The plaintiff in a motor vehicle accident claim brought a motion to strike the defendants' jury notice due to the suspension of civil jury trials during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The court granted leave to bring the motion after the action was set down for trial, finding the pandemic constituted a substantial and unexpected change in circumstances.
Applying a five-factor analysis, the court concluded that the plaintiff would suffer prejudice from further delay, while the defendants failed to demonstrate specific prejudice.
The motion was granted, and the matter was directed to proceed as a judge-alone trial.
