Court of Appeal Overturns Bifurcation Decision

In a previous blog post, we discussed a decision in which the Divisional Court held that the court has inherent jurisdiction to bifurcate a non-jury case, even when a party does not consent.

Last week, the Court of Appeal overturned the decision. In Duggan v. Durham Region Non-Profit Housing Corporation, 2020 ONCA 788, the Court of Appeal held that non-jury trials cannot be bifurcated without consent.

Therefore, consent is required to bifurcate both jury and non-jury trials.