

to a complaint or failed to appear at 

a scheduled hearing.

Dismissal for lack of service or

prosecution Failure to obtain legal

service of the complaint can lead to a

dismissal after a stated period; most

courts can also dismiss a case for the

plaintiff's failure to prosecute after a

case has been inactive for 18 to 24

months.

Summary judgment Entered by 

a judge after considering evidence

submitted by both parties and determining that no controversy exists about

the facts in the case; the only issue is

application of the law to the facts. 

Other dispositions  Includes 

cases settled after a jury or bench trial

started, settled after a jury or bench

trial verdict was entered, or concluded

with a directed verdict (a verdict that

the jury returned at the direction of the

court or that the court entered on the

record after dismissal of the jury because the court found the evidence to

be insufficient to support the jury's

decision).

Arbitration award  Typically entered without appeal in jurisdictions

with arbitration programs associated

with the court. 

Agreed judgment/voluntary 

dismissal  Primarily cases settled

and dismissed and some cases voluntarily dismissed by plaintiffs without

a settlement. Types of dismissals

were not identified by many courts.

This category could also include dismissals for lack of jurisdiction. 

Trial verdict  Rendered by jury 

or bench (judge) trial.

 Contract Cases in Large Counties 9

The Bureau of Justice Statistics 

is the statistical agency of the 

U.S. Department of Justice. 

Jan M. Chaiken, Ph.D., is director.

BJS Special Reports address a 

specific topic in depth from one 

or more datasets that cover many

topics.

Carol J. DeFrances and Steven K.

Smith of BJS wrote this report. 

John Scalia, Jr., provided statistical 

review. Carma Hogue of the Bureau of the Census designed the

sample. Data collection was supervised by the National Center for

State Courts (NCSC); John Goerdt,

NCSC Senior Research Associate,

was the project director. The Bureau of the Census and the National

Association of Criminal Justice

Planners assisted the NCSC in 

the data collection. Tom Hester

and Tina Dorsey edited the report.

Marilyn Marbrook, assisted by

Jayne Robinson and Yvonne Boston, administered production.

February 1996, NCJ-156664

This report is the third in a series

based on data collected from the

BJS Civil Justice Survey of State

Courts, 1992. The first report, 

Tort Cases in Large Counties,

NCJ-153177, and the second report, Civil Jury Cases and Verdicts

in Large Counties, NCJ-154346,

are available from the BJS Clearinghouse at 1-800-732-3277. 

Data presented in this report can 

be obtained from the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data at 

the University of Michigan,

1-800-999-0960. The name of the

dataset is Civil Justice Survey of

State Courts, 1992 (ICPSR 6587). 

A CD-ROM with the three reports, 

the datasets, questionnaire, and 

codebooks can be ordered by calling 1-800-732-3277 (NCJ-157771).
10 Civil Justice Survey of State Courts

Appendix table 1. Types of contract cases disposed in State courts, by sampled counties, 1992

 

