Evictions Are Once Again on the Docket

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Supreme Court of Texas had issued its Fourth Emergency Order Regarding the COVID-19 State of Disaster, establishing a moratorium on any action for eviction to recover possession of residential property until April 19, 2020. The expiration date for this moratorium was subsequently extended by the Twelfth Emergency Order Regarding the COVID-19 State of Diasater to May 18, 2020. These orders allowed new filings to be submitted during the moratorium but halted the posting of any statutory notice of a writ of possession as well as any service of citation until May 25, 2020.

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In addition to the Texas moratorium, renters had the further protection provided by the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, enacted by Congress on March 27, 2020. The CARES Act, and specifically Section 4024(b), prohibited landlords of certain “covered dwellings” from instituting eviction actions or charging fees or penalties for the nonpayment of rent. The protections afforded by the CARES Act extend 120 days from its date of enactment. During this 120-day period, landlords also are enjoined from issuing any notices to vacate. Under the statute, landlords are also required to provide tenants with 30 days during which to vacate the premises. However, the protections afforded by the CARES Act are only applicable to covered property. Section 4024(a)(2) defines “covered property” as any property that participates in a federal assistance program, such as public housing, Section-8 Project-Based Rental Assistance, and the Low Housing Income Tax Credit (LHITC) program or that is secured by a federally backed mortgage loan or federally backed multifamily mortgage loan, such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, or that is insured by the Federal Housing Administration or the Department of Veterans Affairs. Of course, the difficulty involved with the CARES Act as it relates to renters involves whether the property which they are renting is a covered property under the Act. Unfortunately, renters might have no reason to know this as the property is owned by another party, and it might be difficult to determine or discover whether the property is covered. To aid in this regard, ProPublica, an independent, nonprofit newsroom, has published an interactive database to help renters find out if the federal moratorium would apply to them.

For those Texas renters whose property is not a covered one as defined in the CARES Act, eviction, unfortunately, could become a sad reality. With the Texas moratorium expiring on May 18, landlords are now free to move forward with eviction proceedings, including the issuance of service of process and the posting of writs of possession. Note that the onus is not necessarily on the tenant to determine whether the dwelling is a covered one under the CARES Act. Pursuant to the Fifteenth Emergency Order Regarding the COVID-19 State of Disaster, landlords are required to state in any sworn petitions or separate affidavit filed between March 27, 2020 and July 25, 2020, that “the premises are not subject to the moratorium on evictions imposed by Section 4024 of the CARES Act.” A sample of an affidavit containing the required language can be found on the website of the Harris County Justice Courts. Interested parties are directed to consult the websites of the individual justice courts for more information about filing and court proceedings.

For those tenants who require some assistance, there are some options available. There are some legal aid organizations in Harris County and the Houston area that might be able to help, most notably, Houston Volunteer Lawyers and Lone Star Legal Aid. Others around Texas include: Legal Aid of Northwest Texas, Texas Legal Services Center, and Texas RioGrande Legal Aid. There is also some useful information on TexasLawHelp.org concerning eviction and other landlord issues, including a page discussing Evictions During the COVID-19 Pandemic. See also a post written by the blog team here at the Harris County Law Library about some useful landlord/tenant resources.

From Rickrolling to Zoombombing

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In 2008, the interactive video game company, Take Two, announced the release of Grand Theft Auto IV, a highly anticipated event in the world of gaming. The trailer, leaked prior to its release, generated so much online traffic that it broke the Internet. Many eager fans were unable to stream or download the promotional video, and as result, one of the most popular memes of all time was born. A prankster on the popular video game chat board, 4chan, tricked unwitting suspects by hyperlinking the supposed trailer for Grand Theft Auto IV to the YouTube video of Rick Astley’s 1987 hit song, “Never Gonna Give You Up.” Rickrolling, as it came to be known, was born.

Internet lore says that Rickrolling wasn’t an original idea. Like most creative endeavors, it evolved from an earlier prank called duckrolling. The concept was less viral for obvious reasons – instead of Rick Astley’s trademark moves and upbeat earworm, the targeted parties were presented with an image of a duck on wheels accompanied by a more obscure musical selection, The Pickard Song by DarkMateria. The clear winner emerged.

A defining quality of the Internet meme is, of course, its transformation over time. Memes morph as people modify and share them and as technology advances. Today, with so many people working from home and connecting online, the potential for shenanigans is even greater. Videoconferencing platforms, and Zoom in particular, have been used for business meetings, social gatherings, medical visits, and therapy groups. With so many people accessing this popular platform every hour, users are sitting ducks for those with bad intentions. Enter Zoombombing, the practice of invading a public or private meeting over the Zoom platform to broadcast offensive or disruptive content. Whereas Rickrolling was (mostly) harmless and fun, Zoombombing is anything but. In fact, it’s now become a criminal act to intrude on public or private meetings. Federal prosecutors and the FBI are warning would-be hackers that the legal implications of Zoombombing are real.  

We’ve assembled a few good resources about Zoombombing, focused specifically on recent developments in the law. We also link to two articles with tips for protecting your meetings from uninvited guests to lessen your own chances of being Zoombombed. If you are the victim of a teleconferencing attack, report the incident to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center. Stay safe!

