Phillips v. Phillips

ARNOLD, Judge.

I

A primary question presented by this appeal is whether the plaintiff had a. right to trial by jury in this action based on the Equitable Distribution Act, G.S. 50-20, -21. The Act does not expressly or implicitly provide for jury trial. Rather, G.S. 50-21(a) states, in pertinent part, “. . . [n]othing in G.S. 50-20 or this section shall restrict or extend the right to trial by jury as provided by the Constitution of North Carolina.”

The North Carolina Constitution provides that “[i]n all controversies at law respecting property, the ancient mode of trial by jury is one of the…