Justice Beasley Continues Trial Court Deadlines into June

By Daniel Adams and Kasi Robinson

On April 13, 2020, Chief Justice Beasley issued another order further extending certain District and Superior Court filing deadlines and limitations periods into June 2020.  Until this order was issued, these deadlines were set to expire this Friday, April 17, pursuant to Justice Beasley’s March 19 order. The key provisions of the latest order are below.

Extension of Time and Periods of Limitation

• All pleadings, motions, notices, and other documents and papers due to be filed in any county on or after March 16, 2020 and before the close of business June 1, 2020 in civil actions, criminal actions, estates, and special proceedings shall be deemed to be timely filed if filed before the close of business on June 1, 2020.
• All “other acts that were or are due to be done” in any county on or after March 16, 2020 and before the close of business on June 1, 2020 in civil actions, criminal actions, estates, and special proceedings will be timely if done before close of business on June 1, 2020.
• This order does not apply to filings or acts due in the N.C. Appellate Courts.
• As reiterated by Chief Business Court Judge Bledsoe’s April 14, 2020 Order, Chief Justice Beasley’s April 13, 2020 Order applies to all actions pending before the N.C. Business Court.

Extension of Time in Bail Bond Forfeiture Proceedings

• Notwithstanding the above, in proceedings for forfeiture of bail bonds (under Part 2 of Article 26 of Chapter 15A of the General Statutes) where disposition of entry by final judgment (under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-544.6) or by grant of a motion to set aside (under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-544.5(d)(4)) is due to occur on or after April 14, 2020 and before or on September 29, 2020, any motion to set aside or any objection to a motion to set aside will be deemed timely filed if filed before the close of business on September 30, 2020.
• Any such entry of final judgment or grant of motion to set aside due to occur on or after April 14, 2020 and before or on September 29, 2020 is stayed until after the close of business on September 30, 2020.

For your convenience, we have updated the summary chart of various filing deadlines and continuances currently in effect in North Carolina state and federal courts.

Court	Nature of Proceedings	Continued through	Authority
N.C. District Court, Superior Court & Business Court	All in-court proceedings (likely also mediations), with limited exceptions including proceedings implicating due process rights	June 1, 2020	Justice Beasley’s Apr. 2, 2020 Order Judge Bledsoe’s Apr. 14, 2020 Order
	Deadlines for trial court filings and periods of limitation	June 1, 2020	Justice Beasley’s April 13, 2020 Order Judge Bledsoe’s Apr. 14, 2020 Order
	Certain deadlines in proceedings for forfeiture of bail bonds	September 30, 2020
N.C. Court of Appeals	All appellate court filings due between March 27–April 30	Deadlines extended by 60 days	March 27, 2020 Supreme Court Order
	All filings of Consent to Appellate Mediation Form and Motion for 60-day Extension of Time due between March 27–April 30	Deadlines extended by 60 days	April 3, 2020 Memo  “Impact of COVID-19 on Appellate Mediation Rules and Procedures”
N.C. Supreme Court	All appellate court filings due between March 27 – April 30	Deadlines extended by 60 days	March 27, 2020 Supreme Court Order
W.D.N.C.	Criminal trials	June 1	April 1, 2020 Order
M.D.N.C.	Civil jury trials and criminal cases	May 4	Standing Order 13
E.D.N.C.	Civil jury trials and criminal cases	May 1	Standing Order 5
Fourth Circuit	In person oral arguments scheduled to be held May 5–8	Postponed until further notice	April 1, 2020 Announcement