Civil actions: parties and postponements.

(1) Existing law authorizes, until July 1, 2023, a party to appear remotely and a court to conduct conferences, hearings, proceedings, and trials in civil cases, in whole or in part, through the use of remote technology. This bill would extend the sunset provision to January 1, 2026. The bill would also authorize, until January 1, 2026, a court to conduct an adoption finalization hearing, in whole or in part, through the use of remote technology, without the court making specific findings and would prohibit a court from requiring a party to appear through the use of remote technology. The bill would require each superior court to report to the Judicial Council on or before October 1, 2023, and annually thereafter, and for the Judicial Council to report to the Legislature on or before December 31, 2023, and annually thereafter, to assess the impact of technology issues or problems affecting civil remote proceedings and purchases and leases of technology and equipment to facilitate civil remote conferences, hearings, or proceedings. (2) The bill would prohibit utilizing remote technology to conduct testimony, conferences, hearings, and proceedings, in whole or in part, in specified cases. This prohibition would remain in effect until January 1, 2024. (3) Existing law provides that, during the COVID-19 state of emergency proclaimed by the Governor and for 180 days after the end of the state of emergency, unless otherwise ordered by a court or agreed to by the parties, a continuance or postponement of a trial or arbitration date extends any deadlines applicable to discovery, including the exchange of expert witness information, mandatory settlement conferences, and summary judgment motions, which have not already passed as of March 19, 2020, for the same length of time as the continuance or postponement of the trial date. This bill would eliminate the sunset provision, thereby allowing these provisions to continue indefinitely.