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• Jury Waiver Agreements Revisited ( March 2005 )
  Ryan  Griffitts of Thompson, Coe, Cousins & Irons, LLP

  Last January, we discussed the emergence of jury waiver agreements. (See Steering Clear of the Runaway Jury, Thompson Coe Labor & Employment News, Vol. 5, Issue 1). Jury waiver agreements are contractual agreements in which the parties agree that if a dispute arises and suit is filed, the parties waive their right to a trial by jury. The case is still filed in court, but if the matter proceeds to trial, the trial judge hears the testimony and decides the case.

• For The California Supreme Court, Predispute Contractual Waiver of Right to Jury Trial Are Not Enforceable in Civil Actions Under California Law ( August 2005 )
  Robert S. Blumberg and Ariel D. Weindling of Littler Mendelson, P.C.

  On August 4, 2005, the California Supreme Court issued a long-awaited decision in Grafton Partners L.P. v. The Superior Court of Alameda County (PriceWaterhouseCoopers L.L.P.), Case No. S123344, and held unequivocally that a predispute contractual waiver of the right to a jury trial is not enforceable in a civil action in California.

• Employment Law Alert: Recent California appellate decision invalidating predispute jury trial waiver ( March 2004 )
  Robert K. Carrol of Nixon Peabody LLP

  The decision in <i>Grafton Partners LP v.Superior Court (PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP)</i>, should cause employers with California operations who have previously eschewed binding arbitration in favor of jury trial waivers or unfettered judicial process in such cases to think again. All employers with California operations are urged to familiarize themselves with the <i>Grafton</i> holding and consult immediately with experienced employment counsel as to its impact on predispute jury trial waivers and/or binding arbitration language presently in effect in their employment agreements, releases, policies, and handbooks.

• Predispute Waiver of Jury Trial Found UnenforceableUnder California Law ( February 2004 )
  Nixon Peabody LLP

  On February 6, 2004, a California Court of Appeals, in <i>Grafton Partners LP v. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP,</i> ruled that under the California Constitution contractual <i>predispute</i> jury waivers are unenforceable. In doing so, the Court indicated that a 1991 Second District Appellate Court decision, <i>Trizec Properties Inc. v. Superior Court,</i> was wrongly decided.

• Atlanta Employment Law Seminar. Seminar Summaries of Speakers L. Traywick Duffie and Bob Quackenboss of Hunton & Williams ( January 2004 )
  Hunton & Williams LLP

  L. Traywick Duffie addressed the issue of the rising number of collective actions under Section 216 of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Robert Quackenboss discussed a variety of issues affecting the conduct of jury trials in employment litigation.

• FMLA Provides Right to Jury Trial ( November 1998 )
  Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP

  The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the FMLA provides the right to a jury trial.