The plaintiff brought a motion to transfer the action into the Simplified Procedure after having already filed the trial record.
The court dismissed the motion, refusing to grant leave under Rule 48.04(1) of the Rules of Civil Procedure.
The court found no substantial or unexpected change in circumstances since the trial record was filed, noting that the plaintiff knew the claim's value was within the Simplified Procedure's increased monetary jurisdiction well before filing the trial record.
The court also considered the prejudice to the defendant, whose litigation strategy was based on a conventional jury trial, and emphasized the substantive right to a jury trial.
The plaintiff's primary motivation was deemed to be concerns about costs exposure, which was not a sufficient basis for granting leave.
