Section 20.20 Right to a Jury Trial

• Library: Estate Administration 2014 Supp

A. (§20.20) Right to a Jury Trial

Section 473.340.2, RSMo 2000, provides that, in a discovery-of-assets action, “[a]ny party may demand a jury trial.” On its face, the statute appears to be clear, but an examination of the legal principles surrounding the trial of equitable claims may be confusing as to the intentions of the legislature and courts in this area. As noted in §20.2 above, an action to discover assets is an action at law. But, more accurately, it is a procedural mechanism and not a substantive cause of action. Thus, the pleader must assert a theory of recovery that makes up the substantive law in the case. When, as in most discovery actions, the underlying cause of action sounds in equity, traditional common law provides that equitable claims are tried to a judge. Thus, the statutory right to trial by jury appears to directly conflict with the common law rule requiring matters of equity to be tried by the court.

Efforts to clarify the roles of judge and jury in discovery actions asserting claims for equitable relief have been limited and confusing. In...