John L. Amsden
John holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Montana State University in Bozeman and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law School.
In the past 10 years, John has lead litigation teams recovering over $100 million in complex and multi-forum cases including minority shareholder litigation, director and officer liability cases, partnership disputes, accounting malpractice and insurance coverage disputes, for example:
In the Yellowstone Club World cases, John was lead counsel for the Chapter 7 Trustee of YCW, a membership club headquartered in Big Sky, Montana, which promised full access to resort properties around the world, along with use of various yachts and private jets, for its members. YCW’s owners diverted assets belonging to the club and its members for their own personal use and for use by their various other business entities. The firm recovered tens of millions of dollars from liquidation of resort properties around the world in order to compensate club members and other legitimate creditors.
In the Tidyman’s cases, John was co-lead counsel with Mike Black and Patrick HagEstad representing employee ESOP participants whose retirement accounts valued at $29 million were wiped out after corporate management made self-interested decisions to hold onto company stock when an opportunity to sell existed. This litigation involved several cases at the trial court level in four distinct actions in state and federal court across two states, as well as three separate appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the Montana Supreme Court.
In the Vann’s Inc. litigation, John was lead counsel for the Chapter 7 Trustee of Vann’s, Inc, which had been a successful, employee-owned retail appliance and electronics business in western Montana for many years. After its founder retired, its remaining officers, directors and managing agents engaged in a series of “insider” transactions effectively “looting” the company, and destroying Vann’s financial solvency. Vann’s was forced into bankruptcy, resulting in the loss of hundreds of jobs, the failure to pay millions of dollars owed to Vann’s legitimate creditors, and the loss of employee retirement funds. In that case, John led a team of legal and financial professionals who recovered $15.5 million (less certain defense fees) for distribution to the employee owners of Vann’s and other legitimate creditors.
In the BDHS v. Chubb litigation, John was co-lead counsel with Gary Zadick in representing Bozeman Deaconess hospital against its insurance carrier after the carrier failed to defend and then abandoned the hospital in underlying antitrust litigation.
In the Montana Hospitals litigation, John was co-lead counsel with John Morrison for employees of five Montana hospitals. The hospitals made a secret deal with a health insurer to charge above market employee health coverage prices in return for a $26 million cash payment split among the hospitals. The Hospitals agreed to pay $6.9 million to employees to resolve the case.
Areas Of Practice
- Personal Injury - Plaintiff
- Complex Business Litigation
- Car Accident Injuries
- Slip & Falls
- Employment Law - Employee Focused
- Medical Malpractice
- Legal Malpractice
- Aviation Liability
- Bad Faith Insurance
- Toxic Exposure
- ERISA Litigation
- Breach of Fiduciary Duty Litigation
Bar Admissions
Education
- Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, District of Columbia - 1988, Honors
- Law Journal: Georgetown Law Journal, Administrative Editor
- Montana State University, B.S., Civil Engineering - 1984
Lindsay C. Beck
Lindsay Beck, a native Montanan from Bozeman, interned at the American Civil Liberties Union legal office while a law student. Her studies concentrated on negligence law, product liability, insurance and environmental law, interests she pursues in her practice at the Beck firm. Ms. Beck is a member of the Montana State Bar and co-chair of the Public Communications Committee of the Montana Trial Lawyers Association. Ms. Beck also teaches an Honors Literature Class and Constitutional Law at Montana State University.
Lindsay enjoys being outside and experiencing all the amazing scenery Montana has to offer. She loves to ski and hike and spends her free summer afternoons in her garden. Along with exploring the great outdoors, Lindsay also finds herself in the classroom, teaching occasionally as an adjunct professor at Montana State University.
Ms. Beck is a member of the Montana State and Federal Bar.
Areas Of Practice
- Personal Injury - Plaintiff
- Employment Law – Employee Focused
- Environmental Law
- Negligence
- Product Liability
- Medical Malpractice
- Insurance Bad Faith
Bar Admissions
Education
- University of Montana School of Law, Missoula, Montana J.D.
- Montana State University - B.A. English - University Honors Program
- Lewis & Clark College, Portland, OR
Monte D. Beck
Monte Beck grew up in Anaconda, Montana, working summers on ranches and graduating from high school in 1971. Monte attended the University of Montana, graduating in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology. While at law school at the University of Montana, Monte served on the Editorial Board of the Montana Law Review and worked part time for the law firm of Garlington, Lohn and Robinson in Missoula, Montana. Upon graduation in 1979, he served as a U.S. District Court law clerk for two years with the Honorable Paul G. Hatfield, United States District Judge in Great Falls, Montana. He traveled with Judge Hatfield throughout the western United States, Hawaii and the Mariana Islands, including Guam and Saipan, where the court adjudicated disputes arising out of the Territorial Islands. After being exposed to a wide range of litigation practices as law clerk to the District Court, Monte decided on a career as a trial lawyer.
