What Happens to Court Deadlines and Statutes of Limitations After an Emergency?

If you've struggled to understand an emergency order issued by a court or other branch of government, you're not alone. These orders, often written expeditiously in response to a declaration of emergency or in the hopes of providing direction in a time of shut-downs, can be unclear or confusing—in fact, many courts have had to revise their initial orders.

Deadlines Postponed Due to an Emergency?

Courts sometimes postpone deadlines—such as when a court pleading is due—and statutes of limitations in response to emergency situations that significantly impact the court's ability to adjudicate legal actions. There is no national standard or rule about when courts will act in response to an emergency; instead, it is up to individual courts and states to decide whether to and how to modify any rules.

During the COVID-19 outbreak, for example, many courts and states made concessions when it came to court deadlines and statutes of limitations. In some areas, just court deadlines were extended; in others, statutes of limitations might have been tolled as well.

In case of another emergency, it's important to understand the difference between court deadlines and statutes of limitations. Never assume that just because a court has extended one of these that the other has been extended.

Court Deadlines vs. Statutes of Limitations

While reviewing orders, keep in mind these basic descriptions, and make sure you understand which is affected by an emergency order:

Court Deadlines

These rules establish the timelines for managing court matters. Nearly every court has its own specific procedural rules—you can usually access these on the court's website or get a copy from the court clerk. State and federal laws also establish procedural deadlines for the courts, for example, how long a party has to answer a complaint and how quickly a case must be scheduled for a hearing or trial after the initial papers are filed.

These deadlines are typically expressed in terms of days or months. Generally speaking, deadlines for filing appeals are not considered court deadlines—rather, they are considered statutory deadlines (statutes of limitations).

Statutes of Limitations

When you suffer harm, a legal clock begins ticking, counting off the time you must file a lawsuit. This hypothetical legal clock has an alarm set to go off when the statute of limitations expires or when the law determines a case or claim can no longer be filed.

Most statutes of limitations govern civil claims, but some relate to criminal matters: For example, misdemeanors might be prosecuted for only two years after the crime is committed, while other crimes, such as murder, might not have a deadline for prosecution.

Often, statutes of limitations allow litigants years to pursue their claims. For example, it wouldn't be unusual for a state to have six-year limit on a contract dispute, or a two-year limit on liability arising from a car accident.

Because statutes of limitations are created by statewide legislation, individual courts usually do not have the power to extend statutes of limitations. Instead, it's up to the state government to take this action.

How to Find Out If Deadlines and Statutes of Limitations Are Extended

When there is a local or nationwide emergency, your best source of information as to whether any deadlines or statutes of limitations have been extended is the court itself. As we learned during the pandemic, many governors' offices also issued alerts and emergency orders as well, so it's a good idea to check their websites, too.

Federal Courts

If your case is in federal court, you can find links to the applicable court on the U.S. Courts website. During the coronavirus disaster, each court posted the latest directives, orders, and court status on its website.

State Courts

The status of court deadlines in state courts vary widely. In most instances, any extensions of deadlines statewide will be ordered by either the state's chief justice or the state's supreme court. You can find your local court's website using NCSC's state court website directory.

Statewide/Governors' Orders

Some governors have the power to order the tolling of deadlines and statutes of limitations. Visit your state's official website or your governor's official website to find out if they address these deadlines.

Other Options

If you are involved in a court case, or think you might be running out of time to file a claim for an injury you've suffered, consider contacting a local attorney to get immediate help. Missing a court deadline or letting the statute of limitations run without taking action can have disastrous effects—such as losing the right to present certain evidence in court or even losing the right to pursue your claim at all.

Your state bar association might also be monitoring the situation. You can find the link to your state bar association on Martindale's Bar Associations website. If the emergency situation you're experiencing is a local one, your state bar association might be able to direct you to a local bar association that is tracking developments in your area.

Did Courts Extend Deadlines During the Coronavirus Pandemic?

Many courts extended filing deadlines during the coronavirus pandemic. Understanding what courts did during that disaster might help you anticipate what a court might do in a future emergency.

Coronavirus-related emergency orders during the pandemic mentioned the status of statutes of limitations, but how they addressed the issue ran the gamut of possibilities. As an illustration, state governments, state courts, and federal courts have specifically ordered that:

• No statutes of limitations were tolled. (Examples: S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia; Idaho state courts.)
• All statutes of limitations that were set to expire during a designated timeframe were tolled. (Examples: The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia extended statutes of limitation that were set to expire between March 23 and May 1, 2020, until May 4, 2020, but deadlines not set to expire within this timeframe weren't extended; the Supreme Court of Tennessee extended statutes of limitation set to expire between March 13, 2020, and May 5, 2020, until May 6, 2020.)
• Only certain statutes of limitation (such as those relating to criminal matters or family court) were tolled. (Example: The Supreme Court of Oklahoma extended the statutes of limitations for civil cases until May 15, 2020.)
• All statutes of limitation were tolled. (Examples: The Iowa Supreme Court tolled all statutes of limitations from March 17, 2020 (the date of the order) to May 4; New York state, by governor's order, tolled all statutes of limitations indefinitely.

Of course, each disaster is unique, and although the past might suggest what would happen in the future, the current political environment and the nature of the situation might dictate different outcomes. If we learned anything during the coronavirus pandemic, it was that the rules and recommendations changed daily, and it was necessary to find out the absolute latest information before taking (or failing to take) any legal action.