Effectiveness of Jury Trial Waiver

"The Missouri Constitution contains a right to a jury trial. Missouri Const. Article I, § 22(a).

The right of trial by jury as declared by the Constitution or as given by a statute shall be preserved to the parties. In particular, any issue as to whether a release, composition or discharge of the plaintiff's original claim was fraudulently or otherwise wrongfully procured shall be tried by jury unless waived. Parties may waive a jury trial by failing to appear, filing written consent with the clerk, oral consent in court, or entering the trial without objection. MO. Rul. Civ. P. § 69.1."

To effectively waive a jury trial by contract, clear, unambiguous, unmistakable, and conspicuous language is required. Such a waiver provision will never be implied but must be clearly and explicitly stated and the standard is whether the waiver was Aknowingly and voluntarily@ made. Additionally, Missouri courts have examined the following factors in determining the effectiveness of a jury trial waiver: negotiability of the contract terms, disparity in bargaining power between the parties, the business acumen of the party opposing the waiver, and the conspicuousness of the jury waiver provision. Malan Realty Investors v. Harris, 953 S.W.2d 624, 627 (Mo. banc 1997).