In January 1982, Monte opened the Beck Law Office in Bozeman, Montana. The emphasis of his practice was the representation of injured workers, consumers and employees. Shortly thereafter, he was asked by the District Court Judge to serve as one of Gallatin County's two Public Defenders, an invaluable experience for a courtroom lawyer. In 1986, he was invited to serve as a member on the Board of Directors of the Montana Trial Lawyers Association. In 1990, Monte was awarded the Montana Trial Lawyers Association's Public Service Award. In 1991, Monte was a recipient of the Trial Lawyer of the Year Award by the Montana Trial Lawyers Association for his representation of clients, the outstanding results achieved in the courtroom, and the pursuit of difficult cases. In 1993, he served as President of the Montana Trial Lawyers Association. In 2001 and 2002, he served as President of the prestigious Montana Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates. This organization is limited to a small group of plaintiff and defense lawyers whose civil trial experience and integrity are recognized as outstanding. Monte is a member of the Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, a sustaining member of the Montana and American Trial Lawyers Associations and a member of the Montana State Bar. Monte and the firm of Beck, Amsden, and Staples have received the highest available ethical and legal skill rating as determined by fellow attorneys and judges. He is listed in the Best Lawyers in America in the area of personal injury litigation. He is admitted before the Montana District Courts, the U.S. District Courts in Montana, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court where he has successfully represented injured railroad workers.
Monte is a frequent lecturer at Universities, the University of Montana Law School and legal seminars. Monte has represented numerous individuals in high profile cases. For example, he represented the Plaintiff in Jones v. American Red Cross, where a rural Montanan contracted AIDS through a blood transfusion while in a Portland hospital. He has appeared on national television including PBS, the CBS Morning Program and NBC Dateline. He was appointed as a Special Assistant Attorney General to co-represent the State of Montana in the tobacco litigation suit that resulted in a $900 million settlement on behalf of the State of Montana. His firm was one of ten Montana law firms chosen as local counsel for the State. Recent jury awards include a $2.2 million verdict on behalf of a victim sexually assaulted by a businessman; an $8 million wrongful death verdict for a defective tire; a $1.3 million medical negligence jury award; a $4.1 million settlement on behalf of lumber mill employees who lost their retirement after mill closure; and a $3.2 million wrongful death judgment on behalf of a tribal member while working as a sawyer under a Bureau of Indiana Affairs contract. Monte represents clients not only through trials of their cases, but also at the highest appellant level including the U.S. Supreme Court.
Monte is dedicated to the mission statement of the firm which is to zealously and competently represent individuals who have been injured, victimized or damaged as the result of the wrongdoing of corporations, insurance companies or the government.
For recreation, Monte loves to spend time skiing the peaks surrounding Bozeman or the Chugach mountain range of Alaska. During the summer you will find him on the water at Flathead Lake, on a hike in Glacier Park, or tending his cherry orchard in the Flathead Valley.
Areas Of Practice
- Personal Injury - Plaintiff
- Product Liability
- Medical Malpractice
- Environmental Law
- Insurance Bad Faith
Bar Admissions
Education
- University of Montana School of Law, Missoula, Montana - Law Review: Montana Law Review, Editorial Board
- University of Montana - B.S. Psychology
Michael G. Black
Michael G. Black holds a B.A. in History/Political Science from the University of Montana in Missoula and a J.D. from Cornell University Law School.
In the past ten years, Mike has led or supported litigation in complex and multi-forum cases including class actions, ERISA fiduciary disputes, minority shareholder litigation, director and officer liability cases, partnership disputes, insurance coverage disputes, and constitutional litigation. Before joining the firm as of counsel in 2017, Mike was a sole practitioner, Director of Litigation for Montana Legal Services, and Civil Bureau Chief and Senior Assistant Attorney General for the Montana Department of Justice. He has worked in complex civil litigation for over 30 years.
Mike worked in conjunction with the with the firm on the Tidyman’s cases, the Yellowstone Club World cases, the Vann’s Inc. litigation, and the Montana Hospitals litigation. He has associated with the firm on cases dating back to 1999. Mike was also lead counsel for the State of Montana in numerous constitutional cases from District Court to the U.S. Supreme Court involving due process, equal protection, and First Amendment rights.
Areas Of Practice
- Personal Injury – Plaintiff
- Complex Business Litigation
- Employment LW – Employee Focused
- Legal Malpractice
- Bad Faith Insurance
- ERISA Litigation
- Breach of Fiduciary Duty Litigation
- Constitutional Law and Entity Control Litigation
Bar Admissions
Education
- Cornell University Law School, 1989
- University of Montana, 1986 – B.A. in History/Political Science. Graduated with High Honors.
Anthony F. Jackson
Anthony Jackson is a fifth generation Montanan from Billings. Anthony graduated with honors from Montana State University - Bozeman with a degree in political science. Anthony attended the University Of Montana School Of Law where he served as the Student Bar Association President (law school student body president) his 2L and 3L years and received the Dean's Leadership Award. After graduating from law school in 2012, Anthony clerked for the Honorable Justice Brian Morris of the Montana Supreme Court before joining Beck, Amsden & Stalpes in 2013.
