A Wrench in the Wheels of Justice - COVID-19’s Effect on Civil Litigation in Illinois

COVID-19 affected nearly every area of our lives this year and the court system was no different. At the beginning of this pandemic, nearly all state-level courts were effectively shut down for civil litigation, with no hearings, and, occasionally, no way to even present a motion. While courts have adapted since then by implementing Zoom to hold hearings and sometimes bench trials, it will be quite some time until things are restored to “normal,” and both practitioners and potential litigants should make themselves familiar with this new process.

At this point, nearly all state-level courts in the Chicago area (as well as the federal Northern District) have changed their procedures to allow the use of Zoom or conference calls. One notable exception is McHenry County, which continues to routinely offer in-person court dates in addition to conference calls. Beyond that, court availability can vary widely between counties or even by individual judges. For example, some courts have agreed to hold bench trials, either through Zoom or in-person, under controlled circumstances (such as limiting the number of witnesses in the courtroom at a given time), while others, like DuPage County, have postponed all civil bench trials until 2021 unless the parties agree to hold them virtually.

Jury trials present their own challenges through the obvious difficulty in assembling a pool of jurors while maintaining the appropriate COVID-19 protective measures. For that reason, most courts were clear early on in the pandemic that they would not even consider scheduling jury trials for the time being. Civil jury trials remain largely out of reach, and in cases with little remaining except for trial, courts are encouraging litigants to switch to a bench trial, or at a minimum reduce their jury demand from twelve to six, to make a trial more feasible.

Finally, one other key area of civil litigation is effectively frozen for the foreseeable future: post-judgment proceedings for individual defendants. On April 14, 2020, Governor Pritzker entered an executive order barring any such procedures including citations to discover assets and wage garnishments. See Exec. Order 25. That Order has been renewed nine times since then, most recently until January 2021, and may remain in effect until a vaccine becomes widely available and other protective measures are lifted. For plaintiffs suing individuals, as opposed to corporate entities, this can be a frustrating experience as even if they prevail, they currently have no meaningful way to enforce that judgment.

It is more important than ever to secure solid advice on the best way to proceed with a lawsuit, including a realistic timeframe of when you can obtain that legal relief. If you have questions or would like more information on this subject, please feel free to contact attorney Thomas Fox at 847-705-7555 or tfox@lavellelaw.com.