If on the trial any complaint is so amended as to call for legal instead of equitable relief, the judicial authority shall not proceed to judgment until the defendant has had a reasonable opportunity to put the issue or issues, on which the new claim for relief may be based, on the jury docket. (See General Statutes § 52-138 and annotations.)
Section 10-64.—Amendment Calling for Legal Relief; Jury Trial
Current through August 12, 2025 (2026 Practice Book edition) · Last verified July 9, 2026
In one sentenceThis rule protects a defendant's jury-trial rights by requiring the judicial authority to give the defendant a reasonable chance to place new issues on the jury docket before judgment when an amendment switches a complaint from equitable to legal relief.
Full Text of Section 10-64
Amendment History
(P.B. 1978-1997, Sec. 180.)
Plain-English Summary
Section 10-64 follows directly from the amendment allowed under Section 10-63. If a complaint is amended at trial so that it calls for legal relief instead of equitable relief, the judicial authority cannot proceed to judgment right away. The defendant must first have a reasonable opportunity to put the issue or issues on which the new claim for relief is based onto the jury docket.
The reasoning is that equitable claims are ordinarily tried to the court, while legal claims can carry a right to a jury. Changing a complaint from equitable to legal relief mid-trial can create issues the defendant is entitled to have a jury decide, so the rule builds in a pause for that request before the case moves to judgment.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens to jury rights when a Connecticut complaint is amended to seek legal relief?
Under Section 10-64, once a complaint is amended at trial to call for legal instead of equitable relief, the judicial authority must give the defendant a reasonable opportunity to put the resulting issues on the jury docket before proceeding to judgment.
Does the defendant automatically get a jury after this kind of amendment?
The rule requires only that the defendant have a reasonable opportunity to request the jury docket for the new issues; it does not itself grant a jury trial without that request.
Can the court enter judgment right after this kind of amendment is allowed?
No. Section 10-64 states the judicial authority shall not proceed to judgment until the defendant has had that reasonable opportunity.
How does Section 10-64 relate to Section 10-63?
Section 10-63 allows the amendment from equitable to legal relief, and Section 10-64 supplies the procedural safeguard that follows once such an amendment is made.
Source & verification. The section text is reproduced verbatim from the
official Connecticut Practice Book (Conn. Practice Book § 10-64). Prescribed by the Judges of the Superior Court of Connecticut (Conn. Gen. Stat. Section 51-14). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 9, 2026. ·
Official source
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