Tech issues hobble US tenants fighting eviction in remote hearings

A file photo of tenants’ rights advocates demonstrating in Boston. Legal aid workers say the problems Livingston faced are affecting eviction hearings across the country as courts move proceedings online, making the process slower and more confusing, and further weakening the tenant’s voice. — AP

WASHINGTON: Lori Livingston had been waiting for an eviction hearing since last May, when her original date was postponed as the coronavirus pandemic forced Philadelphia’s courts to close.

But when proceedings recently started up again, the disabled 66-year-old was surprised to get a court summons late in the day on March 12, a Friday, for a remote hearing early the following Monday.