Vt. Memo to the Bar, July 24, 2020

SUPREME COURT OF VERMONT

OFFICE OF THE COURT ADMINISTRATOR

PATRICIA GABEL, ESQ. Mailing Address

State Court Administrator Office of the Court Administrator

patricia.gabel@vermont.gov 109 State Street

Montpelier, VT 05609-0701

Telephone (802) 828-3278

FAX: 802 828-3457

www.vermontjudiciary.org

TO: Members of the Vermont Bar

FROM: Patricia Gabel, Esq., State Court Administrator

RE: Thirteenth Amendment to Administrative Order No. 49 – Declaration of Judicial

Emergency and Changes to Court Procedures & Miscellaneous Information

DATE: July 24, 2020

For your information, please find:

• AO 49 Amendment - Declaration of Judicial Emergency and Changes to Court Procedures 7-23-20

• Appendix A

• Appendix B

• Odyssey Electronic Filing & Other Important Info

• Updated Court Forms

• Obligations Under A.O. 41

• eCabinet Registration

I. PROMULGATED RULE AMENDMENT

AO 49 Amendment - Declaration of Judicial Emergency and Changes to Court Procedures 7-23-20

Appendix A

Appendix B

This Order was promulgated on July 23, 2020, effective immediately.

This order further amends A.O. 49, which declared a Judicial Emergency on March 16, 2020, in

response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The July 23 amendments add ¶¶ 21 and 22 to establish special pleading requirements for eviction

and foreclosure proceedings potentially affected by the federal CARES Act, Pub. L. No. 116-136.

That Act provides specific requirements for evictions for nonpayment from, and foreclosures of,

properties financed by federally backed loans or participating in certain federal housing programs.

Paragraph 21 requires that in any eviction action of a tenant in residential housing commenced on

or after March 27, 2020, the effective date of the CARES Act, the plaintiff must attach to the

complaint a certificate that either the Act does not apply to the leased property or that the plaintiff has

complied with the applicable provisions of the Act, specifically § 4024, codified at 15 U.S.C. § 9058.

A form for the plaintiff’s certification is attached as Appendix A and certifications must be in

substantially this form.

Similar provisions of ¶ 22 provide, for actions for residential foreclosure filed between March 27,

2020, and December 31, 2020, that the plaintiff must certify compliance with applicable provisions of

the CARES Act that require the lender to grant up to 360 days of forbearance on request of the

borrower and of federal regulations that require the lender to advise the borrower of this right.

Paragraph 22(c) requires the plaintiff’s certification to be in substantially the form as Appendix B.

The form requires that, subject to perjury or other sanctions, the lender either state that the CARES

Act does not apply because the subject mortgage does not secure a federally backed loan, or that if it

does, the lender has advised the borrower of the opportunity to request forbearance and that the

borrower has either not responded to or declined the offer.

Both ¶ 21 and ¶ 22 have a similar justification. In both eviction and foreclosure proceedings, the

court must be informed as to whether the CARES Act applies. The information necessary to make

that determination is not readily accessible to the individual tenant or homeowner. Plaintiff landlords

and lenders have both the need for this information in their operations and the capacity to acquire and

present it with relatively little effort.

The July 23 amendment also clarifies that victims of crimes and victim advocates are among the

individuals allowed to enter courthouses for the purpose of attending hearings in the relevant cases.

The July 23 amendment also modifies the MCLE requirements for continuing legal education for

the 2019-2021 reporting cycle to account for the ongoing limitations on in-person gatherings because

of the COVID pandemic.

More information regarding COVID-19 and court operations can be found at

https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/news/information-regarding-coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19-

and-court-operations

II. MISCELLANEOUS

a. Odyssey Electronic Filing and Other Important Information

The Addison, Bennington, Chittenden and Rutland trial courts and Environmental Division will

begin using Odyssey starting September 1st, with electronic filing to commence on or about October

19th. Odyssey and electronic filing are already operational in the Orange, Windsor, and Windham

trial courts and the Judicial Bureau. Please use the following links to access Odyssey electronic filing

and portal systems and for more information.

• Odyssey File & Serve. Odyssey File & Serve (OFS) is the platform through which you will

electronically file with the courts. To access Odyssey File & Serve, please visit

https://vermont.tylerhost.net/ofsweb. This page contains user guides in the lower left-hand

corner. They include instructions on how to register and use OFS.

• For information about OFS processing fees and for docket specific user guides, please visit

https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/about-vermont-judiciary/electronic-access/electronic-filing.

• Odyssey Public Portal. The Odyssey Public Portal allows you to view your case files. To

access the portal, please visit https://publicportal.courts.vt.gov/Portal/. Before you can view

your case files, you must first register in the portal and then request elevated access. The

Public Portal User Guide contains instructions on how to register and request elevated

access. You can read the user guide via this link:

https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/sites/default/files/documents/VT%20Public%20Portal%2

0User%20Guide%20v8.pdf. For full information on how to use the portal, please visit

https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/about-vermont-judiciary/public-portal.

• FAQ. Please visit https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/odyssey for answers to frequently

asked questions and updates about the project.

b. Court Forms

Court forms are constantly being updated. Please refer to the judiciary website for the most up-to-date forms, https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/court-forms.

Please use the link below to report any form question, concern or issue

http://www.vermontjudiciary.org/website-feedback-form or you can access our Website Feedback

program at the bottom of each web page.

c. Obligation under A.O. 41

Attorneys are reminded that an “attorney must report to the State Court Administrator within thirty

days any change of the office mailing or electronic mail address” and that “[n]otice sent to a reported

address is sufficient even if not received by the attorney because of failure to report the proper address

or failure of delivery not caused by the court.” A.O. 41, § 4(c); see A.O. 44, § 1.

Please email those changes to JUD.AttyLicensing@vermont.gov. Your cooperation is very much

appreciated.

To ensure you continue to receive these emails, please add JUD.AttyLicensing@vermont.gov to

your Safe Senders list.

d. eCabinet Registration

Administrative Order No. 44 requires attorneys in active status to register up to three email

addresses in eCabinet for purposes of receiving notices of hearing and other documents. You may

include staff email addresses in the three email addresses that you specify. eCabinet registration is

required whether you practice in court or not.

If you have already registered in eCabinet, the email address(es) you provided as part of that

process will be used.

If you have not already registered in eCabinet, please go to https://efiling.eservices.crt.state.vt.us/,

click Register Now, and follow the simple prompts. Attorneys will need their attorney license

numbers to register. Helpful information about the Attorney Email Registration process is also

available on the Electronic Filing page of the judiciary website at

https://www.vermontjudiciary.org/about-vermont-judiciary/electronic-access/electronic-filing. Please

contact jud.helpdesk@vermont.gov or call the Helpdesk at 802-828-4357 with any questions in the

meantime.

You are also reminded that you are required to update the email address(es) and other contact

information you have registered as soon as there are any changes, including changes to staff email

addresses you may have included with your registration. To revise the information, please go to

https://efiling.eservices.crt.state.vt.us/, log into eCabinet, click “Account,” choose “My Profile,”

and make the necessary changes to your contact information.

Notification to JUD.AttyLicensing@vermont.gov or in eCabinet of a change to your contact

information does not automatically notify the other. It is your responsibility to notify both. If you are

a member of the Vermont Bar Association, you will also need to separately notify the VBA.