Jury waiver clause: giving up a jury trial before a dispute

Sample clause

Written for an equipment lease between Magnolia Leasing, a fictional Atlanta leasing company, and a restaurant operator leasing kitchen equipment.

WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL. EACH PARTY KNOWINGLY, VOLUNTARILY AND INTENTIONALLY WAIVES ANY RIGHT IT MAY HAVE TO A TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY ACTION OR PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS LEASE, THE EQUIPMENT OR ANY DEALINGS BETWEEN THE PARTIES. EACH PARTY ACKNOWLEDGES THAT IT HAS READ THIS SECTION, HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO CONSULT A LAWYER, AND THAT THIS WAIVER IS A MATERIAL INDUCEMENT TO THE OTHER PARTY TO ENTER INTO THIS LEASE. THIS WAIVER DOES NOT APPLY WHERE IT IS UNENFORCEABLE UNDER THE LAW GOVERNING THE ACTION. IN THAT CASE, THE PARTIES AGREE TO RESOLVE THE DISPUTE BY ANY ALTERNATIVE PROCEDURE WITHOUT A JURY THAT THE LAW ALLOWS. Lessee initials: ______ Lessor initials: ______

Sample wording, not legal advice.

Variants

What to negotiate

• Knowing and voluntary

  Courts that enforce jury waivers ask whether the waiver was made knowingly and voluntarily, looking at the parties' sophistication, their bargaining power, whether they had lawyers, whether the terms were negotiable, and how visible the clause was. Waivers between businesses with counsel are routinely upheld; waivers buried in consumer fine print are more vulnerable.

• Conspicuous placement

  Capital letters, bold type, a separate heading, placement near the signature, and separate initials are all evidence the waiver was not hidden. None is a legal formality in itself, but together they help show the knowing and voluntary standard was met. That is why jury waivers look different from the rest of a contract.

• State law

  Federal and most state courts enforce pre dispute jury waivers. The Supreme Court of California, in Grafton Partners v. Superior Court in 2005, held them unenforceable under California law, though judicial reference agreements remain available. The Supreme Court of Georgia has also held pre litigation jury waivers unenforceable. Check the law of the state whose courts will hear the dispute, not only the governing law.

The risk of leaving it out

Without a waiver, either party can demand a jury trial in a US court for most contract claims, under the Seventh Amendment in federal court and state constitutions in state court. Some businesses accept that; others, especially lenders and lessors, routinely include waivers because they prefer judges for commercial disputes.

The state picture

Most states and the federal courts: pre dispute jury waivers enforced if knowing and voluntary, with conspicuousness and the parties' sophistication weighing heavily. California: pre dispute contractual jury waivers unenforceable under Grafton Partners, but an agreement for judicial reference under Code of Civil Procedure section 638 is enforceable, giving a judge like decision maker. Georgia: pre litigation jury waivers unenforceable under the decision of the Supreme Court of Georgia in Bank South v. Howard in 1994. Arbitration clauses, which also avoid juries, are governed by the Federal Arbitration Act and are generally enforceable in all of these states. Law checked on 21 October 2026. This page explains how the clause works and is not legal advice.

The California alternative

Judicial reference lets the parties agree in advance that a dispute will be heard by a referee, often a retired judge, whose decision is entered as a judgment of the court and can be appealed like one. It achieves much of what a jury waiver aims for, a decision by a legal professional rather than a jury, and California courts enforce such agreements. The second variant provides it as a fallback.

Jury waivers and arbitration

An arbitration clause removes the dispute from court altogether, so a jury question does not arise unless the arbitration clause fails. Many contracts include both: arbitration as the main route, and a jury waiver for any claims that end up in court, such as claims excluded from arbitration or proceedings to enforce an award.

Outside the United States

Civil jury trials for contract disputes are rare in Australia and England, so jury waivers are uncommon in contracts governed by their law. They appear mainly in contracts that may be litigated in US courts, such as cross border finance documents.

Documents that carry this clause

Equipment hire agreement template with the rates in a scheduleA hire agreement is a price list, an insurance decision and a return date, and the argument is always about the day it came back. This one puts the equipment and rates in a schedule, makes the damage waiver a choice with its price, and defines late return in hours so there is nothing to interpret.Loan agreement templateA Tasmanian foundry is borrowing $180,000 from a private investment company to buy a used induction furnace. The lender is not a bank, so everything a bank would take for granted has to be written down: what has to happen before the money moves, what is registered over what, and how long the borrower gets to fix a default.Commercial lease agreement template with outgoings and fit out termsA retail lease is decided by three numbers and two clauses: the rent, the review, the outgoings, the fit out contribution and the make good. This 12 page Victorian lease sets all five out in the open, including the outgoings the landlord is not allowed to recover at all.

Questions people ask