Category: COVID-19 Updates

On December 4, 2020, the Administrative Board of the Courts sought public comment on the Commercial Division Advisory Council’s (“CDAC”) proposed amendment to Commercial Division Rule 3(a), 22 NYCRR § 202.70(g). The current language of Rule 3 permits the court to direct, or for counsel to seek, the appointment of an uncompensated mediator for the purpose of mediating a resolution of all or some issues presented in the litigation  The CDAC’s Rule 3(a) proposal would “permit the use of neutral evaluation as an [alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”)] mechanism and to allow for the inclusion of neutral evaluators in rosters of court-approved neutrals.”  Currently, under Part 146 of the Rules of the Chief Administrative Judge, “neutral evaluation” is “a confidential, non-binding process in which a neutral third party (the neutral evaluator) with expertise in the subject matter relating to the dispute provides an assessment of likely court outcomes of a case or an issue in an effort to help parties reach a settlement.”  The Chief Administrative Judge’s rules already set forth the training prerequisites to become a neutral evaluator.

On Monday, Chief Judge Janet DiFiore issued a statement on the latest developments affecting jury trials in New York City.

A common question in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak has been whether the pandemic or governmental responses to the pandemic provide, depending on the jurisdiction, an impossibility or impracticability defense for nonperformance under a contract.

The answer to that question will, of course, turn on the facts underlying the nonperformance, as well as the law of the jurisdiction. Two recent decisions from New York are instructive on the contours of the defense of impossibility — the relevant defense under New York law.

On August 17, 2020, the Appellate Division, First Department announced that starting in the September term, and continuing until further notice, it will hold oral arguments both in-person at the courthouse and remotely via Microsoft Teams.  In-person oral arguments will be held on Wednesdays and remote oral arguments will be held on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. 

Starting on September 8, 2020 and continuing indefinitely, litigants eligible for oral argument in the Second Department will be given the option of arguing in person, via Microsoft Teams, or submitting.  Notice must be sent to the court and other litigants no later than three days prior to the date on which the matter is calendared.  If there is a divergence of opinion among litigants, the court will determine how oral argument will be heard or whether the matter will be marked submitted.  Members of the public are still not permitted to attend oral argument at the courthouse.

Although New York City’s state court judges are now back in their chambers, in-person hearings have not yet commenced. 

Administrative Judge Deborah A. Kaplan reported that her division has had success using “video-linked ‘virtual’ hearings for a wide range of matters.” In-person hearings will still be available when truly necessary.  For example, this option may be available to self-represented litigants without access to the requisite technology. 

Originally published May 21, 2020.

The progress of taking commercial appeals in New York has been impacted significantly by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Deadlines for perfecting appeals were suspended and oral arguments were canceled. Although Skype conferences were being held in the trial level courts, such as the Commercial Division, arguments were not being scheduled on typical appeals. Recently, as Chief Judge Janet DiFiore has overseen a gradual re-opening of significant portions of the New York courts, there have been material developments in appellate practice which affect commercial litigators.  These developments reflect a sense that appeals are starting to move forward again, albeit with the naturally attendant backlogs that the COVID-19 crisis has engendered.

Chief Judge Janet DiFiore recently announced that New York state courts have begun the process of re-opening the in-person court system and increasing the capacity of new matters that may be filed in New York state courts.  The courts that are beginning the physical reopening process are located within New York’s Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth judicial districts.  Those districts roughly cover the regions of New York that do not include New York City and the surrounding suburbs.  Electronic filing of new non-essential cases also, to the extent permissible prior to the COVID-19 crisis, resumed on Memorial Day, May 25^th, 2020.

On March 20, 2020, in order to limit court operations in light of the evolving COVID-19 emergency, Governor Cuomo issued Executive Order 202.8.   That order, among other things, tolls through April 19, 2020 “any specific time limit for the commencement, filing, or service of any legal action, notice, motion, or other process or proceeding, as prescribed by the procedural laws of the state[.]”  This order means that parties who are facing a deadline to file a civil action have an extension up and until April 19, 2020 in order to do so, unless a further extension of this deadline is granted.