Harris & Engler Resumes Business As Usual During COVID-19 Pandemic with Social Distancing Measures In Place

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected us all here in Central Ohio.  Our thoughts are with those who have lost their jobs or are unable to work and to those directly affected by this terrible virus.

Fortunately, the attorneys at Harris & Engler are set up to work at home or in the office.  While there remains a "stay at home" order from Gov. DeWine, the law firm of Harris & Engler is postponing in person meetings and consultations.  Currently the stay at home order is set to expire at midnight on Monday April 6.  In the meantime, the attorneys at Harris & Engler are happy to consult with you over the phone and can carry on all business and legal activities electronically.

How Will the Court Shutdowns Affect My Case?

Currently across Ohio each county and each court within that county have their own individual safety measures in place due to COVID-19.  In general all the courts have for the most part continued all civil, all domestic relations hearings, and all non-essential criminal hearings for a couple months.  Specifically, the courts in central Ohio, as of the date of this article, have ordered as follows:

Franklin County Municipal Court -

• All criminal, traffic, eviction, and small claims cases are continued until at least May 11, 2020. 
• Cases involving prisoners, objections to garnishment, and BMV hearings are still going to be heard as scheduled.

Franklin County Court of Common Pleas - 

• Domestic Relations cases continued until at least April 13
• Probate Court - filings are to be done via physical dropbox or electronically 
• General Division - cases are mostly continued through April 10, 2020.

Delaware County Municipal Court - 

• Jury Trials are suspended until after April 20
• All cases are continued until past April 20 for the most part unless the case involves an incarcerated individual or protection order

Delaware County Court of Common Pleas

• The Courthouse has limited public access, but case schedules are assessed and continued on a case-by-case basis.

Things are changing rapidly and court staff and judges are doing the best they can to protect the public and manage their large dockets.  So far in Ohio all the courts are still accepting court filings.  What this all means is that there will be some delays with having an actual hearing in your case.  However, 90% of a lawsuit is done through filings and the filings and ruling on those filings are going to be largely unaffected by the hearing continuances.  It is possible that written motions may even get ruled on quicker than usual because the court staff will not have as many in person hearings.  It is also anticipated that once the courts re-open then there will likely be a backlog of cases that may cause some delays.  If you have a question then please feel free to just call an attorney at Harris & Engler at (614) 610-9988.

Legal Questions for Central Ohio Attorneys

If you have a legal question, a question about how COVID-19 has affected the court system of your case, then please feel free to give an attorney at Harris & Engler a call.  The offices of Harris & Engler are located in Columbus, Ohio, and its attorneys help clients with cases across Central Ohio.