Dane County Suspends Evictions (Cases) for a Month!

Order came out today saying that Dane County Small Claims Court cases are suspended for a month.

UPDATE 3/18/20

Federal

• Trump says Department Housing and Urban Development to suspend foreclosures and evictions through April – Associated Press (3/18)
• US suspends all foreclosures, evictions til May; Trump invokes act to marshal the private sector in response to pandemic – Associated Press (3/18)

FHA Suspends Foreclosures and Evictions Amid COVID-19 National Emergency

Today, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) published Mortgagee Letter 2020-04, “Foreclosure and Eviction Moratorium in Connection with the Presidentially-Declared COVID-19 National Emergency,” which announces an immediate foreclosure and eviction moratorium for all FHA-insured single family mortgages for a 60-day period. Read today’sPress Release from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on the subject.

The Secretary of HUD authorized these moratoriums as a result of the national emergency declared by the President of the United States. They are part of a broader federal government effort to address impacts to the financial well-being of individuals, families, and businesses, and to ensure families are not displaced during this critical period.

Updates to Single Family’s COVID-19 Q&A Available: FHA has developed and is maintaining a Q&A document to provide stakeholders with the latest information about FHA’s response to the Presidentially-declared COVID-19 national emergency. An updated version of the FHA Single Family COVID-19 Q&A is now posted.

• • View Mortgagee Letter 2020-04
  • Access the HUD Press Room
  • View FHA COVID-19 Q&A

Please direct all COVID-19 housing counseling questions to: housing.counseling@hud.govor to your housing counseling agency’s HUD Point Of Contact (POC).

Additional County rules

• Eviction executions suspended in Dane County during coronavirus threat – State Journal (3/17/20)

This means that now they also suspended and eviction orders that have been ordered by the court, but not yet carried out by the sheriff.  So people who lost an eviction case or didn’t show up – but haven’t been evicted by the sheriff yet can stay til the emergency is over.

ORIGINAL POST

Other municipalities across the country have been declaring eviction moratoriums due to the coronavirus.  In Wisconsin the State legislature took away that option for cities and counties to do that.  But, they can’t prevent the courts from shutting down entirely.

Here’s the order.

NOTE:  I called the court to confirm and the lady who answered the phone sounded VERY stressed.  It sounded like she was reading from something.  She said yes, the cases are all being rescheduled and people should look for something in the mail about when their court date will be.  The Tuesday cases have been cancelled.

THIS DOES NOT MEAN DON’T PAY YOUR RENT!!!

And here’s a few things to keep in mind.  A few words for you to consider, take or leave!  And, as always, this is not legal advice, always check with an attorney if possible!

1. This only applies to Dane County cases.
2. If you have a court date tomorrow (Friday the 13th of March), you still have to show up!
3. If the case has already been heard and the landlord has a writ (court order to evict), the sheriff can still evict you (execute that order.)  This only applies to cases that have not yet been heard.
4. If you recently got any kind of eviction notice, now is a good time to negotiate with your landlord!  They can’t evict you for a month – or more.  So, ask about a payment plan.  Or ask about moving out in exchange for dropping the rent owed.  Or, ask for what you want or need.  The worst that can happen is they will say no.  If you do come up with any agreement, get it in writing!  Better yet have both parties sign and date it.  Even if its written on a napkin or an old receipt laying on your car floor, that’s good enough as long as it can be read.
5. Don’t stop paying your rent – pay what you can!  Working with tenants for 27 years one thing I have learned is that once you get behind its so very hard to catch up.  Pay what you can.  You don’t want to get evicted in May!

And of course, if you have questions, call the Tenant Resource Center at 608-257-0006 and hopefully they can answer your questions.  If you’re low income, check to see if you can get Legal Action of Wisconsin to represent you.

[Note:  I no longer work at the Tenant Resource Center and don’t help people with individual cases.  Please call the people who get paid to do this work if you have questions.]

MAIN COURT ORDER

The Dane County Circuit Court is issuing the attached guidelines to provide procedures and directions for proceedings and essential functions in the Court during the next several weeks. These Guidelines are Emergency and  Temporary  Measures  ONLY  effective  from  March 16, 2020 until April 17, 2020, or upon further Order of the Court. The Dane  County  courthouse  remains  open and any change  in status  will  be noticed on the Dane County Circuit Court  website  at  https://courts.countyofdane.com  and  the  Wisconsin  Court  system  website, www.wicourts.gov

The World Health Organization declared a global pandemic of COVID-19 due to widespread human infection worldwide. We are monitoring this situation and are committed to open access to our courts and service to the public, and to protect the health and safety of the litigants, judges, court staff and security, attorneys, jurors, other participants in  court proceedings, and all other persons in the court facilities.

These guidelines are in place to ensure the continuous performance of the  court’s essential functions and operations and yet seek to mitigate the risk that our employees, lawyers, litigants, and jurors will be exposed. The guidelines incorporate use of videoconferencing and teleconferencing to minimize contact, when appropriate; follow social distancing practices; and temporarily suspend some non-essential court functions.

Cases will proceed as currently scheduled unless otherwise notified by the Court.

For more information on any specific case, please call the Branch office to which the case is assigned. A link to the Branch offices can be found at https://courts.countyofdane.com/Judges For information related to jury service please call the juror clerk. The contact information can be found at https://courts.countyofdane.com/juror

SMALL CLAIMS SPECIFIC ORDERS

PROCEEDINGS FOR CIVIL, SMALL CLAIMS AND FAMILY CASES

1. All contested matters requiring in-person appearances including jury trials, civil court trials, small claims, contested custody and placement hearings, and any hearing where evidence will be taken by other than telephonic means (including all de novo hearings) are suspended. Clerks in individual branches will schedule these proceedings as the Court’s calendar permits. Contact the individual branch for direction if parties wish to have evidentiary hearings by phone.
2. Any hearing that can be done by phone will proceed as scheduled, including but not limited to stipulated divorces, name changes, scheduling conferences, status conferences, motion hearings. Some branches will allow name  changes  and stipulated divorces to be done in-person; check with the branch for their individual policies. For those branches that intend to do name changes and stipulated divorces  by phone:
   1. Name changes: Notices of publication should be on file at or before the hearing is scheduled.
   2. Stipulated divorces: Stipulated divorces can be done telephonically if current financial disclosure statements and marital settlement agreements are filed at least twenty-four (24) hours in advance of the hearing date and time. In the case of an absent spouse, please contact the branch for
3. These are guidelines only; if any party or attorney has questions regarding scheduling with a particular Court, they should contact that branch directly for guidance.
4. Contact Family Court Services at (608) 266-4607 for information regarding rescheduling appointments. Parent Education sessions are canceled, effectively immediately, until April 30, 2020.