Business Litigation by the Numbers:
Key U.S. Lawsuit Statistics and Trends

Businesses of all sizes frequently face legal disputes—often unexpectedly—which can involve contract disagreements, employment issues, intellectual property conflicts, and more. Understanding how often and at what cost these disputes occur helps business owners assess risk, make informed financial decisions, and plan for potential legal challenges. Below, we break down the data on business litigation statistics into key categories for easy reference.

Key Facts: Business Litigation Trends

Although every dispute is different, several overarching trends stand out:

• Businesses are frequent litigants: An estimated 12 million lawsuits are filed against small businesses every year (Lovik & Juhl 2022).
• State courts handle the vast majority of all lawsuit filings: More than 66 million cases are filed in state trial courts each year (Pew Charitable Trust 2022).
• Federal court cases: U.S. district courts handle about 400,000 civil and criminal filings each year (IAALS 2020s).
• Only about 1% of federal civil cases go to trial: This reflects a significant decrease since the 1960s, when nearly 20% of federal civil cases were tried in court (Judicature/Duke 2017).
• Civil case timelines vary widely: The median federal civil case is resolved in 6.9 months if it does not go to trial, but trials extend the median to 35.6 months (CRS 2024).

Outcomes of Business Litigation

Understanding how cases are resolved helps businesses evaluate risk and strategy.

• Most cases settle outside of court: Approximately 95% of civil lawsuits are resolved through settlement or dismissal before reaching trial (thelawdictionary.org 2022).
• Appeals: Approximately 10% of civil cases are appealed, and verdicts favoring plaintiffs are more frequently overturned or reduced than those favoring defendants.
• Collection challenges: Winning a judgment does not guarantee payment; enforcement actions or bankruptcy proceedings may follow, adding time and cost.

The fact that most disputes settle underscores the importance of negotiation and risk assessment. When cases do proceed, plaintiffs have a decent chance of success, but awards are often modest relative to legal fees.

The Cost of Business Litigation

Litigation is costly both in direct expenses and indirect impacts. Understanding cost breakdowns helps in budgeting and risk assessment.

• Small businesses: About 39% of organizations with revenue under $100 million spend $50,000 per litigation matter or less (ACC/Everlaw 2024).
• Large businesses: Around 33% of companies with revenues over $1 billion spend more than $200,000 per matter (ACC/Everlaw 2024).
• High‑stakes matters: One in four organizations reported average costs above $200,000 per matter (ACC/Everlaw 2024).
• Annual outside spend: The median outside legal services spend was $1.8 million in 2024, with the top 25% of legal departments spending at least $11.2 million (ACC Benchmarking Report 2024).
• Small‑business costs: Small business lawsuit costs range from a median of $54,000 for liability suits to $91,000 for contract disputes (RocketLawyer 2024).
• Economic burden: Small businesses shoulder 48% of commercial tort costs, totaling about $160 billion in 2021, even though they generate only 20% of business revenue (U.S. Chamber ILR 2023).

The data demonstrate that litigation costs scale with company size and can easily eclipse potential recoveries. Early settlement, alternative dispute resolution, or strong contract drafting may help minimize these expenses.

How Common Is Business Litigation? (Volume of Cases)

The volume of business litigation reflects the size and complexity of the U.S. legal system. Most civil actions arise in state courts, and a substantial portion involve commercial disputes.

• Federal case volume: In fiscal year 2024, U.S. district courts received 347,991 civil filings, a 22% increase from the previous year (U.S. Courts 2024).
• Business-related federal cases: Roughly 18-20% of federal civil cases fall into categories that involve businesses in some way, such as contracts, employment, real property, intellectual property, and the like (U.S. Courts 2024).
• Diversity cases: Diversity‑of‑citizenship filings—which often involve parties from different states—rose by 46% to 159,732 cases (U.S. Courts 2024).
• MDL impact: Multidistrict litigation (MDL) disputes, such as product‑liability cases, contributed significantly to the spike in federal filings (U.S. Courts 2024).

Common Types of Business Disputes

Businesses encounter a variety of disputes, ranging from straightforward contract breaches to complex intellectual property battles. Each type has its own typical frequency and outcomes.

Breach of Contract

• Prevalence in federal courts: Federal district courts saw 31,372 contract cases filed in 2024, including insurance, consumer credit, and other contract suits (U.S. Courts Table C‑2 2024).
• State cases dominate: Many contract disputes are heard in state courts. Contract disputes comprise 46% of civil filings in state courts. (LegalNewsline 2023).

Simple contract disputes often settle early, but complex matters (e.g., franchise, supply chain, or real estate agreements) can take years to resolve.

