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Professional Awards
- “AV” rating by Martindale-Hubbell®
- Included in peer selected publication The Best Lawyers in America® in the category of
product liability litigation
- Community Service Award for the Southwest Judicial District from the State Bar Association
of North Dakota, 2005
- Outstanding Chairman Award, State Bar Association of North Dakota, 1992
Professional Memberships
- Charter member of the North Dakota Defense Lawyers Association. Served as association
president from 1994-1998
- State Bar Association of North Dakota
- Defense Research Institute
- International Association of Defense Counsel
Court Admissions
- North Dakota Supreme Court
- United States District Court – North Dakota
- United States Court of Appeals – Eighth Circuit
Education
- Bachelor of Arts, Gonzaga University, Spokane, Washington, Political Science, 1971
- Juris Doctorate, The National Law Center, George Washington University, Washington, D.C., 1976
- Certificate: General Mediation Skills, Hamline University Law and Graduate Schools, St. Paul, Minnesota, 2002
Former Law Firm Affiliation:
- Mackoff Kellogg Law Firm, Dickinson, North Dakota
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Paul Ebeltoft
pebeltoft@eskgb.com
Paul Ebeltoft has over three decades of legal experience as a trial lawyer in North Dakota. Even though he has represented some of the largest companies in the country when their interests brought them before North Dakota courts, Paul counts among his greatest success those cases where he has helped individuals who needed a chance at justice. Some of his most notable successes are where others failed to see the potential of the case.
A sampling of significant reported cases in which Paul played a key role are:
- Herold v. Burlington Northern, Inc., In this case, Paul was a part of a team of lawyers who helped a brain-damaged quadriplegic and his wife recover what is believed to be the largest personal injury jury award ever made in our state.
- West Plains Electric Cooperative, Inc. v. Petroleum Tank Release Compensation Fund, This case was one of first impression. The State of North Dakota refused to compensate Paul’s client for its remediation of a contaminated chemical storage and use area. He successfully showed how the agency had failed to follow its own rules.
- Dickinson Public School District, et al. v. Wayne Sanstead, Superintendent, Department of Public Instruction, et. al, This is a case that Paul lost. It was a claim against the State of North Dakota for reimbursement for underpayment of per pupil student aid to primary and secondary school districts. Some cite the dissenting opinion as a break in the North Dakota Supreme Court’s defense of sovereign immunity.
- Ron Rebel, Jr. et al. v. Nodak Mutual Insurance Company, In this fairly pedestrian declaratory judgment case Paul won the case based upon an issue which was not apparent, and indeed, not ripe for determination until the case had entered appellate review. Plaintiff’s failure to obtain an assignment as a part of a Miller-Shugart agreement, resulted in dismissal of his appeal.
- Voge v. Schnaidt, This was a case of first impression in North Dakota. Paul won at the trial court level by arguing that the federal maritime statute of limitations, not the longer North Dakota statute, governed personal injury litigation arising from a boating accident on the Missouri River. At the Supreme Court later upheld Paul’s lower court victory, setting a new standard for boating accidents on navigable waters in the nation’s most landlocked state.
With his extensive background, Paul is able to assist in certain aspects of all of the practice teams established by the firm but he concentrates his practice within the firm’s Litigation Solutions and Alternatives to Litigation areas.
Also a trained mediator and arbitrator, Paul’s background in alternative dispute resolution dates back to its earliest use in North Dakota. He is skilled in customizing mediation techniques to a variety of litigation settings.
Paul and his wife, Gail, live in Dickinson where together they share a commitment to their community and their family. Gail and Paul involve themselves in a variety of philanthropic organizations both in Dickinson and across the state of North Dakota. Paul and Gail have two grown sons, David and Rob, who both live and work in New York City.
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