Today the North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice extended the prior court shutdown order to be effective until June 1, 2020. I’ve attached a link to the website below which contains a summary and the full order. This means that practically any and all cases, hearings, and motions that had court dates before June 1, 2020 have now been continued. Practically speaking the only cases that can continue, other than some minor criminal issues, are domestic violence orders of protection and emergency custody motions. Even child support issues, despite how desperate in nature they might be, are being pushed back. Additionally, it appears that the filing deadlines and response deadlines for everything will also be extended, including discovery. There are other exceptions to this and if you have questions pertaining to your specific case please reach out to us.
I know this will be difficult for many of you, but we will do whatever is possible to ensure you have a court date as fast as possible once things resume. In the meantime, our staff remains dedicated to working on your cases and doing all we can to push them along given the new deadlines. We will also be reaching out to opposing counsel to try and encourage them to go through mediation or even arbitration for those of you who have cases conducive to that type of proceeding. Not everyone’s case would benefit from that though, so we will hand-select those we think might be a good fit. If the opposing attorney agrees we will reach out to you on a case by case basis to offer options on how to proceed.
In this unprecedented time, I’m sure you all have a lot of questions about your individual situations, and I can assure you we are working hard to answer them. Feel free to email us and we will try to respond to them as fast as we can. Additionally, Zoom or phone meetings are available to you all. Please call the office to schedule those. Thank you and we hope everyone stays safe.
Link to this new order: https://www.nccourts.gov/news/tag/press-release/chief-justice-beasley-issues-order-postponing-court-proceedings-until-june-1-2020-0
NCCOURTS.GOV
Chief Justice Beasley Issues Order Postponing Court Proceedings Until June 1, 2020 | North Carolina Judicial Branch
COVID-19: Court Ordered Support in North Carolina
What impact has the coronavirus pandemic had on support owed to you? Are you ordered to pay support that you are currently unable to pay because of the coronavirus shut-downs? One of our experienced family law attorneys discusses the issues associated with court ordered support during COVID-19.
https://www.emblemlegal.com/blog/covid-19-court-ordered-support-payments-during-the-covid-19-crisis/
EMBLEMLEGAL.COM
COVID-19: Court Ordered Support Payments During The COVID-19 Crisis - Emblem Legal, PLLC
COVID-19 and Child Custody in NC
The current state of affairs has raised many questions among separated and divorced parents, regarding how child custody/visitation issues should be handled during this time. Our experienced North Carolina Family Law attorneys help answer some of these questions.
https://www.emblemlegal.com/blog/covid-19-and-child-custody-visitation-in-north-carolina/
EMBLEMLEGAL.COM
COVID-19 & Child Custody/Visitation in North Carolina | Coronavirus Law
Due to the Coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak, Emblem Legal will be following the guidance of Governor Cooper and closing our offices to allow our employees to work from home. We will still be working hard on all of our client's cases, holding meetings, and accepting new client consultations. We will also still be answering your calls and responding to emails. All meetings will be via phone/skype/or zoom.
Additionally, we want everyone to know that almost all court proceedings have been continued for at least 30 days by the order of NC Chief Justice Beasly. We will email all of our clients who have cases scheduled in this window once we know more. It's highly likely that this will be extended by another 15-30 days.
We encourage everyone to engage in social distancing and to avoid public places whenever possible. It's all our responsibility to help #FlattenTheCurve in order to protect as many of the sick and elderly as we can. Everyone stay safe!
COVID-19 Update: Many of you may be concerned about the most recent reports of confirmed Coronavirus cases within Mecklenburg County, NC. Obviously, we are not medical experts, but we encourage you to follow all advice offered by the World Health Organization, your doctors, and your state’s government officials. Some of you have asked how this might affect your respective cases going forward, in short, we don’t know yet.
At this time there have been no announced plans to suspend or otherwise continue court proceedings. We are handling your cases as if there will be no delay. If you have hearings that are upcoming, we are preparing for them as planned. If the court does close, we anticipate it could be several months before your hearings could be rescheduled. The number of cases needing to be heard at that point would likely be massive. Obviously, this is out of our control, but we will work with you as best as we can to help accomplish your respective goals.
If we hear any news regarding court or mediation cancelation we will update you accordingly. Additionally, our office offers virtual meetings with our clients, or for consultations, via Skype or Zoom. We would encourage everyone to utilize that functionality, however, we will still be willing to meet in person unless otherwise communicated to you. If anyone has any questions please feel free to email us, or call the office. Everyone stay calm, and most of all, stay safe. Have a great rest of your week.
Emblem Legal has been selected as one of the Best Family Law Firms in Charlotte by professional evaluation site Expertise.
Thank you to all of our clients, colleagues, and of course our staff for all that you do. It's an honor to serve Charlotte, and the surrounding area, for all their Family Law, Divorce, and Civil Litigation needs.
For the 6th time our Managing Attorney, Stephen M. Corby, has the distinction of being name a 2021 Legal Elite winner by Business NC Magazine! Mr. Corby won for two categories: Family Law and Litigation.
This prestigious award is the only one voted on by active lawyers in North Carolina. We extend a huge thank you to all of our colleagues for voting for Mr. Corby and our wonderful clients who we are proud to serve.
