Waiver of Jury Trial : Jury

Waiver of Jury Trial

Jury Waiver Agreements Revisited
Ryan Griffitts of Thompson, Coe, Cousins & Irons, LLP

Last January, we discussed the emergence of jury waiver agreements. (See Steering Clear of the Runaway Jury, Thompson Coe Labor & Employment News, Vol. 5, Issue 1). Jury waiver agreements are contractual agreements in which the parties agree that if a dispute arises and suit is filed, the parties waive their right to a trial by jury. The case is still filed in court, but if the matter proceeds to trial, the trial judge hears the testimony and decides the case.
For The California Supreme Court, Predispute Contractual Waiver of Right to Jury Trial Are Not Enforceable in Civil Actions Under California Law
Robert S. Blumberg and Ariel D. Weindling of Littler Mendelson, P.C.

On August 4, 2005, the California Supreme Court issued a long-awaited decision in Grafton Partners L.P. v. The Superior Court of Alameda County (PriceWaterhouseCoopers L.L.P.), Case No. S123344, and held unequivocally that a predispute contractual waiver of the right to a jury trial is not enforceable in a civil action in California.