Morrison & Frampton was established in 2002 when Sean and Diana Frampton joined Frank and Sharon Morrison in a firm dedicated to providing quality legal services to Western Montana with a focus on litigation.

Frank Morrison graduated with honors from the University of Denver Law School in 1962, began a successful litigation practice in Whitefish in 1969, and became Montana’s first Certified Civil Trial Advocate. In 1980, he was elected Justice of the Montana Supreme Court, Montana’s highest court. After seven years, he returned to private practice. Sharon graduated with honors from the University of Montana law school in 1979. After building a litigation practice, she became the first woman to be elected both President of the Montana Trial Lawyers Association and President of the Western Trial Lawyers Association. WTLA is an association of trial lawyer organizations in the western states. Frank and Sharon returned home to Whitefish in 1991 to continue their practice as Morrison Law Offices. Both enjoyed AV designation, the highest rating with Martindale Hubbell lawyer rating service.

Sean and Diana Frampton met in Missoula while attending law school. Sean graduated from law school in 1996 and began practicing law in Whitefish. From 1996-2002, Sean served as the Whitefish City Prosecutor while developing his civil trial practice. Upon her graduation in 1995, Diana was selected as law clerk for Chief US District Judge Jack Shanstrom before moving to Washington DC to serve as a federal prosecutor for the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section of the Department of Justice. She returned to Montana in 1999 to begin private practice.

After forming the firm of Morrison & Frampton, Frank and Sean successfully tried a number of cases to verdict. The cases involved issues relating to condemnation, employment law, contract law, constructive fraud against a minority shareholder, toxic tort litigation, and toxic mold. In addition to trials, Frank and Sean assisted a number of clients through litigation reaching settlements favorable to their position.

In 2006, Frank Morrison passed away after a very brief illness. Doug Scotti joined the firm in March 2006 after finding his way to Montana following hurricane Katrina. Later that year, Ryan Purdy joined the firm and is working on the transactional side of the real estate and business practice. In 2007, the firm opened a second office in Eureka.

Morrison & Frampton currently focuses its practice on general litigation, including real estate, land use and business, and on providing a full range of business services relating to those areas.

REAL ESTATE

• Extensive real estate and land use litigation
• Real estate transactions (buy-sell agreements, review title documentation, assist with closings)
• Subdivision applications and drafting of covenants
• Contract law, zoning issues, real estate fraud
• Constitutional issues relating to real estate

BUSINESS LAW

• General business consultation
• Disputes between businesses or on behalf of consumers against businesses
• Creating business entities
• Actions by insureds or injured persons against insurance companies

PRODUCT LIABILITY

• Injuries and losses caused by defective consumer products
• Airplane and automobile defects resulting in serious injury or death
• Defective prescription and over-the-counter drugs
• Construction-related issues involving defects in residential and commercial structures
• Defective consumer goods which cause injury
  

NEGLIGENCE

• Situations in which another's failure to act carefully or appropriately results in injury to you. These situations can include car accidents, railroad crossing accidents, unsafe premises, or faulty work. Negligence may also include situations where you suffer injury or loss because a professional person's work for you is not performed in a careful and prudent manner
  

ESTATE & TRUST LITIGATION

• Disputes arising out of wills and trusts