The defendants brought a motion under Rule 59.06(2)(a) to vary a consent order that established a wait-and-see deadline for striking their jury notice due to COVID-19 court capacity limits.
The defendants argued that recent communication from defence counsel in a conflicting criminal jury trial constituted new facts justifying an extension of the deadline.
The court dismissed the motion, finding that the communication did not amount to new facts that could not have been known earlier, and emphasized that courts should rarely vary voluntary consent orders.
