Today, California’s Judicial Council, headed by California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, was set to vote whether to lift its emergency rules effectively banning residential evictions and judicial foreclosures during the pandemic. It did not. Instead, it voted to “suspend” this vote. As a result, the ban continues.

Said Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye:

“After discussions with the governor, legislative leaders, and Judicial Council members — as well as hearing from residents with many different viewpoints — I have suspended for the time being the vote on the emergency rules dealing with evictions and judicial foreclosures. I believe the executive and legislative branches will need more time to sort through various policy proposals.”

As a result, before a California court will issue a summons in a case seeking a residential tenant’s eviction, or seeking foreclosure on a defaulted residential mortgage, the court must still make a finding “in open court” the action is necessary to protect “public health and safety.” Since this is an exceptionally difficult standard to meet, most such cases continue to sit idle (or are not getting filed). This is because without the court’s issuance of a summons, the parties sued need not appear in court.

David A. Robinson is President and Founding Shareholder of Enterprise Counsel Group, a full-service business litigation, transactional and appellate law firm located in Irvine, California. For more information, please visit www.ecg.law.

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