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Seventh Amendment Right Applies To Statutory Claims

1974

In Curtis v. Loether, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that the Seventh Amendment gives parties the right to a jury trial in all civil cases, even when the basis for the lawsuit is a congressionally enacted statute rather than a “common law” cause of action. The Court concludes that there is a two-part test for deciding whether a statute triggers a jury right: the kind of rights protected by the statute and the kind of remedy provided for under the statute.