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Archive for the ‘Court ADR Across the U.S.’ Category

Indiana Supreme Court Launches Residential Eviction Settlement Program

Nicole Wilmet, September 24th, 2020

As I reported last month, several states across the country are in the midst of trying to develop solutions to address the anticipated increase in evictions due to COVID-19. In addition to state preparations, earlier this month, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) issued an Order to temporarily halt residential evictions in an effort to prevent the further spread of COVID-19. This order went into effect September 4, 2020 and will remain in effect through December 31, 2020.

In an effort to provide clarity and guidance to Indiana attorneys, landlords, tenants and courts in the wake of COVID-19, the Indiana Supreme Court launched a Landlord/Tenant Task Force in July. The Task Force has a dedicated Housing & Eviction During COVID-19 webpage on the Court’s website which includes a report from the Task Force, resources, and the latest updates about COVID-19 and eviction. When addressing the CDC’s recent order, the Task Force clarified that the CDC’s Order does not totally preclude evictions through December 31, 2020 in Indiana. To address confusion arising from the order, the Task Force has compiled an eviction questionnaire that parties can review to assess whether their case may be eligible for eviction. Finally, the Task Force has also developed a list of frequently asked questions, as well as a checklist for courts to use during court hearings if needed.

In the state’s continued effort to find solutions for parties, last month, the Court also launched a new Landlord and Tenant Settlement Conference Program to address the current rise in eviction and foreclosure cases in the state. The program utilizes the Fast-Track Facilitation platform and is available to eligible parties free of charge. Parties interested in participating in the program will use Fast-Track Facilitation to create and submit a new facilitation request. After a request is submitted, the platform will send an email to both the requesting party and the non-requesting party to confirm their interest in participating in the program. Should the non-requesting party fail to reply, the program staff will then contact the non-requesting party to confirm their willingness to participate. Once all parties have agreed, the parties will be assigned a facilitator to see if a settlement can be reached for their dispute.

Individuals interested in learning more about the program may visit the program’s website or contact ltsettlementconference@courts.in.gov.

Illinois Expands Restorative Justice Court Programs

Nicole Wilmet, August 28th, 2020

This month, Illinois’ Cook County expanded its restorative justice court programs. In 2017, the state launched its first restorative justice court program in the North Lawndale neighborhood and this month expanded to the Avondale and Englewood communities. Much like the North Lawndale court, to be eligible for these new programs the victim of the crime must be willing to participate and the person charged must be between 18-26 years old, be charged with a nonviolent felony or misdemeanor, accept responsibility for the harm caused and live within the Avondale or Englewood communities. Additional information about these programs can be found in RSI’s Court ADR Across Illinois resource.

Nevada Passes Legislation to Address the Upcoming Wave of Expected Evictions

Nicole Wilmet, August 26th, 2020

In response to COVID-19, Nevada’s Governor Steve Sisolak issued a Declaration of Emergency in March to temporarily halt residential evictions and foreclosures across the state. This initial moratorium was set to expire on June 30, 2020. Before the end of June, Governor Sisolak issued a follow-up Declaration of Emergency to extend the moratorium on evictions through the end of August. This month, the Nevada Legislature passed a bill to provide landlords and tenants facing eviction with options once the state’s eviction moratorium is lifted on September 1, 2020.

It’s reported that in 2019, Nevada courts processed more than 45,000 eviction cases. Recently, news outlets are reporting that after September 1st the number of households facing eviction could vary between 135,000-270,000. Under the recently passed bill, if a court establishes a rule to utilize alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) to address evictions, then the eviction proceedings may be stayed for 30 days to allow parties the opportunity to participate in ADR. Although the bill doesn’t specify the type of ADR to be used, when presenting the proposed legislation to lawmakers, Nevada Supreme Court Justice James W. Hardesty noted that the program would be modeled after the state’s foreclosure mediation program. Moreover, during his presentation Judge Hardesty also told legislatures that, “this is a short bill for a big problem.” Governor Sisolak signed the bill into law on August 7, 2020.

Michigan’s MI-Resolve Online Dispute Resolution Program Now Available Statewide

Nicole Wilmet, August 3rd, 2020

In July, Michigan’s online dispute resolution (“ODR”) program MI-Resolve rapidly expanded across the state and is now live in all 83 Michigan counties. This expansion makes Michigan the first state to have ODR available for every citizen in the state. As I have previously reported, MI-Resolve operates on the Matterhorn platform and launched in August 2019. MI-Resolve utilizes ODR for small claims, general civil, landlord-tenant and neighborhood disputes.

In January 2020, the Michigan Supreme Court Administrators Office of Dispute Resolution released Considerations in Implementing Court ODR Systems. This guide, written by Doug Van Epps, Director of the Michigan Supreme Court’s Office of Dispute Resolution, and Michelle Hilliker, the Office’s Financial and Statistical Management Analyst, focuses on a variety of considerations that may assist courts when assessing how to design, implement and evaluate an ODR system. Courts seeking additional information on how to launch a court ODR program may also be interested in my interview with Van Epps and Hilliker, which discusses what MI-Resolve is, how long it took for the program to launch and the ins-and-outs of launching an ODR program.

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