While California does not permit pre-dispute jury trial waivers, jury trial waivers are enforceable in many states. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida recently held in Thompson v. Caliber Home Loans, Inc., that the successor and assign of the original lender has standing to enforce a jury trial waiver contained in a mortgage while the loan servicer of that mortgage does not have standing to invoke the jury trial waiver.

In Thompson, the plaintiff obtained a loan and executed a mortgage containing a jury trial waiver in which plaintiff waived "any right to a trial by jury in any action, proceeding, claim or counterclaim, whether in contract or tort, at law or in equity, arising out of or in a way related to" the mortgage or note. The plaintiff filed a complaint against the current holder of the mortgage (Successor and Assign Defendant) and the loan servicer for the mortgage (the Loan Servicer Defendant) alleging that defendants engaged in illegal debt collection practices in violation of the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act (FCCPA), the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). The complaint contained a jury trial demand. Each defendant filed a motion to strike the plaintiff's jury trial demand. 

Applying contract principles, the Court separately considered whether each defendant had standing to invoke the jury trial waiver in plaintiff's mortgage. The Court held that the Loan Servicer Defendant did not have standing to enforce the provision because it was not a party to the mortgage. In contrast, the Court concluded that the Successor and Assign Defendant was entitled to enforce the jury trial waiver because the mortgage expressly provided that the covenants and agreements contained therein inured to the benefit of the original lender's successors and assigns. 

Finally, the Court granted the plaintiff's request to try this case with an advisory jury under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 39(c) and ruled that the plaintiff's claims against both defendants would be tried together. At trial, the jury will provide a binding verdict as to all claims against the Loan Servicer Defendant and is to provide an advisory opinion to the Court as to all claims against the Successor and Assign Defendant.