Dina Barrese brought a motion to disqualify Niman Gelgoot & Associates (NGA) from acting as counsel for Dominic Barrese, her former husband.
Dina had contacted NGA twice (in 2016 and 2019) with the intention of retaining them, disclosing sensitive personal and confidential information.
NGA subsequently accepted Dominic as a client.
The court applied the MacDonald Estate v. Martin test, finding that a previous solicitor-client relationship existed between Dina and NGA, leading to an inference that confidential information was imparted.
NGA failed to discharge the difficult burden of proving no relevant information was imparted.
The court emphasized the appearance of impropriety, especially in family law disputes, and granted the disqualification order.
