Members are encouraged to register early to watch this important hearing. Editor’s note: this article is available for members only.
4/29/2020 9:00
This Friday, May 1, at 10 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, Judge Richard Stearns of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts will hear arguments on ACA’s motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in ACA International v. Healey, the civil action filed by ACA to challenge the Massachusetts Attorney General’s emergency debt-collection regulation published at 940 CMR. 35.00.
The hearing will be held via Zoom and will be open to the public. To gain access, you must register and be approved by court staff via a simple administrative form. If you’d like to “attend” the TRO/PI hearing, please register for access using this link:
https://public.mad.uscourts.gov/seating-signup.html
When registering, you will have to select the hearing in the “DATE” drop-down. You should select “5/1/2020 at 10:00 AM – before Judge Stearns, telephone access (updated from 4/29/2020 at 12:00 PM).”
Note that everyone who wishes to gain access must apply separately and each must provide their own telephone number. For this hearing, the court will be granting observers telephone access only.
If you wish to attend, you should register ASAP and no later than the afternoon of Thursday, April 29. The court’s access form notes that court staff will attempt to “accommodate day-of requests, but urge you to sign up at least a day in advance of the proceeding.”
Note that if you had previously signed up for the originally scheduled hearing, which was to be held on April 29, you may not need to re-register; instead, you may get a notice from the court (Carolyn Meckbach, Public Information Specialist) letting you know that the dial-in information that you were provided for 4/29 remains the same. If you had previously registered but did not receive such an email, you may wish to re-register or contact the court to inquire.
If you have any questions about access for this hearing, contact [email protected].