Bio

Matt Murphy grew up in Rapid City, South Dakota and attended the University of South Dakota for both undergraduate studies and law school. He played football for the University and was named Academic All-American (Second Team). In law school, he was involved in various organizations, including the trial team, and he graduated with Sterling Honors, which recognizes the top 10% of the class.

Following law school, Matt completed a clerkship with the Second Judicial Circuit in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He then joined Boyce Law Firm’s litigation section in August 2011 and was named partner in January 2018.

Matt enjoys spending his free time with his wife, Brooke, their two sons, Gavin and Graham, and with extended family and friends. He loves to be outdoors golfing, hunting, and hiking. He also spends his free time supporting—often too enthusiastically, according to his wife—the USD Coyotes and Denver Broncos.

Practice Areas

Professional and Community

Licensed to Practice in South Dakota’s state and federal courts, as well as at the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals

• State Bar of South Dakota
  • State Bar Evidence Committee – Chairperson
• Second Circuit Bar Association Member
• DRI Member
  • Medical Liability and Health Care Law Committee
  • Litigation Skills Committee
• South Dakota Defense Lawyers Association Member
• The University of South Dakota Foundation
  • Trustee
• Sioux Empire United Way Volunteer
• Embrace Church

Awards and Recognition

Matt has been recognized by his peers with the Martindale-Hubbel, AV Preeminent, ranking, which is the highest ranking available from the organization and is based upon excellence in legal expertise, communication skills, and ethical standards.

Matt has also been recognized by the peer review organization, Best Lawyers, as “One to Watch” in the following areas:

• Health Care Law
• Medical Malpractice Law – Defendants
• Personal Injury Litigation – Defendants
• Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs

In 2017, Matt was awarded the South Dakota Defense Lawyers Association’s Rising Star Award.

Reported Cases and Results

Matt has resolved numerous cases through negotiation or mediation, however, sometimes cases must go to trial. That is no problem for Matt and the Boyce Team.

Matt has represented his clients in the following jury trials:

• 2021 (jury) – Obtained a defense verdict for a hospital and its staff in a professional negligence case.
* Kelly v. Avera McKennan Hospital, Second Judicial Circuit, State of South Dakota.

• 2021 (jury) – Obtained a defense verdict for a hospital in a wrongful death case.
* Schlueter v. Huron Regional Medical Center, Third Judicial Circuit, State of South Dakota

• 2018 (jury) – Obtained a defense verdict for a local golf course in a premises liability slip and fall case.
* Daniel McAllister v. City of Brandon, Second Judicial Circuit, State of South Dakota, Civ. No. 16-3137.

• 2016 (jury) – Obtained a defense verdict for a pediatric gastroenterologist in a medical malpractice trial wherein the plaintiff asked for over $5 million in damages.
* Basil O’Day and Tracy McClure, as Guardian ad Litem for N.W.O. v. Stephen Nanton, M.D., Second Judicial Circuit, State of South Dakota, Civ. No. 12-1717.
* Decision affirmed by the South Dakota Supreme Court.  O’Day v. Nanton, 2017 S.D. 90, —N.W.2d—-.

• 2016 (jury) – Represented a local hospital and its nursing staff in a bariatric surgery and sepsis case, which the plaintiff dismissed three days into trial.
* Lakisha M. Brown and Dustin Brown v. The Surgical Institute of South Dakota and Avera McKennan, Second Judicial Circuit, State of South Dakota, Civ. No. 12-3090.

• 2015 (jury) – Obtained a defense verdict for a hospital in a wrongful termination trial wherein the plaintiff physician presented a damages model of nearly $6 million in allegedly lost wages.
* Dr. Sonia Hernandez, D.O., v. Avera Queen of Peace Hospital (AQOP) & Dr. Joe Krall, First Judicial Circuit, State of South Dakota, Civ. No. 12-268.
* Decision affirmed by the South Dakota Supreme Court. Hernandez v. Avera Queen of Peace, 886 N.W.2d 338 (S.D. 2016).

• 2014 (jury) – Obtained a directed verdict for a hospital in a premises liability trial.
* Cynthia Leonard v. Prairie Lakes Healthcare System, Inc., Third Judicial Circuit, State of South Dakota, Civ. No. 13-0538.

