Retailer Conn’s Appliances Inc. has asked a federal judge to sanction its former senior legal counsel for representing a plaintiff now suing the company on causes of action similar to those that the in-house attorney defended during her tenure.
Attorney Trista Johnson, the retailer’s No. 2 in-house lawyer from December 2016 to February 2018, “willfully ignored her ethical and professional obligations” when she filed Telephone Consumer Protection Act and Texas Debt Collection Act claims against Conn’s, according to The Woodlands, Texas-based seller of furniture, mattresses, home appliances and consumer electronics. The company said she handled the exact same consumer claims for Conn on a daily basis.
