Motion to Strike Jury Notice in Central East Region Dismissed

In Corkett v. Ginn, 2021 ONSC 7434, the court dismissed the plaintiff’s motion to strike a jury notice in an action commenced in the Central East Region.

One of the reasons for dismissing the motion was that the plaintiff did not move the action forward expeditiously.  There was an unexplained gap between filing the trial record and the pre-trial conference.

Moreover, the plaintiff did not meet the deadline in the Central East Region to bring the motion to strike the jury notice. Therefore, the matter would not be heard until the May 2022 sittings in any event.  There was no evidence that the matter would be delayed at all.

Justice Christie noted that the Ontario government has announced that all COVID-19 restrictions may be removed in March 2022, as long as things continue in a positive manner. Justice Christie indicated that it is highly likely that civil jury trials will resume in May 2022, or at least the plaintiff did not demonstrate the contrary.

In addition, the fact that the accident benefits insurer was denying further benefits was irrelevant. Justice Christie indicated that this is a matter between the plaintiff and the accident benefits insurer.

Justice Christie concluded that the plaintiff failed to meet the onus of proving that justice to the parties would be better served by discharging the jury.