Demand for Jury Trial Should Not Have Been Struck Despite Request for a “Declaration” in the Complaint—Crux of the Case Was a Request for Monetary Relief

The Fourth Department determined that plaintiffs’ demand for a jury trial should not have been struck. Defendants attempted to recoup alleged overpayments made to plaintiffs for ambulance services by reducing payments for ongoing services. Plaintiffs brought suit challenging defendant’s right to recoup the alleged overpayments. As part of their complaint, the plaintiffs sought “a declaration that [defendant] is not entitled to offset or recoup any funds from [p]laintiffs.” The Fourth Department held that, despite the request for a “declaration,” the crux of the lawsuit was for monetary relief and the demand for a jury trial was therefore appropriate:

… [T]he court erred in granting defendant’s motion to strike their demand for a jury trial, and we therefore modify the order accordingly. The question whether plaintiffs are entitled to a jury trial turns on whether “the underlying claims set forth in the complaint are legal rather than equitable in nature” … . Here, we conclude that plaintiffs’ request for “a declaration that [defendant] is not entitled to offset or recoup any funds from [p]laintiffs” is incidental to their request for monetary relief. “[V]iewed in its entirety, the primary character of the case is legal” … , and “the complaint contains demands and sets forth facts which would permit a judgment for a sum of money only’ “… . Canandaigua Emergency Squad, Inc. v Rochester Area Health Maintenance Org., Inc., 2015 NY Slip Op 06056, 4th Dept 7-10-15