Criminal Law

• Wrongful Death
  First, there was Les Skramstad, who was diagnosed with asbestos-related disease in his 50s, years after working at the W.R. Grace vermiculite mine in Libby as a young man. The statute of limitations prevented him from seeking benefits through Worker’s Comp, but the Montana Supreme court had recently held that civil tort suits could be brought against the employer in such circumstances. We knew he had a strong case when we uncovered old inspection documents from Montana’s Department of Public Health showing there was an enormous amount of dust in the air at the mine, and that the dust contained large amounts of toxic asbestos. We brought Les’s case to trial in 1997 and won. The publicity kicked off a domino of former W.R. Grace workers and families knocking on our door, including Gayla Benefield. Her mother, Margaret, suffered severe asbestos-related disease and eventually died. Her father had worked at the mine, and came home each night with dust on his clothes, unknowingly exposing his family to toxic asbestos. We took Gayla’s case and again succeeded in 1998 with wrongful death verdict. The next case was Jerry Finstead, who worked at W.R. Grace for a short time as a young man—long enough to contract asbestos-related disease. This jury again returned a verdict in favored Jerry, awarding both compensatory and punitive damages. By the late 1990s, after succeeding three times with juries against the company and settling other cases on the eve of trial, we began to wonder how many other ailing workers and families there were who deserved justice.
• Misdemeanors
  Being raised in Libby, Montana and seeing first-hand the impacts of asbestos on her hometown inspired Jinnifer to attend law school. During law school she served as the head law clerk for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Portland, Oregon, prosecuting federal misdemeanors. Upon graduation, Jinnifer began her practice in Bend, Oregon where she represented clients in complex commercial, business, estate, and tribal disputes. In December 2011, Jinnifer returned home to Montana eventually becoming a partner in a firm where she continued to help clients resolve civil disputes involving property, professional negligence, estate, business, and local governments.

Business and Corporate Law

• Corporate Law

Employment Law

• Workers Compensation
  Maryland Casualty, W.R. Grace’s Workers Compensation Insurer who knew of worker disease and failed to inform these workers of the hazards of their employment, sold off their asbestos liability to an overseas investment company, Enstar. Under Montana law, if liability... read more

Property Law

• Land Use and Zoning
  At McGarvey Law, we champion healthy communities, safe places to work, and a clean environment. The firm represents individuals suffering from the effects of exposure to dangerous substances, especially those suffering from Libby asbestos diseases. We also advocate on behalf of individuals denied the right to work in a safe and healthy environment and represent private property owners working to clean up contaminated lands. The firm has a particular specialty in complex cases, including insurance, class actions, and land use law.

Health Law

• Personal Injury
  The Libby Asbestos case is the largest personal injury case ever filed in Montana. McGarvey Law won settlements over $300,000,000, and is still fighting to this day to ensure the people of Libby regain some of losses they suffered.

Finance Law

• Bankruptcy