Anthony enjoys fishing, hunting, biking, and many other pleasures of the Montana outdoors. Anthony especially enjoys exploring Montana's Beartooth Plateau, Boulder River Valley, and Stillwater River Valley -- where his family has had a cabin since the mid-1900's. In addition to aiding Montana's consumers and those injured by other's negligence, Anthony's personal legal interests include politics and preserving Montanan's public land access rights.
Anthony's areas of practice include Products Liability, Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice, Consumer Law, Bankruptcy Adversarial Proceedings, Insurance Coverage, Insurance Bad Faith, Worker's Compensation, Commercial Trucking Collisions, and Defective and Dangerous Products.
Anthony is a member of the Gallatin County, Montana State, and Montana Federal, North Dakota State, and Ninth Circuit Bars.
Areas Of Practice
- Products Liability
- Personal Injury
- Medical Malpractice
- Consumer Law
- Bankruptcy Adversarial Proceedings
- Insurance Coverage
- Insurance Bad Faith
- Worker's Compensation
- Commercial Trucking Collisions
- Defective and Dangerous Products
Bar Admissions
Education
- University Of Montana School Of Law
- Montana State University - Bozeman
Justin P. Stalpes
Justin graduated with High Honors from the University of Montana in 2009, after which he joined the firm. Justin is a member of the Montana State and Federal Bar. He is admitted to practice before the Ninth Circuit US Court of Appeals, the Montana Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court.
Justin serves as a Board Member of the Montana Trial Lawyers Association and is Co-chair of the MTLA Amicus Committee, which writes legal briefs to the Montana Supreme Court on the behalf of consumers and injured persons. Justin is also a Board Member of the Gallatin Bar Association, co-taught US Constitutional Law at Montana State University and frequently speaks to law school classes and continuing education courses for attorneys.
Justin Stalpes is experienced in complex civil litigation in areas including insurance, class action, catastrophic injuries, environmental contamination, medical malpractice and products liability. He has recovered tens of millions of dollars for his clients. Some of Justin’s previous cases include:
In re Selway Litigation: Recovered $5,500,000 for the employee shareholders of Selway who alleged that the Selway Corporation Board of Directors and President had entered into conflicted interest transactions and failed to act in the best interests of the Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
Munderloh v. Avista: Recovered $7,500,000 on behalf of a man who had volunteered to build a church was electrocuted by a power line.
Friedman v. State of Montana: Recovered $675,000 plus additional amounts from the woman’s insurance carrier after a young woman was killed at an intersection near Bozeman. During the course of the litigation, the State adopted changes to the intersection necessary to save lives in the future.
Ayotte v. State of Montana: Recovered $1,200,000 from the State of Montana and entered into confidential settlements with two other entities responsible for injuries suffered when Scott Ayotte was driving along Highway 287 with his wife and infant son and a poorly maintained sign blew over in a windstorm and crashed through Ayotte’s windshield, striking him in the face.
Some of his notable appellate cases include:
Beehler v. E. Radiological Assocs., P.C. , 2012 MT 260, 367 Mont. 21, 289 P.3d 131 – reversing the district court’s grant of summary judgment and defining the requirements of an expert in medical malpractice cases.
Knudsen v. Univ. of Montana, 2019 MT 175, 396 Mont. 443, 445 P.3d 834 – affirming the certification of a class in a case brought on behalf of all students attending the university who were encouraged to engage the services of a third party vendor, Higher One, who subjected the students to excessive fees in order to receive loan refunds.
Christian v. Atl. Richfield Co., 2015 MT 255, 380 Mont. 495, 358 P.3d 131 & 2017 MT 324, 390 Mont. 76, 408 P.3d 515– reversing the district court’s grant of summary judgment in a contamination case brought on behalf of nearly 100 residents of Opportunity Montana and determining that the statute of limitations for plaintiffs’ trespass and nuisance claims was tolled by the continuing tort doctrine and plaintiffs’ claim was not preempted by CERCLA.
Keuffer v. O.F. Mossberg & Sons, Inc., 2016 MT 127, 383 Mont. 439, 373 P.3d 14 – disqualifying lawyers who met with the plaintiff before the litigation was initiated and rejected his case but later represented the defendant and used the meeting with counsel against him.
Justin and his wife have three wonderful children, Murray, Rowan and Eva. He grew up in a small town in Wisconsin that didn’t have a lawyer in it. He moved to Montana in 2002 and moved to Bozeman in 2009 where his wife Lindsay grew up.
Areas Of Practice
- Personal Injury - Plaintiff
- Product Liability
- Medical Malpractice
- Environmental Law
- Insurance Bad Faith
Bar Admissions
Education
- University of Montana School of Law, Missoula, Montana J.D. - 2009, Law Journal: Montana Law Review, 2008 - 2009
- University of Wisconsin - B.A. Film and Political Science
