U.S. Federal and State Courts are grappling with the delicate balance between keeping the courthouses open for business, while also ensuring the health and safety of courthouse staff, jurors, and the public is not jeopardized.  Judges and courthouse staff around the country are taking numerous measures to manage and respond to the pandemic. We briefly summarize the current status and procedures implemented at Courts in New York, Texas, and Florida as of April 15, 2020.

New York: In the Southern District of New York, activity in federal courthouses has been dramatically curtailed. Jury trials have been suspended until June 31, and courthouses are generally closed for all but essential matters. Electronic filing of new cases, pleadings, and other filings remain available via the Court Managed-Electronic Case Filing (cm-ECF) system. Judges have implemented telephonic and videoconference appearances to attempt to minimize case interruptions where possible. In addition, the U.S. Marshal Service and court clerks have adjusted the procedure for ex parte relief, to limit the necessity for in person meetings to obtain and serve the Orders, writs, and warrants in attachment and arrest cases.

In the New York state court system, the filing of new cases and the use of the electronic filing system for existing cases remains prohibited until further notice. All Courts are continuing to allow for the filing of emergency applications. Starting April 13, 2020, Court proceedings for pending non-essential matters in New York State Courts will be heard virtually, with all interactions taking place by video (utilizing Skype and Zoom) or telephone.  Courts in Kings County, New York County, and Bronx County will release protocols as electronic conferencing systems are implemented. New York state Chief Judge DiFiore has acknowledged and commended the Court staff’s ability to adapt to a “virtual court system” to “stop the spread of the virus and save lives.”

Texas: In Texas, all the federal courthouses in the Southern District of Texas are closed to the public until further notice. This includes courthouses in Corpus Christi, Victoria, Brownsville, Galveston, Laredo, McAllen and Houston. To ensure public safety, Chief Judge Rosenthal of the Southern District of Texas has ordered all civil and criminal jury trials previously scheduled to begin through May 31, 2020 are continued and will be rescheduled. The Southern District of Texas clerks’ offices are all operating with a skeleton crew, enough to keep up with the mail and criminal intake needs. The Judges of the Southern District of Texas have already started holding conferences, hearings, and mediations via Zoom, and have even acknowledged the potential long-term use (and cost savings) of such technology even after things start to return to normal. In the Eastern District of Texas, the Beaumont Division is also closed to the public until further notice. In both the Southern District and Eastern District, the U.S. Marshal Service has confirmed their continued assistance with admiralty and maritime matters to attach/arrest vessels during COVID-19 and have made social distancing changes to procedures as well, including but not limited to, seizing vessels through service of the seizure order on the vessel’s agent to avoid unnecessary travel to/from foreign flagged vessels by the deputy marshals.

The Supreme Court of Texas has similarly encouraged Texas State Courts to modify deadlines and procedures as necessary to manage their docket. Notably, Texas has granted courts wide latitude to modify or suspend deadlines and procedures as needed. Civil statute of limitations have also been extended. The Harris County District Clerk is operating in a reduced capacity and monitoring a dropbox at the courthouse for those who lack e-filing capability and need to physically file court materials. Despite the physical closure of the courthouses, functionally the courts and clerks’ offices remain open for business and the state’s e-filing system permits filing of new cases, pleadings, and motions in all courts.

Florida: All federal courthouses in the Southern District of Florida remain open for business, albeit with minimum staffing levels. The clerk’s office, probation, and bankruptcy courts are also operating with reduced capacity. All jury trials have been continued until no earlier than July 6. Joining other districts across the country, Chief District Judge Michael Moore has encouraged the adoption of video and teleconferencing for court proceedings where practicable. All Florida state courthouses in Miami-Dade County are closed to the public except for essential matters. Florida’s federal and state courts all continue to accept new pleadings and filings electronically.

While it remains unclear how long these measures will be necessary, the legal system has proved itself capable of adapting to these unusual circumstances. We hope you and your loved ones continue to stay safe and healthy.

