SJJ Victory at the Minnesota Court of Appeals: Round Two

Smith Jadin Johnson attorneys Steve Moore and Charles Austinson collaborated again to achieve victory at the Minnesota Court of Appeals, successfully defending a District Court’s second order disqualifying defendant’s legal counsel on conflict grounds.

SJJ currently represents a plaintiff against her former employer for unpaid commissions, and against her business partner for usurpation of corporate opportunities. Back in January 2021, SJJ won round one at the Minnesota Court of Appeals with the appellate court upholding the disqualification of the business partner’s counsel from representing him in this case on the grounds of a conflict of interest. The Minnesota Court of Appeals remanded to the District Court on whether that same legal counsel could continue to represent plaintiff’s former employer.

SJJ successfully argued again that prior legal counsel should also be disqualified from representing plaintiff’s employer on the same conflict of interest grounds. Defendant employer’s legal counsel appealed to the Minnesota Court of Appeals again.

On July 18, 2022, the Minnesota Court of Appeals issued its opinion siding again with the District Court upholding the order to disqualify defendant’s legal counsel from representing it in this case.  After years of fighting over an issue the parties never should have had to, the case can now go forward with attorneys who don’t have a conflict of interest. Read the order here.

Att Smith Jadin Johnson, our appellate team will fight for you – even if we have to win twice.