County Fraud

 All

 contract

 Seller

 plaintiff

 Buyer

 plaintiff

Mortgage

foreclosure

 Employ-

 ment

 Rental/lease

 agreements

 Other

 contract

Maricopa, AZ 12,911 857 7,832 1,163 673 184 1,652 551

Pima, AZ 3,611 178 2,101 370 385 163 266 148

Alameda, CA 2,396 509 910 359 100 192 167 159

Contra Costa, CA 1,691 165 777 548 27 37 91 46

Fresno, CA 1,108 118 641 108 26 72 51 92

Los Angeles, CAa 14,953 1,661 7,476 2,769 277 646 1,200 923

Orange, CA 7,972 731 3,876 2,194 73 110 256 731

San Bernardino, CA 2,723 442 1,222 501 59 147 221 132

San Francisco, CA 1,400 130 674 285 26 104 130 52

Santa Clara, CA 2,313 282 801 419 55 173 237 346

Ventura, CA 618 51 284 175 39 16 19 35

Fairfield, CTb 5,834 0 3,408 96 1,964 0 0 366

Hartford, CTb 8,057 0 5,802 120 1,864 0 0 271

Dade, FL 18,643 185 4,799 984 9,537 62 1,046 2,030

Orange, FL 5,782 0 2,369 201 2,630 60 60 462

Palm Beach, FL 6,397 110 4,191 303 1,655 0 83 55

Fulton, GA 1,222 242 441 238 60 103 75 64

Honolulu, HI 2,005 71 897 252 514 40 131 101

Cook, IL 7,909 337 5,048 673 168 337 463 883

DuPage, IL 1,387 56 11 0 1,219 34 11 56

Marion, IN 4,175 37 1,919 294 1,604 100 121 100

Jefferson, KY 2,960 22 1,590 133 906 55 144 110

Essex, MA 1,388 30 273 79 865 20 30 92

Middlesex, MA 2,909 850 1,115 246 416 57 76 151

Norfolk, MA 1,246 82 509 119 356 43 67 70

Suffolk, MA 3,784 499 1,722 181 612 91 159 521

Worcester, MA 1,442 82 288 66 816 58 41 91

Oakland, MI 6,497 254 3,813 1,469 141 141 282 395

Wayne, MI 8,460 68 3,452 4,670 68 68 135 0

Hennepin, MN 2,955 55 1,464 677 249 180 221 110

St. Louis, MO 1,267 91 671 197 8 99 122 79

Bergen, NJ 8,388 69 6,481 1,525 69 0 173 69

Essex, NJ 6,454 0 5,412 401 80 40 441 80

Middlesex, NJ 4,424 180 2,855 669 77 51 386 206

New York, NY 6,949 232 4,865 579 425 39 618 193

Cuyahoga, OH 12,091 0 4,011 1,413 5,763 283 283 339

Franklin, OH 8,235 157 2,295 1,257 2,546 251 1,477 251

Allegheny, PA 7,812 235 5,844 323 1,087 59 235 29

Philadelphia, PA 5,871 61 2,966 2,361 121 61 121 182

Bexar, TX 2,977 536 1,340 387 238 149 179 149

Dallas, TX 7,225 597 4,272 911 283 220 785 157

Harris, TX 7,179 420 4,237 1,132 291 162 356 582

Fairfax, VA 4,467 234 2,936 340 32 138 415 372

King, WA 7,371 275 5,138 551 306 275 306 520

Milwaukee, WI 5,510 120 4,908 120 24 120 120 96

Note: Zero indicates no cases in the sample. Detail may not sum to total

because of rounding.

a

Includes only the central district of the Los Angeles County Superior Court. 

Los Angeles suburban courts are not included.

b

Estimates for type of contract cases disposed are for the Fairfield 

and Hartford/New Britain judicial districts.
 Contract Cases in Large Counties 11

Appendix table 2. Case processing time for contract cases in State courts, 

by sampled counties, 1992

County

Mean

(months)

