The Court ruled that once a jury trial is requested, the request cannot be withdrawn unless all the parties agree.

The Court ruled that once a jury trial is requested, the request cannot be withdrawn unless all the parties agree.

Once a party in a civil case requests a jury trial, the request cannot be withdrawn unless all the parties agree, the Supreme Court of Ohio ruled today.

In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court reversed a Fifth District Court of Appeals judgment that a jury demand could be unilaterally withdrawn. In a case between a swimming pool contractor and an unsatisfied customer, the customer initially demanded a jury trial and paid a $500 jury deposit that was required by a local rule. When the customer changed her mind and opted for a bench trial, the pool contractor requested that the court still hold a jury trial. The trial court denied the request, because the contractor had not paid the jury deposit required by the court’s local rules.

Writing for the Court, Justice Joseph T. Deters explained that the lower courts incorrectly ruled that the pool contractor was not entitled to a jury trial because it had not paid the jury deposit required by the local rule. He wrote that the Fifth District’s decision contradicts the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure, which say that once one party demands a jury trial, all parties must consent to change to a bench trial.

“Once a party perfects a jury demand, the right to a jury trial is secured for all the parties,” he wrote.

Homeowner Sues for Faulty Pool Installation
In 2016, Katherine Tomlinson contracted with Mega Pool Warehouse to install an inground swimming pool and deck in her backyard. The parties had several disagreements, which led Tomlinson to file a lawsuit against Mega Pool in June 2018. Tomlinson made several claims, including breach of contract and violations of the Ohio Consumer Sales Practice Act.

She included a $500 jury deposit and a request for a jury trial in her complaint to the Delaware County Common Pleas Court. The court’s local rules required that any party seeking a jury trial in a civil case must pay a deposit. The court retains the deposit if the matter is resolved after a jury is assembled. If a jury deposit is not made, the court considers the right to a jury waived.

The trial was rescheduled several times, and the COVID-19 pandemic added further delays.

Pandemic Muddles Trial Dates
A magistrate conducted a teleconference with the parties in March 2020, informing them that their current May 2020 jury trial had to be rescheduled until September 2020.

Prior to the September 2020 trial, the magistrate contacted Tomlinson and Mega Pool again to see if they were able to settle the lawsuit and to inform them that the pandemic would likely push back the date again for a jury trial. According to the magistrate, a trial could take place in September if it were a trial before a judge rather than a jury. Tomlinson’s lawyer indicated that his client would be willing to try the case before a judge, but Mega Pool insisted on a jury trial.

The magistrate slated a jury trial for January 2021 and gave the parties until early August 2020 to decide whether to waive the right to a jury trial and opt for the September 2020 bench trial. Tomlinson agreed to a September bench trial. When Mega Pool requested that the court keep the scheduled jury trial in January 2021, the magistrate informed Mega Pool that it had waived its right to a jury because it had not paid a jury deposit.

The case proceeded to trial before a judge in September. As a decision in the case was pending, Tomlinson died, and her estate moved forward with the lawsuit. The trial judge awarded Tomlinson’s estate damages and attorney fees.

Mega Pool appealed the decision to the Fifth District, arguing that it was denied the right to a jury trial. The Fifth District upheld the trial court’s determination that Mega Pool had waived its right to a jury trial because it had not paid a jury deposit.  Mega Pool appealed the Fifth District’s decision to the Supreme Court.

Supreme Court Analyzed Trial Rules
Justice Deters explained that under a state rule for civil cases, Civ.R. 38(D), once a jury demand has been “perfected,” or secured, a demand for a jury can only be withdrawn with the consent of all the parties. Delaware County’s local rule added a requirement to the state civil rule by mandating that a $500 deposit be paid to secure a jury trial. However, the local rule does not address what happens when a jury request is withdrawn, the Court noted.

The opinion stated that the lower courts’ interpretation of the local rule to mean that every party that wants a jury trial must pay a jury deposit contradicted the language of the rule, which provides that “a party” must pay, not that “all parties” must pay a deposit.

“To find a requirement in the rule that each party seeking a jury trial must pay a jury deposit would add language to the rule that is not there,” Justice Deters stated.

If the local rule allowed only the party that paid to withdraw the request, then it would contradict Civ.R. 38(D), the Court noted.

The Court ruled that the trial court made an error when it denied Mega Pool’s request for a jury trial. The case was remanded to the trial court for further proceedings.

2023-0230. Estate of Tomlinson v. Mega Pool Warehouse, Inc., Slip Opinion No. 2024-Ohio-1065.

View oral argument video of this case.

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