Could a business court help Wyoming be the next Delaware?

When you think about Wyoming businesses, cattle ranches, national park vendors, or coal producers may come to mind. But the lineup also includes some potentially unexpected names, like an LLC formed to make a mobile golf game where you play as President Donald Trump.

“Never a boring day in chancery court,” said Ben Burningham, the first and only full-time judge for the state’s business court, which was established in 2019.

Burningham resolving dozens of cases, like the dispute between several companies over making the Trump golf game. And he does it quickly — in an average of 116 days, versus potentially over a year in district court.

Some cases are from companies located in the state, like a dispute between a Wyoming firework seller and their long-time distributor over loyalty. Others involve businesses that are registered in the state but may not have physical ties there.

“Having a specialized forum that can offer predictable, focused, and fair resolution of business disputes has only helped draw companies to the state,” Burningham said.

Over the past decade, companies have been increasingly paying the $100 fee to file in Wyoming, bringing more revenue to the state. It’s now giving the corporate stronghold of Delaware some competition. That eastern state has long been a go-to for companies because of its favorable business laws — and it’s home to the nation's oldest chancery court.

“We just saw an enormous wave of people suddenly coming to Wyoming,” said Matt Kaufman, an attorney at Hathaway & Kunz in Wyoming.

Kaufman said the state's cryptocurrency industry and business laws draw people in. It’s the birthplace of LLCs, and there are anonymous filing systems and no corporate income taxes. Plus, now there’s the chancery court, which saves businesses time.

“So, instead of people forming companies and going and raising venture capital and just having to default to Delaware because that's what everybody does and that’s what everybody expects, suddenly, Wyoming is this also acceptable jurisdiction,” Kaufman said.

In 2023, for the first time, more new businesses registered in Wyoming than Delaware. Last year, the U.S. Census showed about 79,000 filed in Wyoming, versus about 60,000 in Delaware.

Then, there’s the Elon Musk factor.

In late 2024, the Delaware chancery court rejected his $56 billion Tesla CEO pay package. Musk then urged companies to leave the state, and some did, in a trend dubbed “DExit.”

Not many household names ended up in Wyoming, but Musk took Tesla to Texas. Nevada got Dropbox and Tripadvisor.

“One critical lapse in judgment can actually drive a mass move out of state,” said Anahit Baghshetsyan, an analyst at Nevada Policy, a libertarian think tank.

Judge Burningham said he feels the pressure to keep the business community’s trust.

“I certainly feel a sense of responsibility and a weight on my shoulder,” he said. “I think I feel that every day.”

But that’s what drives him to build up the court, “and help it develop a reputation of deciding things correctly based on the law and deciding them quickly,” he said.

From the Trump golf game case to the Wyoming fireworks one, Burningham said everyone deserves a fair resolution.