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MOTHER WAS AWARE OF THE GROUND FOR DISQUALIFYING FATHER’S ATTORNEY FOR YEARS BEFORE THE MOTION TO DISQUALIFY WAS MADE; MOTHER THEREBY WAIVED ANY OBJECTION TO FATHER’S COUNSEL (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing (modifying) Family Court, determined mother’s motion to disqualify father’s attorney should not have been granted because mother was aware of the ground for the motion in 2019 and did not move to disqualify until 2022. She was deemed to have waived any objection to father’s attorney:

The Family Court improvidently exercised its discretion in granting that branch of the mother’s motion which was to disqualify the father’s attorneys on the basis that the father’s current wife, the children’s stepmother, works as a paralegal in the law office that employs the father’s attorneys. * * *

Where a party seeks to disqualify its adversary’s counsel in the context of ongoing litigation, courts consider when the challenged interests became materially adverse to determine if the party could have moved 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 … . …

Here, the mother was aware of the employment of the father’s current wife at the law firm representing the father since 2019. Accordingly, the mother’s failure to move to disqualify the father’s attorneys until April 2022 constituted a waiver of her objection to the father’s legal representation … . In any event, the mother failed to demonstrate that the children will be prejudiced by the father being represented by his current attorneys. There is no evidence that during the course of her employment, the father’s current wife worked on the father’s case or that she otherwise communicated with the children about the case … . Matter of Marotta v Marotta, 2023 NY Slip Op 03694, Second Dept 7-5-23

Practice Point: If a party is aware of the ground for disqualification of the opposing party’s counsel but does not make a timely motion to disqualify (here years had passed), the moving party will be deemed to have waived any objection to opposing counsel.

 

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