Links

Zoombombing and the Law (Reason)

Federal, State, and Local Law Enforcement Warn Against Teleconferencing Hacking During Coronavirus Pandemic (United States Department of Justice)

Who’s Zoomin Who? (National Law Review)

Protect Yourself

How to stop trolls from taking over your Zoom call (The Verge)

Security tips every teacher and professor needs to know about Zoom, right now (ArsTechnica)

Coronavirus Scams: Fraud in the Time of a Pandemic

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Sadly, but not surprisingly, even with the state of emergency and health crisis affecting the United States and the entire world, scammers throughout the world are not pausing in their work of taking advantage of unsuspecting and vulnerable people. For the period of January 1, 2020 to May 12, 2020, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the U.S. governmental agency tasked with protecting consumers from unfair and deceptive business practices, received 42,151 COVID-19-related complaints, resulting in a total fraud loss of $29.93M. (Those figures are more than double what they were for the period ending April 12, 2020). Additionally, eConsumer.gov, an initiative of the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network, received 980 overall of coronavirus-related fraud reports during the same period.

Coronavirus scams run the gamut from fake treatments and fake testing sites to undelivered goods, such as cleaning, medical, and household supplies, to fake charities. The FTC and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have been working together to put a stop to coronavirus treatment scams. These scams usually relate to unapproved and misbranded products that claim to treat or prevent the coronavirus. Products include teas, essential oils, and colloidal silver. The claims of these products have not been backed by any evidence. Moreover, the FDA has stated that there are no currently approved drugs or vaccines to treat or prevent the coronavirus. The FTC has also warned consumers to be suspicious of ads for test kits. So far, there is only one home diagnostic test kit that has been approved by the FDA, but the authorization is limited only to testing at Rutgers Clinical Genomics Laboratory. Similarly, the FTC is cautioning consumers that not every testing site is legitimate. It recommends consulting with a doctor first or getting a referral, if possible. If there is any question as to a site’s legitimacy, the FTC suggests contacting local law enforcement.

Another coronavirus-related scam that the FTC has been watching relates to the economic impact payments, or so-called stimulus payments, issued by the federal government. The FTC is reminding consumers to avoid providing anyone with their personal information and stressing that nothing needs to be done to receive your payment (so long as you filed taxes for 2018 and/or 2019).

Consumers who have knowledge of or suspect that they have been a victim of a coronavirus scam can report it by filing a complaint with the FTC using its online reporting system. Consumers in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas can also contact the FTC’s Southwest Region Field Office in Dallas at 877-FTC-HELP or by mail to the address posted on its website.

In addition to the FTC, consumers who have been defrauded can file a report with the National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or complete the NCDF Disaster Complaint Form, available through the website of the United States Department of Justice. Texas residents can also report disaster scams to the Attorney General of Texas using the web form found on the Consumer Protection page or by calling 1-800-621-0508.

Scams will always exist and scammers will continue to seek susceptible prey. Learn to protect yourself from scammers by following these tips from the FTC:

  • Ignore offers for home vaccinations and test kits;

  • Hang up on robocalls;

  • Watch out for phishing emails and text messages;

  • Research before you donate; and

  • Stay in the know.

Remember that the best way to defeat scammers is to arm yourself with a little knowledge. Remember, it’s just like the NBCUniversal’s public service initiative states: “The More You Know.”

Where There’s a Will, There’s a Wayback Machine: Ransomware Hits the TEXas Judiciary online

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If your bookmark for the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure on the Texas Courts Website no longer links you to the source you are seeking but instead gives you a 404 error, or if you’re searching for your favorite Research Guide on the Texas State Law Library website but the page is timing out, you may wonder why. On May 8, the Office of Court Administration, the IT service provider for the appellate courts and state judicial agencies within the Texas Judicial Branch, identified a serious security issue, which was later determined to be a ransomware attack. OCA was able to shut down the branch network, including websites and servers, to prevent further harm.

While the server problems are being addressed, a temporary website is providing access to coronavirus information including emergency orders, court guidance, and electronic hearing procedures. The latest Court news and other updates, including the statement released by the OCA, are also available on the temporary page, along with the @txcourts Twitter feed. The OCA took care to address concerns about essential services such as eFile Texas and reSearchTX, which, they explain, are cloud-based services unaffected by the ransomware attack. The courts and judicial branch agencies are continuing operations and ensuring that the filing of court documents will continue without interruption. If you need to access the resources on the original version of the website, follow the steps below.

Access the original Texas Judicial Branch website as it was captured by the Wayback Machine on April 10, 2020.

Access the original Texas Judicial Branch website as it was captured by the Wayback Machine on April 10, 2020.

Here’s the Hack

  • Go to the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine website.

  • Type this URL into the search box: TXCOURTS.GOV

  • The page has been captured hundreds of times since 2012, and as most recently as April 10, 2020. Choose that date on the calendar.

  • Select one of the timestamp options, and you will link to the original Texas Courts homepage where most, if not all, of the webpages — including the PDFs they link to — are available.

Access, for example, the Texas Rules of Evidence. Download any number of forms, including Orders of Nondisclosure. As long as you access the site via the Wayback Machine, you will be able to view all captured pages. (What is the Wayback Machine? Learn more here.)

Hopefully, the Texas Judiciary and our good friends at the Texas State Law Library will be back up and running smoothly again soon! If you’re missing the State Law Library’s chat reference feature, try the link at Harris County Law Library, where we’ve partnered with the TSLL to provide real-time chat services. Your reliable State Law Library reference staff is available and continuing to provide services. We wish the OCA much luck in the investigation, remediation, and recovery of IT services for the Judiciary and the Texas State Law Library.