This week on Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan:
Since the beginning of COVID, civil jury trials have been suspended in British Columbia.
Unlike criminal jury trials, which are constitutionally required as an option for people facing more than 5 years in jail, there is no similar protection for civil jury trials.
While civil jury trials were the norm at the time of confederation, their use has decreased. One of the reasons for this is the cost of conducting a jury trial. The party requesting a civil jury trial needs to pay the costs, which can run into thousands of dollars. Ordinarily, the party who wins at trial would, ultimately, pay the additional costs.\xa0
Recently, in BC, most civil jury trials are requested by ICBC when defending claims. This may have some strategic advantages for ICBC because of how civil jury trials work. Juries cannot be given any instructions with respect to how damages for pain and suffering should be determined. With no guidelines, the amounts awarded can be unusually low, or high.\xa0
Where the amount of very high, this can be appealed to the Court of Appeal. When the amount is very low, this is argued to be the jury just not believing the person was seriously injured.\xa0
In BC, civil juries are comprised of 8 people and, after three hours of deliberation, 6 of the 8 are sufficient to render a verdict. This is because civil cases are decided on a balance of probabilities, and not proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
Some provinces, including Alberta, have restricted civil jury trials to categories of cases where community values may be the most important including malicious prosecution, wrongful imprisonment and claims for breach of promise to marry.\xa0
An example of a breach of promise to marry case, from BC, is discussed on the show.\xa0
In addition to bringing community values to the justice system, allowing jury trials can also be valuable in permitting ordinary people to participate and share their experiences with the community.\xa0
The BC government is accepting submissions with respect to what should be done with civil juries until September 30, 2021. Submissions can be emailed to PLD@gov.bc.ca
A report with respect to civil jury trials has also been prepared.\xa0
Also on the show, the BC Court of Appeal considers how much more money a man who failed to pay income taxes for more than a decade should need to pay before being discharged from bankruptcy.\xa0
Declaring bankruptcy does not ensure that someone will be discharged either quickly, or without needing to pay back more money over many years. In the case discussed, after several years in bankruptcy, the man was ordered to pay an additional $45,000 over five years, at a rate of no less than $750 / month.\xa0
Finally, a case involving a BC employment contract that provided for adjudication in Ontario is discussed. The clause would have made it more expensive and difficult for the BC employee to sue for wrongful dismissal.\xa0
The employee in the case was fired with 30 days of notice, after working for more than a decade as a counsellor. The judge concluded that the clause was unenforceable for several reasons including that it was unconscionable, that there was no consideration provided when the clause was added to the contract, and because it didn\u2019t say that Ontario jurisdiction was exclusive.
Follow this link for a transcript of the show and links to the cases discussed.\xa0