The mother of a severely disabled adult plaintiff brought a motion to be appointed as his litigation guardian and to be permitted to represent him without legal counsel in an action against a residential care facility.
The defendants brought a cross-motion to dismiss the action as a nullity because it was commenced by a non-lawyer, or alternatively to appoint the Public Guardian and Trustee.
The court held that commencing the action without a lawyer was an irregularity, not a nullity, and refused to dismiss the claims.
However, the court found the mother could not act as litigation guardian because she failed to retain counsel as required by the Rules of Civil Procedure, failed to file the requisite affidavit, and lacked the necessary indifference to the outcome of the litigation.
The Office of the Children's Lawyer was appointed as litigation guardian.
