A Supreme Court justice has put off the sale of the former St. Patrick’s-Alexandra school.

After a late-evening hearing on Wednesday, Justice Patrick Duncan granted an emergency motion for an interim stay of the sale “pending a further order of the court.”

The applicants in the case, the North End Community Health Association, the Richard Preston Centre For Excellence Society, and the MicMac Native Friendship Society, are the groups who applied to HRM’s request for proposals for the St. Pat’s property.

The suit is over HRM’s process of selling the property, not following its own policy and the lack of community consultation. The developer who won the bid, Jono Developments Ltd., is listed as an “interested party” in the documents.

Mary Ellen Donovan, director of legal services for HRM, said it’s a two-week stay pending more comprehensive documentation on the issue. A court date has been set for Feb. 16 and at that point Duncan will decide on extending the temporary stay on the sale.

Ron Pink, the lawyer for the community groups, has asked for a judicial review on the process HRM followed during the sale. He said he expects it to be several months before he finds out whether the request will be granted or not.

A judicial review could halt the sale completely or make HRM start from the beginning, and this time according to policy.

HRM is also considering making its own motion, possibly on Feb. 16, for a summary judgment in the case.

“It’s the municipality’s position that the process followed by the municipality is a proper process,” Donovan said.