Many courts across the country are essentially closed to class action litigants during this pandemic. The court closures result in a stalemate of critical disputed motions and perpetual uncertainty, but continued legal bills for the parties and carriers.

Some courts are commenting on the magnitude of the health crisis and its
impact on litigation, and encouraging litigants, particularly in complex
litigation, to turn to alternative dispute resolution as a valuable
resource.[1] Other courts, however, are all or partially dark, removing any
chance of an impetus from the court to get settlement talks going. This
circumstance may present a window for class action litigants to raise
mediation as an option where they otherwise would be concerned about the signal it was sending to the other side. Continue Reading