One of the most active trial lawyers, Alan W. Mortensen has been the lead attorney on numerous cases – including aviation and truck accidents as well as insurance bad faith claims – that have been closely followed throughout the nation as well as in Utah, including his record setting $25,000,000 product liability wrongful death jury verdict in Utah and Elko, Nevada bus tragedy case.
These cases have also included being on the steering committee of the Asiana Air Disaster at San Francisco, and a multi-million-dollar result from the Utah Supreme Court against the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints’ United Effort Plan Trust. He also was the lead attorney in a Guatemalan Air disaster in which several service missionaries from Utah, Illinois and Guatemala were killed and injured in a Cessna Caravan that had a defective Pratt & Whitney PT6 Engine. He has spent an extensive amount of time across the world investigating and litigating other aviation disasters, including cases in Honduras, Peru and Oregon.
Mr. Mortensen also was one of the lead attorneys in the Crandall Canyon Mine disaster case. He has tried and litigated diverse semi-truck disasters, including representing victims against such companies as Merit Trucking, Marten Trucking, Knight Trucking, Fed Ex, JB Hunt Trucking, Werner Trucking, Swift Trucking, Central Refrigerated Trucking, H&R Transport and Utility Trailers.
Mr. Mortensen also tries and litigates motor vehicle accidents, mining accidents, sexual abuse, civil rights, workplace injury, product liability, medical negligence, construction defect, forfeiture, employment, and insurance bad faith and coverage cases in the state and federal courts of Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming. Several of these cases have resulted in multi-million-dollar settlements or verdicts. He has also successfully appealed cases to the Utah Supreme Court, the Utah Court of Appeals, the Wyoming Supreme Court, and the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Mr. Mortensen is a member of American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) and Litigation Counsel of America. He is part of the Mountain States Super Lawyers list, an honor awarded to only five percent of attorneys in Utah each year. He is in the Top 100 Trial Lawyers of The American Trial Lawyers, is a platinum member of The Verdict Club for Premier Trial Lawyers and is a member of the Million Dollar and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum for having both verdicts and settlements in the eight-figure range. For several years, he has been selected as one of Utah’s Legal Elite, as recognized by Utah Business magazine.
Mr. Mortensen is active in many professional organizations. A past President of the Utah Association for Justice, he also is a member of the American Association for Justice. He is a member of the Utah State Bar and the Salt Lake County Bar Associations, as well as the Wyoming Trial Lawyers Association. He is a Barrister in the David K. Watkiss-Sutherland II (American Inns of Court). He also is sought periodically for interviews in the national media regarding his legal expertise.
An alumnus of Brigham Young University, the University of Utah and the University of Wyoming’s College of Law, where he was published and edited for The Wyoming Law Review. Mr. Mortensen is fluent in Spanish, having lived in Mexico and Guatemala. He has gained working expertise in the civil codes of Latin America and their application to Courts in the United States and has authored articles that have appeared in several legal journals, including the Utah Trial Journal. He is a frequent lecturer and has given several seminar presentations to his peers. He lives in Bountiful, Utah with his wife, Robyn. They have five children and five grandchildren. When Mr. Mortensen is not busy practicing law, he is an avid Westminster volleyball fan, Brigham Young University football fan and a member of the BYU Cougar Club. An arts advocate, he sat for many years on the board of directors at Centerpoint Legacy Theater, which he and his wife continue to support.
