Labor Law - Management Litigation - Environmental
MM 
Michael Manning
Recognized in Best Lawyers since 2017 Awarded Practice Areas
Biography
A former law clerk for Ninth Circuit Judges Thomas G. Nelson and N. Randy Smith, Michael Manning’s practice focuses on appellate advocacy and complex litigation. He has argued multiple appeals in the Ninth Circuit, and regularly represents clients in both federal and state courts. His appellate and trial-level litigation experience covers a broad range of substantive topics, including environmental litigation, constitutional issues, intellectual property, bank bad faith and lender liability, personal injury and wrongful death, employment disputes, real estate, and contract disputes.
Mr. Manning is a Montana native and a current board member of the Montana Justice Foundation. He is a past member of the ABA Council of Appellate Lawyers Rules Committee, as well as a past board member of the Yellowstone Area Bar Association. He is admitted to practice in all Montana state courts, as well as the United States District Court for the District of Montana and the United States Courts of Appeal for the Ninth, Tenth, D.C. and Federal Circuits.
Overview
- The University of Montana, Juris Doctor, graduated 2006
- University of Notre Dame, Bachelor's of Business Administration, graduated 2003
- Montana, 2006
- ABA Council of Appellate Lawyers Rule Committee - Past Member
- American Bar Association - Member
- Montana Justice Foundation - Board Member
- State Bar of Montana - Member
- Yellowstone Area Bar Association - Member and Past Board Member
- Montana state courts
- U.S. District Court for the District of Montana
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals
- Montana, 2006
- ABA Council of Appellate Lawyers Rule Committee - Past Member
- American Bar Association - Member
- Montana Justice Foundation - Board Member
- State Bar of Montana - Member
- Yellowstone Area Bar Association - Member and Past Board Member
- The University of Montana, Juris Doctor, graduated 2006
- University of Notre Dame, Bachelor's of Business Administration, graduated 2003
- Montana state courts
- U.S. District Court for the District of Montana
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- United States Court of Appeals
Client Testimonials
Awards & Focus
Named "Lawyer of the Year" by Best Lawyers® for:
- Litigation - Environmental, Billings (2024)
- Litigation - Environmental, Billings (2022)
- Litigation - Environmental, Billings (2020)
Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2026 for work in:
- Labor Law - Management
- Litigation - Environmental
Additional Areas of Practice:
- Appellate Practice
- Commercial Litigation
News & Media
Case History
Cases
- Northland Royalty Corp. v. Engel, 339 P.3d 599 (Mont. 2014)
The Montana Supreme Court held that the controlling statute permitted the client to rely on the authority of a personal representative of an estate, the court’s ruling returned ownership to the client of millions of dollars in mineral rights.
- Slagter v. Citibank, N.A., 348 P.3d 169 (Mont. 2014)
The Montana Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of a wrongful foreclosure case, ruling that the Montana Uniform District Court rules do not allow a non-moving party to unilaterally convert a motion to dismiss into a summary judgment motion by attaching matters outside the pleadings to its response, and thus gain an extra seven days to respond.
- Tulio-Hernandez v. Holder, No. 13-70553 (9th Cir.)
After receiving our opening brief, the government voluntarily moved to remand to the Board of Immigration Appeals for reconsideration of an asylum application—a result that effectively gave the client the relief he would have received had he fully prevailed on the merits.
- Burnett v. PPL Montana, LLC, 2013 WL 6331591 (Mont. Dec. 3, 2013)
The Montana Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s dismissal of claims alleging participation in an illegal boycott and a conspiratorial scheme to deny the plaintiffs employment.
- Flexible Lifeline Sys., Inc. v. Precision Lift, Inc., 654 F.3d 989 (9th Cir. 2011)
The Ninth Circuit vacated a preliminary injunction and held that, under the Copyright Act, a copyright holder seeking a preliminary injunction is no longer entitled to a presumption of irreparable harm upon a showing of a likelihood of success on the merits. Other courts have subsequently cited this case more than 70 times.
- Flagstone Development, LLC v. Joyner, 787 Fed. App’x 368 (9th Cir. 2019)
In a years-long case involving dispute over a multi-million dollar land transaction, the Ninth Circuit affirmed an earlier entry of judgment on all tort claims against our client, confirmed that the district court properly excluded the other party’s damages experts, and held that summary judgment in favor of our client was appropriate on breach of contract. The result was a complete victory for our client.
- Western Security Bank v. Schneider Ltd. Partnership, 816 F.3d 587 (9th Cir. 2016)
Considering the issue for the first time, the court adopted a two-step process for determining whether jurisdiction exists under Section 16(a) of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), and held that because the opponent’s motion for a stay did not seek relief under the FAA, the court lacked jurisdiction to consider an appeal from the denial of that motion.
- Alcohol Monitoring Sys., Inc. v. BI Inc., No. 2014-1266 (Fed. Cir. July 13, 2015)
The Federal Circuit summarily affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment in a patent dispute involving technology underlying some of the remote electronic monitoring devices used by courts and law enforcement.
- Masters Grp. Int’l, Inc. v. Comerica Bank, 352 P.3d 1101 (Mont. 2015)
The Montana Supreme Court reversed a $52 million jury verdict in a breach of contract case against Comerica Bank, adopting each of the arguments made in our amicus curiae brief.
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