In An Admiralty Action, The Court May Strike The Plaintiff’s Jury Demand At Any Time
March, 2004
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee has held that because there is no constitutional right to a jury trial in an admiralty case, the court may strike an admiralty plaintiff’s jury demand at any time. Vanderpool v. Edmundson, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 899 (E.D. Tenn.).
Facts
In Vanderpool, the plaintiffs filed suit in federal court, alleging claims sounding in common-law tort, state law products liability, and admiralty. The plaintiffs filed a jury demand with their complaint. A few months before trial was set to begin, the defendants moved to strike the jury demand, arguing there is no constitutional right to a jury for a claim sounding in admiralty.
Analysis
The court recognized, and the plaintiffs conceded, the long-established rule that there is no constitutional right under the Seventh Amendment to a jury trial in an admiralty case. The court also noted that there is no federal statute which provides for a jury trial in admiralty cases.
Plaintiffs argued that the absence of a federal statute entitling them to a jury trial does not mean that jury trials in admiralty cases are prohibited. The plaintiffs also argued that because jury trials are not strictly forbidden, and because the defendants’ objection to the jury demand was not filed in a timely fashion, their jury demand must be allowed to stand.
The court disagreed, observing: “[t]he Court has the authority under Rule 39(a) on its own initiative to determine that the plaintiffs are not entitled to a trial by jury. The Court may sua sponte order that there will not be a jury trial.” The court did just that, and struck the plaintiff’s jury demand.
Learning Point:
There is no constitutional or statutory right to a jury trial in an admiralty case. Even if a defendant fails to move to strike the jury demand in a timely fashion, the court may sua sponte strike the jury demand at any time. ¨
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