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323.874.8973
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In September 2010, the California legislature enacted the Expedited Jury Trial
Act (AB
2284) which together with rules implementing it (California Rules of
Court, Rules 3.1545 to 3.1552) takes effect January 1, 2011 with a sunset of
January 1, 2016.
This alternative dispute resolution form is essentially a "down and dirty"
jury trial designed to be heard on a date certain, lasting one full day or
less (each side has 3 hours to present their case including voir dire and
cross-examination) by a jury of 8 with no alternates in which six must agree
on a verdict. The verdict is binding and post trial motions and appeals are
quite limited.
Its most interesting feature is that the availability of a "high/low agreement" in which the parties agree on a set sum as the minimum that
plaintiff will receive as damages and a maximum set sum that defendant will be
liable for, regardless of the jury verdict.
As with other forms of ADR, it is voluntary: the parties must sign a consent
order.
This expedited jury trial procedure complements mediation in that the parties
can use mediation to negotiate the issues, deciding which ones should remain
for the expedited civil jury trial and then negotiate the procedures to be
used in that trial. No longer will the parties feel that they are absolutely
"forced" to settle due to the expense in time and money of trials. Rather,
plaintiff can still have their "day in court" and if using a high/low agreement,
know they will "win" something while defendant can limit their exposure.
The implementing rules (California Rules of Court, Rules
3.1545-3.1552), the new mandatory form "Expedited Jury Trial Information
Sheet," and interesting background information about the Act (including comments from the drafters) can be found in the October 8, 2010 Report to the
Judicial Council:
http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/jc/documents/reports/20101029itema13.pdf
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My thanks to:
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Phyllis G. Pollack, Past President
Southern California Mediation Association |