Employment Litigation

• Civil‑rights employment cases: Federal courts recorded 13,526 employment‑related civil‑rights filings in 2024, including Americans with Disabilities Act cases (U.S. Courts Table C‑2 2024).
• Labor‑law disputes: An additional 12,869 labor‑law cases covered wage‑and‑hour claims, ERISA pension disputes, and Family and Medical Leave Act suits (U.S. Courts 2024).
• Corporate survey findings: Nearly half of organizations faced employment or labor disputes in 2023 (Norton Rose Fulbright survey 2024).

Employment claims often arise from alleged discrimination, retaliation, or wage issues, and they remain one of the most common forms of business litigation.

Partnership and Shareholder Disputes

Although there is no comprehensive national data for partnership or shareholder conflicts, they typically involve breach of fiduciary duty, minority shareholder oppression, or disputes over business dissolution. Many of these cases are handled in specialized state courts or chancery courts, and they highlight the importance of well‑drafted operating agreements.

Intellectual Property (IP) Litigation

• Overall filings: Federal courts received 14,959 IP cases in 2024, consisting of 7,250 copyright, 3,356 patent, 3,363 trademark, and 708 trade secret suits (U.S. Courts 2024).
• Trends: Copyright filings rose by 23%, while patent filings decreased by 13% (U.S. Courts 2024).

Because IP litigation often involves complex technical evidence and high stakes, it remains concentrated in certain federal districts.

Commercial Real Estate & Construction

• Federal statistics: Real‑property disputes accounted for 4,787 cases in 2024, covering foreclosures, landlord‑tenant disagreements, and property sales (U.S. Courts 2024).
• Pandemic impact: The pandemic sparked a surge in eviction and lease disputes as businesses shuttered or renegotiated leases, leading to more litigation and settlements.

Business Torts

This category includes fraud, misrepresentation, interference with business relationships, and unfair competition. Business torts often accompany contract claims; however, specific statistics are sparse because they span multiple case categories.

Case Timelines

Litigation timelines have lengthened over the past decade, but the duration varies depending on whether a case settles or goes to trial.

• Median resolution times: Federal civil cases settle in a median of 6.9 months, while cases that reach trial last about 35.6 months (CRS 2024).
• Discovery phase: Discovery, including document production and depositions, often takes 6–12 months and is a major expense driver.

• Court backlogs increased during the pandemic: The average backlog across courts rose from 958 cases per court in 2019 to 1,274 in 2021, a roughly 33% increase (Thomson Reuters 2021).

Cases may settle early—often after key motions or mediation—but those that proceed to trial can stretch for years. Businesses should plan for timelines that are proportional to the complexity and stakes of their disputes.

Trends and Changes in Business Litigation

Litigation is evolving in response to social, technological, and regulatory changes.

• Decline in trials: The percentage of civil cases resolved by trial has dropped from about 20% in the 1930s to around 1% today (Judicature/Duke 2017)
• Rise of arbitration: Many commercial contracts now require arbitration, which keeps disputes out of court and may explain part of the trial decline.
• Technology and complexity: Electronic discovery and new data‑privacy laws have increased case complexity and costs. Cybersecurity and data privacy litigation rose significantly in 2023, with 40% of organizations reporting related disputes (Norton Rose Fulbright survey 2024).
• Litigation funding: Third‑party litigation finance has become more common, enabling some plaintiffs to pursue large cases they might otherwise avoid.
• Regulatory shifts: New privacy and consumer-protection laws can spur waves of litigation, while tort‑reform measures (such as punitive‑damages caps) may limit recoveries.
• COVID‑19 aftermath: Backlogs and remote hearings continue to influence court procedures, with some observers expecting a surge in business disputes related to pandemic-era contract breaches.

Businesses should stay abreast of these trends, as they shape both the volume and the nature of litigation risk.

Texas‑Specific Trends: The New Business Court

Texas has joined several other states in creating a specialized business court aimed at resolving complex commercial disputes more efficiently.

• Launch and activity: The Texas Business Court opened on September 1, 2024, and handled more than 150 cases by mid‑2025, issuing over 20 opinions .
• Expanded jurisdiction: House Bill 40 (2025) lowered the minimum jurisdictional amount from $10 million to $5 million and allowed the court to hear trade secret and intellectual property disputes (Texas Legislature Online, 2025)
• Case mix: About 90% of the cases filed in the court’s first year involved debt/contract or other civil matters (CRA 2025).

By offering faster resolutions and specialized judges, the Texas Business Court may attract complex business cases that would otherwise clog general state courts. Companies doing business in Texas should consider whether this forum offers advantages for their disputes.