If you have a question or need assistance with a legal matter, please contact us at info@chaloslaw.com

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced a sweeping freeze on enforcing administrative violations of environmental regulations in response to the coronavirus pandemic.  The EPA’s memorandum, titled “COVID-19 Implications for EPA’s Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Program” was distributed by Susan Bodine, the Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. In it, she details the consequences of the pandemic, which may constrain the ability of regulated corporations to perform routine compliance monitoring and details specific enforcement policy changes for facility operations, public water systems, and other critical infrastructure.

In short, the EPA has stated it does “not expect to seek penalties for violations of routine compliance monitoring, integrity testing, sampling, laboratory analysis, training, and reporting or certification obligations in situations where the EPA agrees that Covid-19 was the cause of the noncompliance.”  While some examples were provided, no exact policy for what would be required to demonstrate that COVID-19 was the cause of the non-compliance has been given.  The policy is retroactive and applies from March 13, 2020 forward, with no set end date. Former Obama Administration EPA Enforcement Chief Cynthia Giles has criticized the memo and called it unprecedented and “an abdication of EPA’s responsibility to protect the public.”

The EPA’s memorandum can be found here.

If you have any questions on environmental compliance matters, please contact us at: info@chaloslaw.com

As the world is battling the coronavirus outbreak, the legal community has been forced to adapt in their own unique ways. State courts in New York are closed for all but emergency filings, while other federal and state courts around the country have postponed jury trials, in-person hearings, and shifted to telephonic or video appearances. Everyone is operating with limited staff and skeleton crews. Many federal judges have issued standing orders detailing their own unique policies and procedures.  Including Magistrate Judge Edison of the Southern District of Texas, who reminded attorneys appearing by video conference that while there was no requirement to wear formal courtroom attire during the video conference, “You are, however, required to wear clothes.”

Recently, in a case involving alleged counterfeit unicorn drawings and knock-off elves, Judge Seeger of the Northern District of Illinois issued a remarkable order reprimanding a plaintiff who filed multiple emergency motions.  The plaintiff argued that defendants were infringing on its trademarks and sought multiple emergency temporary restraining orders. Denying plaintiff’s motions for emergency relief and hearings, the Court noted “[i]f there’s ever a time when emergency motions should be limited to genuine emergencies, now’s the time.” Judge Seeger stated “[t]he world is facing a real emergency. Plaintiff is not” and quipped “one wonders if the fake fantasy products are experiencing brisk sales at the moment.”

Other courts have taken a proactive approach in encouraging amicable resolution of procedural matters and settlement without requiring judicial intervention. In an order issued to all civil cases assigned to Judge Totenberg of the Northern District of Georgia, the Court gave the following directive: “Be kind to one another in this most stressful of times. Remember to maintain your perspective about legal disputes, given the larger life challenges now besetting our communities and world. Good luck to one and all.”

We join Judge Totenberg in wishing good luck and good health to all.

Judge Seeger’s Order can be viewed here. Judge Totenberg’s Order can be viewed here.

On Wednesday March 18, 2020, crude prices fell to their lowest levels in 18 years. As companies and industries around the world are bracing for an unknown global economic slowdown brought on by COVID-19, domestic oil companies and others are already looking towards policy shifts from the U.S. federal government to help adapt to this new global reality. Even before the swath of shelter-in-place orders, prohibitions on gatherings of more than 10 people, and tightening of international borders rolled out over the past week; U.S. based shale drillers were already worried about the inability to compete on production costs as Saudi Arabia and Russia flood the market with crude. Bahri, Saudi Arabia’s tanker company has been heavily chartering vessels, and has provisionally hired 25-30 VLCCs (with delivery over the coming weeks) to supply tens of millions of barrels of crude oil to the open market. In an effort to combat the price plunge and the unknown short-term and long-term economic realities caused by a world-wide pandemic, last Friday President Trump announced a plan to purchase enough crude oil to fill the U.S.’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve “right up to the top.” 

