Budget Cuts For The Superior Court Will Force San Francisco Employment Attorneys To Consider Alternative Venues

On July 18, 2011 the Superior Court of San Francisco issued a press release with the following warning:

Two hundred San Francisco Superior Court employees will receive their 60-day layoff notices this week as the Court prepares for an unprecedented dismantling of court operations with far-reaching public impacts, Presiding Judge Feinstein announced today. “The civil justice system in San Francisco is collapsing,” Judge Feinstein said. “We will prioritize criminal, juvenile, and other matters that must, by law, be adjudicated within time limits. Beyond that, justice will neither be swift nor accessible.”

The court warned of dire consequences for civil litigants:

• Paying a traffic ticket or a criminal fine at the Hall of Justice could take hours of standing in line as fewer windows will be open due to staff cuts in the Traffic Division (Room 145) and the Criminal Clerk’s Office (Room 101)
• Obtaining criminal and civil records will take months.
• Only cases of unlawful detainer (eviction), those facing dismissal due to the passage of nearly five years and civil cases with statutory preference will proceed to trial. The rest will face extraordinarily long delays.
• Obtaining a divorce will take at least 1-1/2 years.
• Self-help services for litigants without attorneys will be severely reduced, which will further add to delays in civil and family law cases.
• Reduced hours in all clerks’ offices.

In response to the San Francisco Superior Court’s warnings regarding extraordinary delays for court services, the attorneys at Advantage Law Group are considering a variety of measures to help our San Francisco/Bay Area clients obtain expeditious results in employment matters. Those measures may include adding Federal employment claims to our clients’ lawsuits under Title VII, the Americans With Disabilities Act or other federal statutes. Cases that raise Federal questions may be filed in Federal Court.  Those claims, if filed in Federal Court, will not be impacted by the state of California’s budget issues. In addition, we will consider recommending that our San Francisco clients participate in voluntary alternative dispute resolution/mediation prior to filing any lawsuit. In all venues we have uniformly contested employer arbitration agreements.  However, if the alternative to arbitration is indefinite delay in San Francisco Superior Court, participation in an employer mandated arbitration may be the better option.

In sum, the recent news is not good for civil litigants filing employment claims in the county of San Francisco. However, there are alternative measures that can be taken to help a San Francisco employment plaintiff navigate reduction in court services that are certain to cause inevitable and lengthy delays in San Francisco Superior Court. If you are considering filing a claim against your employer and the proper venue for your employment claim is the county of San Francisco, you should immediately consult with an attorney to help determine the best and most appropriate venue for your claim. To aid you in that regard, we offer a free consultation in our San Francisco office.

You Might Also Like