Under its recently issued Standing Order 1-22 (link here), the Massachusetts Superior Court increased the number of hearing types that it will “presumptively” conduct by videoconference. The standing order applies to Massachusetts state trial courts, including the Massachusetts Business Litigation Session.
The Superior Court, according to Chief Justice Heidi Brieger, designated the types of hearings that it will presumptively hold by videoconference or in-person “consistent with constitutional, statutory, and other applicable rights, and in the interest of justice.”
The standing order provides that “[a] civil hearing designated as presumptively in person pursuant to this Standing Order may be held by videoconference in a judge’s discretion and for good cause.”
Here are the presumptive categories of videoconference hearings:
- initial case management conferences;
- discovery disputes, motions to compel, and motions for protective order;
- scheduling conferences;
- final pretrial conferences;
- motions to dismiss;
- motions to amend complaint;
- motions for default judgment/assessment of damages; and
- motions to set aside default.
And here are the presumptive categories of in-person hearings:
- injunction hearings, including ex parte motions for injunctions;
- hearings on equitable motions, including motions for attachment, trustee process, and reach and apply;
- proceedings involving credibility determinations;
- motions for summary judgment;
- Daubert-Lanigan hearings;
- final trial conferences, including motions in limine; and
- trials.
