Oregon judicial officials report rising civil caseloads, strain on tenant and debt cases

State court administrators told the Public Safety Subcommittee on Feb. 4 that civil case filings in Oregon rose 14% since 2020 and reached just over 190,000 cases in 2024, with large increases in consumer debt and landlord-tenant matters.

The Judicial Department’s state court administrator, Nancy Kozine, said the rise has been broad: "Civil case filings have been rising. They rose 14% since 2020 with just over 190,000 cases in 2024." The increase is concentrated in general civil matters, small claims and landlord-tenant filings, officials said.

Kozine told lawmakers the distribution of case types reflects “the diverse legal needs of Oregon.” General civil categories account for roughly 30% of filings, and a combined category of general civil, small claims and procedural matters reached 104,109 filings in fiscal 2024, she said. Consumer debt makes up about half of general civil…