Civil trials coming to a halt in much of California

The wheels of justice have virtually come to a halt in civil trials across California as a result of the coronavirus, with San Francisco County on Monday evening seeking an order from the chief justice to suspend many operations and close 75% of courtrooms.

Court operations have significantly scaled back pursuant to directives by county presiding judges, who are suspending jury trials and requesting remote appearances for at least the next month.

In Los Angeles County, which has 38 courthouses employing 4,600 employees, Presiding Judge Kevin C. Brazile directed all new civil jury trials to be pushed back for at least 30 days. No new jurors will be summoned during this time. For bench trials, judges have discretion to continue a trial or declare a mistrial, according to Brazile.

"As the largest trial court in the nation, the superior court of Los Angeles County is methodically scaling back non-essential court operations as part of a phased approach," said Brazile in a statement.

More changes may come, according to the court.

In Orange County, all civil appearances will be conducted via CourtCall and civil jury trials are suspended until May.

Santa Barbara, San Bernardino, and San Diego Counties are also postponing jury trials. Ventura Superior Court will be closed through March 18 then resume limited operations through March 20. Meanwhile, 34 counties, including Kern, had not announced any coronavirus related changes as of Monday evening.

The most drastic measures have occurred in Northern California, where residents of six counties, including San Francisco County, have been ordered by public health officials to stay indoors except for seeking or performing essential services. Jury trials have been continued for 90 days from the date of scheduling, except for trials already in progress and preference cases, according to the court. Counsel or pro se parties must appear in person or by phone, the court said.

Each county has taken its own varying measures. Only the governor or chief justice can authorize a shutdown. While attorneys have praised county initiatives, some are seeking more uniform changes and better integration of technology.

Northern California attorney Micha Star Liberty, the current president of the Consumer Attorneys Association of California, said practices are in chaos.

"When different counties have different procedures it puts a huge burden on attorneys and it impacts clients as well," she said. "There must be concise, clear, and prompt coordination from the powers that be."

Mike Arias of Arias Sanguinetti Wang & Torrijos LLP, agreed.

"I think it would be in everybody's best interest to have a uniform process amongst the courts," said Arias.

"My feeling is some of the measures being taken fail to recognize that we've moved technologically forward and that we have facilities for conducting much of the court's business outside of the court," said Christopher B. Dolan of the Dolan Law Firm, a litigator based in Northern California.

He said mandatory settlement conferences could still go forward using Zoom or Skype.

"I would like to see the administrative office of the courts have a disaster preparedness program," added Dolan.

The scaling back in trials is now balancing a public health crisis against a client's need for expedient justice.

Brian Kabateck of Kabateck LLP, whose case was declared a mistrial a week in, said he is worried about delayed justice.

"Judges might keep their summer calendars, and the mistrials will go to the back of the line," said Kabateck.

Los Angeles plaintiffs' attorney Gary Dordick, a cancer survivor with a low immune system, said his personal injury case was scheduled to go forward for five weeks before Judge William A. MacLaughlin until Brazile made his announcement Sunday. This is the second time Dordick's case was declared a mistrial.

Dordick said he was in the middle of jury selection with jurors who were sneezing and coughing. The judge granted a request to have 24 jurors in the room instead of 80.

"We excused about six jurors who were sick," said Dordick.

It remains to be seen if the delay will affect complex cases in Los Angeles County, such as the massive Porter Ranch gas leak case set for trial in June.

"It is kind of in its own niche over there. It depends if we will have jury trials in June, which I will anticipate we will," said R. Rex Parris, one of the lead plaintiffs' attorneys in the matter.

There are still about 100 depositions to be taken, which parties are trying to move to video deposition.

But hunkering down in the meantime is also an opportunity.

"Now is the time to clear your caseloads and catch up on everything. Have the discovery ready to file," said Parris. "Resilient firms will be ready to come in like gang busters."

For a collection of coronavirus-related court announcements, visit the Consumer Attorneys of California's website at www.caoc.org.