Issued in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Ned Lamont’s Executive Order 7G indefinitely suspended all statutory time requirements, statutes of limitations, and other limitations of deadlines related to court filings, court proceedings, and service of process along with all statutory time requirements and deadlines for the Superior Court and its judicial officials to issue notices, hold court, hear matters, and or render decisions. Because the Superior Court is only acting on the high-priority matters listed below, it is not issuing defaults.
Exercising its emergency powers, the state judicial branch’s Rules Committee made changes to Connecticut’s Rules of Civil Procedure that suspended the deadlines for filing notices of appearance and many deadlines for actions by the Superior Court while suspending the rule on how often the Superior Court must hold short calendar hearings. Temporary injunctions will not automatically expire after 30 days. The Rules Committee also granted the chief administrative judge of each division (e.g., Judge Abrams for the Civil Division) to suspend other deadlines in the rules.
The suspension of all deadlines comes in the wake of the court system’s recent directives that:
- Closed all but 16 of Connecticut’s Superior Court courthouses
- Restricted the Superior Court to hearing certain specified “Priority 1 Business Functions,” with most of the Priority 1 functions being in the criminal and family courts
- Suspended all jury trials except ongoing trials and criminal trials required by speedy-trial motions
- Extended all Supreme and Appellate Court briefing deadlines by 30 days
- Postponed all Supreme and Appellate Court oral arguments indefinitely
If you have any questions regarding the content of this alert, please contact Mike Caldwell, partner, at mcaldwell@barclaydamon.com or another member of the firm’s Torts & Products Liability Defense Practice Area.