Current State of Affairs Must Be Examined in Motions to Strike Jury Notices

In Premanathan v. Kandasamy,  2021 ONSC 3207, the court dismissed the plaintiff’s motion to strike a jury notice in a Toronto action.

The action arises from a motor vehicle accident in 2012. A two week jury trial was scheduled for June 2021.

The principal reason for dismissing the plaintiff’s motion was that civil jury trials are scheduled to resume in Toronto on July 5, 2021.  Although this could change, Justice Ramsay indicated that “any determination can only be made on the facts and evidence as they exist or are known at this time”.

Justice Ramsay noted that the motion was brought merely months before civil jury trials are to resume in Toronto. It is not a situation of the trial being expected to be indefinitely delayed.

Moreover, the plaintiff did not provide any evidence that he would suffer prejudice by adjourning the trial.

In summary, this decision indicates that the current state of affairs must be examined when determining whether a jury notice should be struck. Currently, jury trials in Toronto (and elsewhere) are anticipated to resume in July 2021, and, according to this decision, any delay in proceeding with a jury trial should be minimal.