Client Alert
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, federal and state courts throughout the country are issuing general orders providing for important changes to procedures for pending and newly scheduled court hearings. Below is a summary of such procedural changes for the federal courts located in Chicago (which appear to have been adopted in jurisdictions throughout the country) and the state courts in Cook and the surrounding collar counties.
Please feel free to contact your Chapman litigation and bankruptcy teams should you have any questions as these orders are subject to some extent to individual judge discretion and may be modified on a case by case basis depending on the urgency of a specific matter.
Further, nothing at the moment is preventing new suits or bankruptcies from being filed. If there is an emerging situation that requires immediate court attention, we can address the matter with the specific court to obtain direction and, if necessary, authority to take appropriate action.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
- In all civil cases, all deadlines, whether set by the court, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or Local Rules, are extended by 21 days from the current deadline set.
- Deadlines concerning appeals are not affected.
- Civil case hearings, trials, and settlement conferences scheduled from March 17, 2020 until April 3, 2020 are stricken from the calendar, to be re-set by the presiding judge on or after April 6, 2020.
- During the effective period of this Order, the District Court Clerk’s Office in the Dirksen United States Courthouse in Chicago, Illinois, will be open with limited staff.
U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois
- The Bankruptcy Court will remain open during normal business hours, pending further order of court.
- All court calls will be held telephonically. No personal appearances in court.
- The Bankruptcy court will use Court Solutions, LLC for telephonic appearances.
Circuit Court of Cook County
- Civil cases in the Circuit Court of Cook County will be postponed for a 30-day period starting March 17, 2020 through April 15, 2020.
- Court will resume on April 16, 2020.
12th Judicial Circuit, Will County
- From March 18, 2020 through April 30, 2020, with the exception of Branch Courts, all court facilities will be open during normal business hours.
- Discovery in civil cases will continue as scheduled.
- All cases (including motions and pleadings) may continue to be filed pursuant to Supreme Court Rule. All parties are encouraged to file documents with the Clerk electronically.
- All other civil matters will be postponed and rescheduled unless the judge presiding in the case wishes to conduct such hearings by telephone or video. The Court will advise the attorneys/litigants should this option be required.
- The Clerk of the Circuit Court will notify all parties and counsel of the rescheduling of their case.
16th Judicial Circuit, Kane County
- All matters are rescheduled and continued through April 17, 2020.
- All matters are continued for a period of at least 35 days from the originally scheduled court date, unless the rescheduled date falls on a weekend, in which case it will be continued until the following business day.
18th Judicial Circuit, DuPage County
- All matters are rescheduled through April 17, 2020.
- All matters are continued for a period of 30-60 days from the originally scheduled court date.
- The Circuit Court Clerk will notify all parties of a future court date for their matters.
19th Judicial Circuit, Lake County
- All matters are rescheduled and continued for 28 days from the originally scheduled court date unless the 28th day falls on a weekend, in which case, it shall be continued until the following business day, unless otherwise determined by the assigned judge.
- Notices will be generated by the Clerk of the Circuit Court, who will send notice of rescheduled dates upon receipt from the judge.
22nd Judicial Circuit, McHenry County
- The McHenry County Courthouse is closed for civil matters.
- All civil cases scheduled to be heard will be continued at a minimum into the month of May. Rescheduled dates will be made available on the Circuit Clerk’s website at mchenrycircuitclerk.org.
- Parties will receive a mailed notice of the rescheduled date.