Charles B. Wagner

Co-owners of a residential apartment complex brought a motion to stay a partition and sale application or, alternatively, to have it heard together with or consolidated with an earlier civil action involving related family disputes over the property and alleged financial dealings.

The court considered Rule 6.01(1) of the Rules of Civil Procedure governing consolidation of proceedings and the balance of convenience factors articulated in prior case law.

The court held that the two proceedings involved different legal issues and procedural postures, with the application proceeding on affidavit evidence and the action involving historical contractual and estate-related claims.

The court also found the motion was brought late and appeared designed to delay adjudication of the partition application.

The motion to stay, consolidate, or hear the matters together was dismissed.

The respondent in an estate litigation matter brought a motion to remove the applicant's solicitors of record, alleging a conflict of interest because the firm had previously acted for her on a mortgage transaction concerning the disputed property.

The court dismissed the motion, finding that no relevant confidential information had been imparted during the prior retainer and noting the respondent's unexplained 14-month delay in raising the conflict issue.