The plaintiffs brought a motion to strike the jury notice in a motor vehicle accident action due to the suspension of civil jury trials in the Toronto Region 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.
The court struck the jury notice, concluding that the prejudice to the plaintiffs caused by the uncertain delay in waiting for a jury trial outweighed any prejudice to the defendants, who provided no evidence of a litigation strategy reliant on a jury.