As we are all getting bombarded with messages about the Coronavirus pandemic and how closely everyone is monitoring developments, our primary concern is the health and well-being of our friends, colleagues and competitors.  We implore each of you to do your part to help stop the spread of the virus.

Please:

• stay in and work from home (you can do it… modern technology is terrific);
• practice frequent hand washing with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds;
• avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth;
• cover your nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing with a tissue;
• avoid close contact with anyone with cold or flu-like symptoms;
• quarantine anyone who is sick;
• practice social distancing;
• do not attend events with more than 10 people; and
• clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces.

Guidance from the CDC can be viewed at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prepare/index.html.

We wish everyone good health and look forward to getting on the other side of this issue soonest.

Stay safe!

An article authored by George M. Chalos, Esq. is featured in the 27^th Issue of “The Arrest News,” published by shiparrested.com.  The article, titled “IMO 2020 Enactment & Enforcement in the United States,” discusses the importance of having compliant fuel oil onboard (0.5% sulfur content or less) and maintaining accurate records for port state control inspections.  It is expected that the U.S. Coast Guard and Department of Justice will aggressively pursue the failure to comply with the new Sulfur limits and all shipowners and operators should have good policies and procedures for IMO 2020 compliance in place.

For more information on the implementation of IMO 2020,  please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions at info@chaloslaw.com.

To read a copy of the article click here.

Chalos & Co, P.C. is pleased to share that an article by George M. Chalos, Esq. is featured in the October/November 2019 issue of Marine Money International.  The article, titled “IMO 2020: Enactment & Enforcement in the United States,” discusses the importance of having compliant fuel oil onboard (0.5% sulfur content or less and maintain accurate records for port state control inspections.  It is expected that the U.S. Coast Guard and Department of Justice will aggressively pursue the failure to comply with the new Sulfur limits coming in force on January 1, 2020.

For more information on the implementation of IMO 2020 requirements,  please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions at info@chaloslaw.com.

To read a copy of the article click here.

On December 4, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an opinion affirming the United States District Court for the Central District of California’s dismissal of an action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.

Petitioners Skip Abed and Blue Water Boating, Inc. (“Petitioners”) are in the business of renting watersport equipment to the public.  On February 18, 2018, Petitioners filed a complaint for exoneration from or limitation of liability and declaratory relief against the survivors of Davies Kabogoza who drowned in the Santa Harbor while using a stand-up paddleboard (“SUP”) rented from the Petitioners.   Petitioners sought to invoke the court’s admiralty tort jurisdiction and argued that the District Court had subject matter jurisdiction over the action because the activity of using a SUP is more similar to a kayak than to a surfboard.  The district court applied the traditional maritime nexus test which requires that a plaintiff invoking admiralty jurisdiction must show: (1) the tort occurs on navigable waters; (2) the tort has the potential to disrupt maritime commerce; and (3) the general character of the activity has a substantial relationship to traditional maritime activity.  The District Court did not find Petitioners’ argument persuasive and dismissed the action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.

Petitioners appealed the judgment to the Ninth Circuit. The Ninth Circuit also applied the traditional maritime nexus test and held that the general character of the activity, the rental of a SUP, lacked “maritime flavor” and a close relationship to traditional maritime activity under prong three of the traditional maritime nexus test.  Accordingly, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the District Court’s dismissal of the action.

To read the full opinion, please click here.

For more information about the Ninth Circuit decision, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@chaloslaw.com.

George M. Chalos of Chalos & Co, P.C. attended and presented at the Gallagher Marine Systems (GMS) 2019 Symposiums in Athens, Greece and London, England. Mr. Chalos presented on the enactment and enforcement of IMO 2020 in the United States. 

To learn more about GMS, please visit their website at https://www.gallaghermarine.com/.

For more information on the implementation of IMO 2020, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions at  info@chaloslaw.com.