On March 9, 2020, Executive Order 202.6 mandated non-essential businesses to reduce their in-person workforce by 50% and later, by 100%. Today, the Empire State Development (ESD) issued guidance on Executive Order 202.6 to further determine which businesses are considered essential.

What does the ESD Guidance mean for real estate professionals?

Through Executive Order 202.14 and effective from April 7, 2020 to May 7, 2020, the act of witnessing as required in signing a will, healthcare proxy, disposition of remains, recording of instruments regarding real property, power of attorney and living trusts may now be done through audio-video technology.

To do so, the following requirements must be satisfied:

• The person requesting that their signature be witnessed, if not personally known to the witness(es), must present valid photo ID to the witness(es) during the video conference, not merely transmit it prior to or after;
• The video conference must allow for direct interaction between the person and the witness(es), and the supervising attorney, if applicable (e.g. no pre-recorded videos of the person signing);
• The witnesses must receive a legible copy of the signature page(s), which may be transmitted via fax or electronic means, on the same date that the pages are signed by the person;
• The witness(es) may sign the transmitted copy of the signature page(s) and transmit the same back to the person; and
• The witness(es) may repeat the witnessing of the original signature page(s) as of the date of execution provided the witness(es) receive such original signature pages together with the electronically witnessed copies within thirty days after the date of execution.

Similarly, video notarization has been permitted since March 19, 2020 through Executive Order 202.7, which we blogged about HERE.

This is one major step closer to remote real estate closings and estate planning.

Now, the NYS legislature needs to make this permanent and not let Coronavirus innovation be a wasted opportunity.

By Executive Order 202.14, Governor Cuomo has permitted the use of this form for "any parent, a legal guardian, a legal custodian, or primary caretaker who works or volunteers in a health care facility or who reasonably believes that they may otherwise be exposed to COVID-19... [to] designate a standby guardian" for their children:

By Executive Order 202.14, Governor Cuomo enacted new penalties for violating Coronavirus Executive Orders, in addition to what we discussed in our blogs - Penalties for Keeping Your Real Estate Opened in Coronavirus Expanded and What Happens When You Ignore the Essential Services Executive Order. 

The new penalty order states as follows:

The enforcement of any violation of the foregoing directives on and after April 7, 2020, in addition to any other enforcement mechanism stated in any prior executive orders, shall be a violation punishable as a violation of public health law section 12-b(2) and the Commissioner of Health is directed and authorized to issue emergency regulations. The fine for such violation by an individual who is participating in any gathering which violates the terms of the orders or is failing to abide by social distancing restrictions in effect in any place which is not their home shall not exceed $1,000.

You've been warned. 

New York State courts are reopening.

On April 7, 2020 Judge Marks issued a memorandum to all trial court justices and judges outlining his plan for reopening the trial courts to non-essential matters beginning on Monday April 13, 2020. A full copy of the memorandum can be found HERE.

Judge Marks' April 7, 2020 memorandum states:

Going forward, the existing prohibition on the filing of new non-essential matters will continue. However, although our planning is ongoing, starting next Monday, April 13, we will take certain preliminary steps to open up access - remote access - to the courts for non-essential pending cases. This means that judges should review their case inventories to identify cases in which court conferences can be helpful in advancing the progress of the case, including achieving a resolution of the case. Judges can also schedule conferences at the request of the attorneys, and can be available during normal court hours to address discovery disputes and other ad hoc concerns. The conferences will need to be conducted remotely, by Skype or by telephone. Judges' personal staff will be able to assist judges remotely, as needed.

New York State courts have been closed to non-essential matters since March 22, 2020 when Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence K. Marks issued Administrative Order 78/20, which we blogged about HERE.


What will change on Monday, April 13?
Immediately, it appears that the courts are finding success in their remote operations for essential matters are looking to expand those capabilities to non-essential matters which make up the bulk of the caseload in the trial courts. Not only does the memorandum permit judges to conduct remote conferences on cases that are already pending before them, it encourages them to do so. Judges can schedule conferences and parties can request them as well.

The memorandum advises judges to examine their calendars, prioritize cases that will benefit from conferences, decide pending motions to clear backlogs, and to reduce their dockets while there are no new filings.

The big takeaway is that judges' chambers will be staffed and operational - conducting conferences and resolving motions to help clear their dockets. Your pending lawsuits are no longer frozen and progress will be made.


What don't we know?
There are some key limitations in this memorandum that cannot be overlooked:

Going forward, the existing prohibition on the filing of new non-essential matters will continue.