An Open Email dated June 12, 2020, from Personal Injury Lawyer, Marc Spivak, to our Attorney General Regarding Suspending Juries in Civil Law Cases Posted onJune 12, 2020September 29, 2020/ Marc Spivak To the Honorable Doug Downey Attorney General of Ontario I am a personal injury lawyer and have been for 28 years. The first 9 years of my practice I acted for insurance companies on the defence of insurance matters. I can tell you firsthand the almost complete unfairness of the archaic jury system that we have. A system that not only creates a complete advantage for insurance companies, but it also puts every injured victim in the unfair position of essentially overcoming an inherent misunderstanding of jurors why they are being forced in a courtroom leaving their jobs and family without pay for often 2-8 weeks. A system that prevents lawyers from educating the jurors about the involvement of an insurer; of the real discounted losses that the victim is faced with in car accident cases; and of the costs to the victim of being forced to prove a claim dragged on by insurers for sometimes 5-6 years. Every insurer files a jury notice in almost every personal injury matter for a reason. It is negligent for a lawyer or an insurer not to deliver a jury notice. There is no reason for our government to provide insurers with an unfair advantage that has resulted over the last 10 years in massive delay in being able to get to a civil trial. To have to wait 2-3 years to get to a 15-20 day trial date that may or may not go ahead as scheduled is barbaric for victims. Trial by judge alone is at least 50-60% faster and more efficient. Given the COVID risks, it is impossible for the foreseeable future to force our citizens to face the real health risks of sitting on a jury. It would be completely unfair in the circumstances to further delay the civil trial list by keeping juries as part of our civil trial system on personal injury matters (with the possible exception of med mal and sex assault cases). In temporarily removing juries we can free up limited judicial resources and get rid of the delay in getting to a civil trial (which would speed up the ability to get criminal cases dealt with in a timely manner), all at less cost to taxpayers. My suggestion is to temporarily suspend juries in the civil system (with the exception of med mal and sex assault cases) and make our justice system run more smoothly at less cost. I look forward to your decision. “This article is intended to inform. Its content does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon by readers as such. If you require legal assistance, please see a lawyer. Each case is unique and a lawyer with good training and sound judgment can provide you with advice tailored to your specific situation and needs.” Authors Marc Spivak 416-446-5855 416-446-5855 marc.spivak@devrylaw.ca Related Posts Posted onMay 19, 2021May 19, 2021/ Marc Spivak Be Prepared for In-Person Medical Examinations – Personal Injury: Mierzejewski v Brook, 2021 ONSC 2295 … Read more Posted onMarch 19, 2021March 19, 2021/ Dejan Ristic COVID-19 Civil Jury Trials – Personal Injury … Read more Posted onMarch 16, 2021March 16, 2021/ Eric Gossin Learn to surf! … Read more Posted onMarch 15, 2021March 15, 2021/ Esther Abecassis COVID-19 and Collecting Personal Information … Read more Posted onNovember 27, 2020December 17, 2020/ Stephanie Turnham Failure To Close An Agreement Of Purchase And Sale In The Context Of COVID-19 … Read more