Hurricane Ida devastated Louisiana. Three days later, power and internet remain down for the vast majority of southeastern Louisiana.
Thank you to all of the clients and colleagues who have reached out over the past few days.
Today, Chief Administrative Law Judge Stephen Henley issued an Administrative Order that postpones and tolls pending deadlines. Specifically, the order states:
All proceedings before the Office of Administrative Law Judges (“OALJ”), including formal hearings, oral arguments, mediations, and pre-hearing conferences, scheduled to take place in or within 150 miles of New Orleans, Louisiana–or involving any party, attorney, or law firm located in or within 150 miles of New Orleans, Louisiana–are POSTPONED until further notice. All associated hearing-related deadlines, such as pre-hearing exchanges, discovery deadlines, post-hearing briefs and similar matters, are TOLLED until subsequent order.
I am thankful for the order. I am relying on generator power and a hotspot to provide this update. As of now, there is no way to participate in a video hearing.
Hopefully, these issues will resolve sooner than anticipated. Local utility providers have not provided long-term time estimates.
How will Hurricane Ida affect you as a DBA litigant even if you are not in Louisiana? Well, you might be surprised. New Orleans is a hub for Longshore and Defense Base Act claims. Many law firms, including Strongpoint Law Firm, operate out of the Greater New Orleans area. Practitioners on both sides of the aisle call New Orleans home. Accordingly, there will be delays in litigating claims–no matter if the claimant lives in the United States or elsewhere. And, of course, we can’t have trials without courts. One of OALJ’s district offices is in Covington, Louisiana, on the north side of Lake Pontchartrain, right across from New Orleans. That office handles cases throughout the country. Upon information and belief, that office presently lacks power too.
Don’t worry. This will all sort itself out. Houston dealt with this issue after Hurricane Harvey. The OALJ and the Longshore/DBA community worked together. I anticipate the same will happen now.
I’ll provide more updates soon.
September 6, 2021:
Hurricane Ida’s remnants ravaged the Northeast with tornadoes and floods. In response, Judge Henley extended the Administrative Order to Philadelphia and New York. The new Administrative Order states:
All proceedings before the Office of Administrative Law Judges (“OALJ”), including formal hearings, oral arguments, mediations, and pre-hearing conferences, scheduled to take place in or within 150 miles of New Orleans, Louisiana, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania or New York City, New York–or involving any party, attorney, or law firm located in or within 150 miles of these locations–are POSTPONED until further notice. All associated hearing-related deadlines, such as pre-hearing exchanges, discovery deadlines, post-hearing briefs and similar matters, are TOLLED until subsequent order.
Again, this is right move. And it is appreciated.
As for Louisiana, there are still some locations that lack electricity and online access. Some people are just now returning, having waited for electricity to return before returning home. As anyone could imagine, there is a lot to do.
Postal services have not yet returned to our area. The most recent USPS update reads: “Retail and delivery operations remain suspended in 700, 701, 703, and 704 3-digit ZIP Code areas until further notice.”
I’ll provide additional updates in the future.