K. Schoenfeldt

The defendant brought a motion to enforce a settlement agreement reached between counsel.

The plaintiff opposed the motion, arguing its former lawyer settled the action contrary to instructions and breached his duty of loyalty.

The court reviewed the communications between the plaintiff's principal and its former lawyer, finding the lawyer acted competently, loyally, and upon express instructions to settle.

The court found a binding settlement agreement existed and saw no reason to exercise its discretion to refuse enforcement.

The motion was granted, the action was dismissed, and costs of $10,000 were awarded to the defendant.

The moving defendants in a solicitor negligence action brought a motion to remove the plaintiff's lawyer from the record and for production of his litigation files.

The defendants argued the lawyer was likely to be a material witness regarding the plaintiff's efforts to mitigate damages on an appeal.

The court granted the motion to remove the lawyer, finding he was likely to be called as a witness and his role as advocate could not be reconciled with his role as a witness.

The motion for production of the litigation files was dismissed as premature and overbroad.