Readers will remember our coverage of the November trial in Eastern District of Texas, Sherman Division, which ended in a mistrial after jurors, court staff, and lawyers on both sides contracted COVID-19. The trial judge, Amos Mazzant, had wanted to push forward, but the number of jurors eventually grew too small.

On December 4, Judge Mazzant had a 6-minute teleconference to reschedule the trial. The plaintiffs were eager to proceed and suggested a March trial date. Defendant’s counsel had a conflict with the March date, however, so Judge Mazzant set the trial for January 25.

The virus apparently has other ideas. According to Law360, Grayson County, Texas, where the court is located, reported 46 new cases on Saturday, with 432 active cases in the county of 136,000. Hospitals are at 92% occupancy with intensive care units at 100% occupancy. And so yesterday, in a one-sentence order without explanation, Judge Mazzant cancelled the January 25 trial, to be rescheduled “on a date determined by the Court.”

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