Parsons Behle & Latimer

Alan Mouritsen leads the firm’s appellate practice group. His practice focuses on civil and criminal appeals in state and federal appellate courts. He also assists clients with all aspects of appellate preservation, including drafting and arguing motions to dismiss, motions for summary judgment and trial-related motions.

Capabilities

Biography

Alan Mouritsen is a member of the firm’s litigation practice group and concentrates his practice on appeals, constitutional law, administrative law and securities litigation.

As part of his appellate practice, Mr. Mouritsen has written briefs in the Tenth Circuit, the Ninth Circuit, the Eighth Circuit, the Sixth Circuit, the Second Circuit, the Utah Supreme Court and the Utah Court of Appeals. He has argued before the Tenth Circuit, the Utah Supreme Court and the Utah Court of Appeals. He served two terms as a member of the Advisory Committee for the Utah Rules of Appellate Procedure and is a member of the CJA panel for the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

Mr. Mouritsen grew up in, and recently returned to, Grantsville, Utah, where he currently serves as a member of the Tooele County Board of Education. He received his bachelor's degree cum laude from Pomona College. He graduated with distinction from Stanford Law School, where he was an articles editor on the Stanford Law Review and a member of the Stanford Supreme Court Litigation Clinic. Following graduation, Mr. Mouritsen clerked for Judge Jay S. Bybee of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Experience

Four B Props., LLC v. Nature Conservancy, No. 25-8024, 2026 WL 1018353 (10th Cir. Apr. 15, 2026)

Successful defense of multi-million dollar claims for promissory estoppel at summary judgment and on appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. The U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming held that that the record evidence failed to establish any of the elements of promissory estoppel and that the landowner plaintiff was not entitled to relief in equity. The Tenth Circuit affirmed on appeal, upholding the binding terms of the perpetual conservation easement limiting plaintiff’s use of his property.

Bad Faith Insurance Prosecution

Obtained a jury verdict for a plastic surgeon client in a lawsuit against his insurance carrier for breach of the duty of good faith, then won on cross-appeal the right to pursue a punitive damages claim on his behalf. his medical malpractice insurer.

Nichols v. Jacobsen Construction Co., 2016 UT 9, 374 P.3d 3

On an issue of first impression in Utah, persuaded Utah Supreme Court in Nichols v. Jacobsen Construction Co., 2016 UT 9, 374 P.3d 3, that general contractor’s contractor-controlled insurance program entitled the contractor to immunity from injured worker’s tort suit under Utah law.

Accomplishments

Academic

Stanford Law School (2009)

Articles Editor, Stanford Law Review

Pomona College (2006)

Phi Beta Kappa

Conversant in Russian

Professional

Mountain States Super Lawyers, Appellate, 2019-present

Utah Legal Elite: Civil Litigation, 2021; Up & Coming, 2020

Associations

Professional

Tooele County Board of Education
Member

Advisory Committee for the Utah Rules of Appellate Procedure
Member

American Bar Association

Salt Lake County Bar Association

Insights

Year-Over-Year, Parsons Behle & Latimer Attorneys Ranked as Best in Mountain States Region: Super Lawyers Recognizes 29 Parsons Behle & Latimer Attorneys for 2025

Credentials

Licensed

U.S. Dist. Court, Dist. of Utah

Utah

U.S. Court of Appeals, 10th Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals, 6th Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit

Education

Stanford Law School