Jeffrey Gilbert shareholder with Cozen O'Connor, in Miami.

I never expected to be writing this article on my laptop at home about the coronavirus pandemic, and its unprecedented, sad and agonizing effects on our families, friends and colleagues. And its likely effects on commercial and residential loans, potential foreclosures and inevitable related real estate litigation. I expected to be enjoying (after business hours, of course) my 36-year spring ritual of cheering the world's elite tennis players during sun baked matches at the two-week Miami Open. But now I am multitasking—working from home, caring for a family member who has the virus (luckily a mild case), overseeing my youngest son's completion of his (now virtual) senior year of high school, and thinking about the new world health and medical order and economy that we all are experiencing today and most definitely for several months to come. And 2020 had looked so promising, both health and business-wise, just several weeks ago … .

Fortunately for the overall economy of Miami and South Florida, and financial institutions, real estate developers and homeowners, sellers, buyers and brokers alike, it has been several years since the real estate litigators were rushing to the courts, in fact overwhelming the courts, with rapid-fire foreclosure and bankruptcy filings, specially set motions for the appointment of receivers, emergency motions for the sequestration of rents, and lengthy competing reports of income, business and real estate valuation experts to assess the legitimate and prospective values of land, high-profile commercial buildings, residences, golf courses, and resort and convention hotels.

That nonstop workout, foreclosure and bankruptcy litigation began in 2008 and continued unabated for several years. It flooded the state courts to the point that many courts created in jurisdictions throughout Florida separate foreclosure divisions with specially assigned foreclosure judges to handle the never-ending filings. State-court foreclosure litigation spilled over to the bankruptcy courthouses. And "on-the-courthouse—steps" foreclosure sales were replaced with the private and public development and use of electronic websites to conduct the daily bidding and sales of the foreclosed properties. The courthouse steps—and the clerks of court—could no longer accommodate the hundreds of foreclosure sales that were set daily by the foreclosure judges who wanted desperately to move along their caseloads. Lawyers could represent their clients and bid and purchase properties on-line from their office desktops, saving hours of billable time otherwise incurred by driving to the courthouses and waiting around endlessly for sales to occur or to be cancelled. Appeals ensued as borrowers challenged at every instance the more common spread of mortgagee consolidations, bulk sales of mortgages and the chain (and undetectable chain or missing links) of ownership, assumption and assignment of loan documents, and missing original loan documents. Some of those appeals continue to this day.

South Florida's number-one industry, tourism, is being hit hard—by the double whammy of the surreal pandemic, the travel restrictions put in place (and being updated and revised constantly and daily) by the governor, and the strict, particular guidelines of the state's mayors and the many city and county commissions and managers. Even during the arrival of big-category hurricanes, our hotels are always busy. Now our hotels, resorts and restaurants, the drivers of our local economy, are basically shut down. Restaurants within the hotels and throughout our community are closed or serving only take-away meals. Hotel workers are being furloughed. And the thousands of hotel rooms are empty (along with the closed beaches). Tourists are either prohibited from traveling here or are not doing so (and that is a good thing for us to stop the virus from spreading). No cruises or cruise tourists. No sports or sports tourists. No music, concert or Broadway series tourists. An abandoned (correctly so) Spring Break. And now, no Easter and Passover celebrants will occupy the Miami Beach hotels. All of this extreme, unfathomable health and financial loss while Miami is enjoying some of its most beautiful weather in years!

Add already spiked, record unemployment, small business and big department store temporary closings and layoffs, and that leads sadly to expected losses of tourism and business income, loan defaults, missed monthly payments, nonmonetary defaults, broken tenancies and overall real estate losses for borrowers, owners and lenders.

The court system should be prepared, given the evolution of its foreclosure divisions after 2008, to handle or at least be in the position of preparing to handle, the anticipated onslaught of this inevitable litigation, if federal assistance, workouts and other economic stimuli are not fully available and helpful in the short term. But with the extreme anxiousness of the virus and its continued spread, the real estate litigators will have to learn to progress, navigate and prosecute this unpleasant yet business-necessary litigation with closed, partially open or even open courthouses. And yes, since, 2008, electronic filings, telephonic hearings and electronic handling of orders, recently implemented throughout Florida's state courts, should assist with our new normal. I've experienced this week and last week record-time turnaround of requested court orders both from our state and federal courts.

Let's first take care of our collective health and well-being. That's paramount to all else. There will be the appropriate and respectful time and place to address these business and litigation concerns, even if distancing requires us to continue to communicate digitally with our clients, adverse parties and counsel, and the courts.

Jeffrey Gilbert is a shareholder in the Miami office of Cozen O'Connor. He focuses his practice on litigating real estate, financial institution and complex commercial foreclosure cases concerning business complexes, hotels, resorts, golf courses and shopping centers throughout Florida. Previously he chaired the real estate litigation sub-committee of the Florida Bar's real property, probate and trust law division.