Wave Goodbye to Waivers of Jury Trials

In a decision that all franchisors need to note, on Aug. 4, 2005 the California Supreme Court ruled that pre-dispute waivers of a jury trial in a civil matter are unconstitutional under the California constitution. Many commercial agreements include a pre-dispute waiver of a jury trial so that businesses that prefer not to submit disputes to arbitration can elect to litigate claims and have their disputes heard by a judge rather than submit to a jury trial. The high court in <i>Grafton Partners v. Superior Court (PricewaterhouseCoopers)</i>, 2005 Cal. LEXIS 8586, 4 (2005), affirmed an appellate court's decision to reject the 1991 appellate court decision upholding pre-dispute waivers of jury trials in <i>Trizec Properties Inc. v. Superior Court</i>, 229 Cal.App.3d 1616 (1991). This case will alter the way commercial contracts &mdash; from joint venture agreements, to franchise agreements, real estate leases and other contracts &mdash; are written. The <i>Grafton</i> decision is a call to California-based franchisors, and franchisors with franchises in California, to take stock of their decisions and provisions regarding dispute resolution.

12 minute read August 31, 2005 at 11:32 AM

By

Kenneth R. Costello And Anthony J. Marks