Background: Suyi Cao sought to stay enforcement of a $45,000 payment to Monkhouse Law Professional Corporation for a wrongful dismissal action until her breach of contract action against Monkhouse concluded. Monkhouse sought to dismiss Cao's action as an abuse of process.
Rulings:
The court dismissed Cao's motion for a stay, finding she did not meet the stringent criteria required for staying enforcement of a final order.
Monkhouse's motion to dismiss Cao's claim was granted, with the court finding issue estoppel and that relitigating the issues would be an abuse of process.
Conclusion: Cao's request for a stay was dismissed, and Monkhouse's motion to dismiss Cao's action was granted. The parties were encouraged to agree upon costs.
