Another provisional jury strike out of Central West. The plaintiffs brought a motion seeking leave of the court to strike the defendants’ jury notice. This action arises out of a motor vehicle accident that occurred on January 14, 2015. The action was set down for trial in September 2018.
The court made specific reference to its decision to provisionally strike the notice citing three principled reasons for doing so:
1. Financial prejudice to the plaintiff in that she will only be entitled to 70% of her income pre-accident before trial, and 100% post;
2. Prejudice of delay to the plaintiff, specifically noting that the next possible sitting for the plaintiff would be January 2022, and that a 10-month delay is too long; and
3. The Court took notice of the strain the pandemic will have on judicial resources, particularly when things return to normal in light of the fact that all jury matters for civil and criminal have been adjourned.
The Court balanced the interests of justice as a whole, along with that of the parties and provisionally struck the notice, stating that the defendants have leave to deliver a further jury notice should the matter not be reached on the judge alone sittings in May 2021. An order of costs of $5,000 was made in the cause.
