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Judicial Council By Mark Feinberg and Katie Atherly, Heinz & Feinberg In March, 2020, the State of California and many municipalities enacted emergency orders and ordinances that temporarily prevented owners from evicting tenants who failed to pay rent and who were unable to pay all of their rent due to COVID 19. The restrictions dictated by the State Order and local ordinances rightfully caused great concern in the community of property owner. These governmental actions also received a lot of media attention. Unfortunately, the California Judicial Council (the policy and rule making body of the California court system) has acted in a way that is far more harmful to property owners than anything
done by the State Of California or any municipality. On April 6, 2020, the Judicial Council met and passed temporary emergency rules that impact many court operations. Unlawful detainer actions are significantly impacted in a way that most professionals in the industry never envisioned. As California officials are currently taking steps to “re-open” the State, now is the time to gain an understanding of the impact the Judicial Council’s actions will have on evictions. The basics of the Judicial Council emergency order effecting unlawful detainer actions is as
follows: Once the governor lifts the state of emergency, with the exception of certain health and safety involved cases: 1. For 90 days the court may not issue a summons in an unlawful detainer case (a summons is required to be issued before the lawsuit is served on the tenant(s) - the issuance of a summons is a crucial step in the process of an unlawful detainer); 2. For 90 days the court may not enter a default or default judgment; and 3. Where an answer has been filed, trials will be set at least 60 days after the trial setting
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