Less

than

1 year

1 year to 

less than 

2 years

2 years to

less than

3 years

3 years to

less than 

4 years

4 or

more

years

Maricopa, AZ 10 mo 55% 41% 3% 0% 0%

Pima, AZ 16 57 24 9 6 4

Alameda, CA 13 59 22 14 4 1

Contra Costa, CA 15 61 23 6 5 5

Fresno, CA 50 26 14 6 1 52

Los Angeles, CAa 14 52 34 9 2 2

Orange, CA 18 47 29 8 9 7

San Bernardino, CA 37 24 16 7 17 36

San Francisco, CA 16 50 26 11 11 2

Santa Clara, CA 20 50 21 12 6 11

Ventura, CA 18 52 17 13 9 9

Fairfield, CTb 13 57 33 6 2 2

Hartford, CTb 10 65 28 5 2 1

Dade, FL 9 70 23 6 1 0

Orange, FL 9 75 17 5 3 1

Palm Beach, FL 11 69 21 6 3 0

Fulton, GA 11 71 20 4 3 2

Honolulu, HI 12 65 20 10 4 1

Cook, IL 22 46 16 22 2 14

DuPage, IL 8 84 9 5 2 0

Marion, IN 9 78 15 5 2 1

Jefferson, KY 8 75 21 2 1 0

Essex, MA 11 76 10 6 2 6

Middlesex, MA 23 49 23 3 3 21

Norfolk, MA 14 65 19 9 2 6

Suffolk, MA 15 51 37 4 1 7

Worcester, MA 17 61 23 6 2 9

Oakland, MI 9 77 20 2 0 1

Wayne, MI 9 75 23 0 1 2

Hennepin, MN 10 69 25 4 1 1

St. Louis, MO 20 34 32 23 6 5

Bergen, NJ 11 72 17 10 0 1

Essex, NJ 14 60 22 4 14 0

Middlesex, NJ 11 67 25 6 2 0

New York, NY 15 56 26 10 2 6

Cuyahoga, OH 13 65 24 5 4 2

Franklin, OH 13 67 19 6 3 5

Allegheny, PA 8 85 9 3 1 2

Philadelphia, PA 13 70 17 6 1 5

Bexar, TX 15 51 28 16 4 3

Dallas, TX 11 67 24 7 1 0

Harris, TX 26 36 23 17 9 16

Fairfax, VA 13 62 17 15 4 2

King, WA 8 77 19 3 1 1

Milwaukee, WI 5 92 7 1 0 0

Note: Zero indicates no cases in the sample. Detail may not sum to 100% 

because of rounding.

a

Includes only the central district of the Los Angeles County Superior Court. 

Los Angeles suburban courts are not included.

b

Estimates for case processing time are for the Fairfield and 

Hartford/New Britain judicial districts.
12 Civil Justice Survey of State Courts

Appendix table 3. Primary plaintiff or defendant in contract cases in State courts, 

by sampled counties, 1992

Primary plaintiffa Primary defendanta

County Individual Government Businessb Hospital Individual Government Businessb Hospital

Maricopa, AZ 19% 6% 74% 1% 62% 0% 37% 0% 

Pima, AZ 30 1 68 0 48 2 50 1

Alameda, CA 46 3 50 1 25 1 71 2

Contra Costa, CA 52 1 46 0 25 3 71 1

Fresno, CA 44 4 50 2 31 2 64 2

Los Angeles, CAc 39 1 59 1 22 0 77 2

Orange, CA 42 2 55 1 31 0 68 1

San Bernadino, CA 45 3 49 3 33 2 64 2

San Francisco, CA 48 0 52 0 36 1 62 1

Santa Clara, CA 53 3 44 0 22 0 77 1

Ventura, CA 41 4 55 0 28 1 71 0

Fairfield, CTd 8 3 84 6 55 2 42 1

Hartford, CTd 11 1 82 5 52 0 47 1

Dade, FL 18 0 76 6 43 4 49 4

Orange, FL 14 0 84 1 48 2 48 1

Palm Beach, FL 26 2 71 2 38 1 59 1

Fulton, GA 50 0 49 1 27 3 56 14

Honolulu, HI 21 1 75 3 43 3 54 1

Cook, IL 28 0 69 3 18 2 77 3

DuPage, IL 12 2 85 0 32 5 63 1

Marion, IN 17 20 62 2 50 4 44 2

Jefferson, KY 19 1 72 8 55 3 40 1

Essex, MA 18 0 82 0 69 2 28 1

Middlesex, MA 31 1 68 0 36 3 59 1

Norfolk, MA 34 0 65 1 53 0 45 1

Suffolk, MA 25 4 71 1 29 1 69 1

Worcester, MA 18 3 79 0 48 2 49 1

Oakland, MI 27 1 69 3 23 0 75 2

Wayne, MI 48 4 47 1 25 1 72 2

Hennepin, MN 34 1 64 0 34 1 64 1

St. Louis, MO 36 0 58 5 39 0 59 2

Bergen, NJ 22 3 71 4 43 0 56 1

Essex, NJ 22 4 70 4 61 1 37 1

Middlesex, NJ 32 5 60 3 47 1 52 1

New York, NY 25 0 75 0 27 1 72 0

Cuyahoga, OH 20 24 54 2 42 5 50 3

Franklin, OH 21 11 65 4 31 10 58 2

Allegheny, PA 16 5 76 3 48 3 49 1

Philadelphia, PA 47 0 48 5 37 0 62 1

Bexar, TX 34 4 62 1 41 1 56 2

Dallas, TX 28 3 69 1 50 1 48 1

Harris, TX 31 0 68 1 39 0 59 1

Fairfax, VA 27 0 68 5 45 0 54 0

King, WA 26 1 73 1 44 0 55 1

Milwaukee, WI 13 3 80 4 66 0 34 0

Note: Zero indicates no cases in the sample. Detail may not sum to 100% because of rounding. 

a

See note on table 3.

b

Includes insurance companies, banks and financial companies, other businesses, 

and other organizations.

c

Includes only the central district of the Los Angeles County Superior Court. 

Los Angeles suburban courts are not included.

d

Estimates for primary plaintiff or defendant are for the Fairfield and 

Hartford/New Britain judicial districts.