• 2013 (jury) – Obtained a Plaintiff’s verdict for an individual and his business, in a breach of contract and defamation trial, of approximately $250,000.
   * Dudley J. Deffenbaugh, Individually and Deffenbaugh Construction Inc., d/b/a Deffenbaugh Homes v. Janeen Steffen, Second Judicial Circuit, State of South Dakota, Civ. No. 12-2477.

• 2015 (court) – Obtained a favorable result for a local municipality in a property dispute.
* Cory Baker and Donal Gohman v. City of Brandon, Second Judicial Circuit, State of South Dakota, Civ. No. 14-458.

• 2014 (court) – Obtained a favorable result for a hospital in a property dispute.
* Avera McKennan v. Brady Spurlin, Second Judicial Circuit, State of South Dakota, Civ. No. 14-1689.

Matt also has a long history of getting his clients dismissed out of cases on legal grounds.  The below lists some of the more notable cases:

• 2023 – Obtained summary judgment in favor of his business client in a commercial case brought against it by a local specialty hospital; Case affirmed by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
*Select Specialty Hospital v. Brentwood Hutterian, 81 F.4th 793 (8th Cir. 2023)

• 2021 – Obtained summary judgment and a dismissal for the medical staff at a local jail in a professional liability case.
*Mesteth v. Nelinda, 2021 WL 2711560 (D.S.D. 2021)

• 2021 – Obtained summary judgment in favor of a medical provider in a professional liability case. The judgment was affirmed by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
*East v. Minnehaha County, 968 F.3d 816 (8th Cir. 2021)

• 2020 – Assisted in obtaining summary judgment for a hospital against a wrongful termination, breach of contract, and defamation case.
*Henning v. Avera McKennan, 945 N.W.2d 526 (S.D. 2020)

• 2017 – Obtained summary judgment in favor of a national truck stop chain in a motor vehicle accident case.  The judgment was summarily affirmed by the S.D. Supreme Court.
   * Alfreda Siems v. Pilot Travel Centers, LLC, Second Judicial Circuit, State of South Dakota, Civ. No. 14-1067 (April 18, 2017), summarily aff’d, S.D. Sup. Ct., Appeal No. 28254 (Nov. 13, 2017).

• 2016 – On behalf of a hospital, successfully appealed and overturned a trial court’s discovery decision undermining the medical peer review protection in South Dakota.
* Novotny v. Sacred Heart Health Services, et al, 2016 SD 75, 887 N.W.2d 83.

• 2016 – Obtained summary judgment in favor of a city in a wrongful termination case.
* Griffith v. City of Watertown, 2016 WL 4275635 (D.S.D. August 12, 2016).

• 2016 – Obtained summary judgment in favor of a county and county official in a §1983 and wrongful termination case.
* Nicole Knisley v. Lake County et al, 2016 WL 1464553 (D.S.D. April 12, 2016).

• 2015 – Obtained summary judgment in favor of a siding subcontractor being sued for design and/or installation defects, said judgment later being affirmed by the S.D. Supreme Court.
* Gades v. Meyer Modernizing Co., Inc., 2015 SD 42, 865 N.W.2d 155.

• 2013 – Obtained summary judgment in favor of a South Dakota county, dismissing a plaintiff’s personal injury claim premised upon an alleged defect in one of the county’s highways.
   * Cindy Kuemper v. Hamlin County et al, Third Judicial Circuit, State of South Dakota,    Civ. No. 12-23 (October 11, 2013).

Matt has also been involved with important issues decided at the appellate level. For example, his briefing was crucial in the South Dakota Supreme Court’s analysis of South Dakota’s medical peer review protection and its application to hospitals and physicians. See Novotny v. Sacred Heart Health Services, et al, 2016 S.D. 75. More recently, he was called upon by a client to prepare an amicus brief in a case involving a health insurance issue that impacts many citizens and businesses across South Dakota. Ophthalmology Ltd. Inc. et al v. Sanford Health Plan, Case No. 30207 (filed in 2023).

Publications and Presentations

Matt has published various articles related to health care law and mediation.

Matt has presented:

• At health care conferences and directly to health care clients regarding risk mitigation and peer review topics.
• At the USD School of Law on trial topics and skills, on general topics relating to the practice of law, and as a judge for a variety of intraschool and regional competitions.
• To insurers and self-insured clients relating to a variety of topics.

Please contact Matt if you would like him to present to you or your group.