When the COVID-19 pandemic reached New York in March 2020, the state's court system was deeply affected. For several weeks, court operations were so limited that the filing of new civil cases, except in the direst of emergencies, was literally impossible. Even when court operations slowly resumed, the logistics of lockdown continued to interfere with lawyers' and clients' ability to pursue litigation.

In recognition of this fact, Governor Andrew Cuomo issued Executive Order No. 202.8, which suspended the running of civil statutes of limitations and various other time periods affecting the litigation process.

This directive was extended several times (collectively "the Executive Orders"). The executive orders ultimately remained in effect from March 20, 2020 until November 3, 2020, a period of 228 days.