LA County courts to reopen today following ransomware attack

Los Angeles County Superior Court will reopen today from 8:30am, a day after all 36 courthouses were forced to close due to a ransomware attack. While most essential services will be restored delays are anticipated, and some functions like remote hearings will remain offline.

The perpetrators of the ransomware attack have not been disclosed. A press release issued by the court Monday evening advised that it continued to work with local, state and federal law enforcement and partners at the Governor's Office of Emergency Management to investigate the attack.

Court proceedings scheduled for today "will proceed in some fashion," according to the court. Litigants or their counsel with proceedings that did not take place on Friday, July 19, or Monday, July 22, will receive notice of a continuance date in the future from the Court. Remote hearings remain unavailable.

"I am grateful to the countless court staff who worked tirelessly over the past 96 hours since the attack was first detected to bring many of our network systems back online and ensure the largest trial court in the nation is able to reopen for business," said Presiding Judge Samantha P. Jessner.

"The decision to close the Court yesterday was not a decision we took lightly, but in this instance, was necessary in order to restore the integrity of our systems before we reopened our doors to court users."

Jessner advised that the court "will not function fully and completely" on Tuesday. Electronic filing will be available for filing of case initiating documents only and not for the filing of subsequent documents in existing cases. Filings for Temporary Restraining Orders can be made in person at any Family Law Clerk's Office.

The court's call centers have been restored; however, some website pages are expected to remain offline before being restored over the coming days.