Can a party opt out of a trial by jury if they complete their election by jury?

British Columbia, Canada


The following excerpt is from Iskum v. Badali, 2009 BCSC 1669 (CanLII):

This change in the Rules was reflected in the decision of this court in Folk v. Halcrow, 2004 BCSC 1623. The case of Folk stands for the proposition that a party does not complete its election for trial by jury until both steps in Rule 39(26) are met, namely, the notice requiring trial by jury and the payment of fees no later than 30 days before trial. Williams J. in Folk found that a party could opt out of trial by jury after filing the notice and before paying the fees.

In Chapelski v. Bhatt, 2009 BCSC 1260, Hinkson J. held that the reasoning in Folk at para. 17: … does not address a point in time past the point of payment of the required fees. He continued at paragraph 17: The reasoning [in Folk] implies that once the point has been passed "the issue of whether a trial is going to be heard by a jury would be conclusively settled".

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