You are here: / / Conflict of Interest Waived Where Respondent Knew of the Conflict and Participated...

Conflict of Interest Waived Where Respondent Knew of the Conflict and Participated in Prior Proceedings for Some Time

he Fourth Department determined a disqualifying conflict of interest existed between respondent and petitioner’s attorney, but that respondent had waived the conflict by participating in prior aspects of the case without objection:

…[R]espondent established that she had a prior attorney-client relationship with petitioner’s attorney, that the issues in the two litigations are substantially related, each involving ownership of the same parcel of property, and that her interests are adverse to those of petitioner … . Usually, that would create an “irrebuttable presumption of disqualification” …, but many courts have nevertheless denied disqualification upon finding that a party has waived any objection to the purported conflict of interest … .

In determining whether a party has waived any objection to a conflict of interest, “courts consider when the challenged interests became materially adverse to determine if the party could have moved [for disqualification] at an earlier time . . . If a party moving for disqualification was aware or should have been aware of the facts underlying an alleged conflict of interest for an extended period of time before bringing the motion, that party may be found to have waived any objection to the other party’s representation . . . Further, where a motion to disqualify is made in the midst of litigation where the moving party knew of the alleged conflict of interest well before making the motion, it can be inferred that the motion was made merely to secure a tactical advantage”… . Matter of David C Peters, 2015 NY Slip Op 00042, 4th Dept 1-2-15

 

You might also like
“Open and Obvious” Nature of Defect Does Not Negate Duty to Keep Premises Safe.
Even If Initial Frisk of Defendant Was Unlawful, the Defendant’s Pushing the Officer and Running Away Justified the Defendant’s Arrest (for Harassment of the Officer) and Seizure of Drugs
NO JUSTIFICATION FOR A STRIP SEARCH, EVIDENCE SHOULD HAVE BEEN SUPPRESSED.
Leasing Company Which Never Had Possession of the Product (Here a Garbage Truck) and Which Was a Financial Arm of the Purchaser, Not the Manufacturer, of the Product, Entitled to Dismissal of Strict Products Liability Cause of Action/However, a Question of Fact Was Raised Whether the Finance Lessor Was Liable for Failure to Inspect the Product on the Ground It Had Designated an Agent for Inspection on Its Behalf
RECORDED STATEMENTS MADE TO THE MOTHER OF DEFENDANT’S CHILDREN, WHO WAS ACTING AS A POLICE AGENT AT THE TIME THE STATEMENTS WERE MADE, REQUIRED THE REOPENING OF THE HUNTLEY HEARING, CASE REMITTED.
GOLFER ASSUMED THE RISK OF LOSING CONTROL OF HER GOLF CART ON A WET SLOPE.
NEW YORK DID NOT HAVE SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION OVER A CUSTODY MATTER BECAUSE THE CHILD HAD NOT LIVED IN NEW YORK FOR SIX MONTHS AT THE TIME THE PROCEEDINGS WERE COMMENCED, NEW JERSEY STILL HAD JURISDICTION AT THAT TIME BECAUSE THE CHILD HAD BEEN REMOVED FROM NEW JERSEY LESS THAN SIX MONTHS BEFORE THE NEW YORK PROCEEDINGS WERE COMMENCED (FOURTH DEPT).
GRAND JURY EVIDENCE WAS SUFFICIENT TO SUPPORT ROBBERY FIRST DEGREE DESPITE THE VICTIM’S TESTIMONY THAT HE DID NOT SEE A KNIFE (FOURTH DEPT).

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2025 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

Appeal Dismissed Pursuant to Fugitive Disentitlement Doctrine Reinstated Upon... Supreme Court Properly Considered Documentary Evidence Re: a Motion to Dismiss...