Attorney Profiles
Petrie, Dorfmeier & Morris, LLP is a Fresno-based law firm comprised of seasoned litigators with extensive experience in their chosen areas of law. Learn more about our trial lawyers below.
Partners
Associate Attorneys
J. David Petrie
J. David Petrie is a Partner in the offices of Petrie, Dorfmeier & Morris, LLP. Mr. Petrie focuses his practice primarily in the areas of casualty litigation, products liability, and commercial litigation. He also devotes a substantial portion of his practice to matters involving medical and dental malpractice, professional liability (architects and engineers), property issues, wrongful termination, public entity defense, construction law, and general farm law. Mr. Petrie has also handled cases dealing with malicious prosecution and abuse of process. His case, Inabnit v. Berkson, involving psychiatric malpractice and the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act, set legal precedent in a Fifth District Court of Appeal opinion.
Mr. Petrie received his B.S. in Finance from the University of the Pacific and earned his J.D. at UOP's McGeorge School of Law in 1980. He is admitted in California and before the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the U.S. District Court for the Northern, Central, Eastern, and Southern Districts of California. Mr. Petrie is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), the Association of Northern California Defense Counsel, and the Fresno County Bar Association.
Mr. Petrie is active in the profession and in the community, serving as a guest speaker and lecturer before the Chamber of Commerce and other groups, and volunteering his time as a pro bono lawyer for homeowner associations and other citizen groups. He is married to Susan Petrie and spends his free time farming ten acres of Valencia and navel oranges.
Dale Martin Dorfmeier
Dale Martin Dorfmeier is a Partner in the offices of Petrie, Dorfmeier & Morris, LLP. Mr. Dorfmeier focuses his practice primarily in the areas of tort defense, products liability, pesticide litigation, and business litigation. In particular, he has extensive expertise in agricultural pesticides and litigation including pesticide uses, crop damages, toxic torts, property damage, bodily injury, and environmental defense. Mr. Dorfmeier also has considerable experience with aviation (as it relates to crop dusting defense), realtor errors and omissions, professional liability, property rights and transaction, trucking accidents, corporation and partnership formation, and estate planning. He has handled civil appeals and writs, OSHA appeals, and administrative appeals. Two of Mr. Dorfmeier's appeals resulted in new legal precedents: Horton v. Superior Court dealt with good faith settlements and Pioneer v. R.M. Wade dealt with indemnity rights and good faith settlements.
A Fresno native, Mr. Dorfmeier received his undergraduate degree from California State University, Fresno, graduating magna cum laude in 1972. He earned his J.D. from the San Joaquin College of Law in 1977 and has also completed several post-graduate courses in taxation at University of the Pacific's McGeorge School of Law. Mr. Dorfmeier is admitted to practice law in California as well as before the U.S. District Court for the Northern, Central, Eastern, and Southern Districts of California. He is a member of the Fresno County Bar Association.
Mr. Dorfmeier is also a writer and has served as a college instructor for the State Center Community College District.
John Wilbert Morris, Jr.
John Wilbert Morris, Jr. is a Partner in the offices of Petrie, Dorfmeier & Morris, LLP. Mr. Morris focuses his practice in the area of insurance defense, including the defense and trial of legal malpractice, hospital and medical malpractice, hospital and general products liability, construction defect, premises liability, employment cases, school districts, public entities, and consumer fraud cases. He has tried over 100 cases to juries or the bench. Mr. Morris's case St. Paul Insurance v. Industrial Underwriters set legal precedent in the area of primary excess insurance coverage.
Mr. Morris earned his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Fresno State College in 1964 and his J.D. from San Francisco Law School in 1972. He is licensed to practice law in California and is also admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Northern, Central, Eastern, and Southern Districts of California. Mr. Morris is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) and has served on the National Board of Directors of ABOTA. He holds the rank of Advocate in ABOTA and is a lifetime Fellow of the Foundation for ABOTA. Mr. Morris is also a member of the Fresno County Bar Association.
Away from the office, Mr. Morris belongs to the Fresno State Alumni Association, volunteers for Poverello House, and served on the Board of Directors for the Fresno Philharmonic Orchestra. He is married to Mayo Goliti Morris and they have three children, Kym Morris Williams, Kaia Morris Slatterly, and Kira Morris Lyons.
Lawrence Edwin DeWitt, Jr.
Lawrence Edwin DeWitt, Jr. is an Associate Attorney with Petrie, Dorfmeier & Morris, LLP. Mr. DeWitt focuses his practice in the area of insurance defense, including personal injury, dairy industry, interstate and intrastate trucking, contract law, and water law. Prior to joining the firm, he was a legal consultant and Tribal Administrator for the Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians, where he developed extensive expertise in Federal Indian Law, real property, environmental, transactional, labor, land use, water, and construction law. Recently, Mr. DeWitt successfully defended Westlands Water District in Souza v. Westlands Water District, a complex breach of contract case that he handled from trial through several levels of appeal.
Mr. DeWitt earned his J.D. from San Joaquin Law School and is admitted in California and before the Supreme Court of the United States.
Sean Thomas O'Rourke
Sean Thomas O'Rourke is an Associate Attorney with Petrie, Dorfmeier & Morris, LLP. Mr. O'Rourke's practice primarily involves litigation in the areas of major injury, trucking accidents, wrongful termination, discrimination, civil rights, products liability, insurance defense, and professional liability cases. He represents a diverse clientele, including employers, churches and other religious organizations, security firms, insurance brokers, agents, attorneys, realtors, developers, and landlords. Mr. O'Rourke's case, PM&R Associates v. WCAB, set legal precedent in the area of compensation and the scope of practice of physicians.
Mr. O'Rourke earned his B.A. from the University of California at Irvine and his J.D. from San Joaquin College of Law. He is admitted to practice law in California as well as before the U.S Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the U.S. District Court for the Northern, Eastern, Central, and Southern Districts of California. Mr. O'Rourke is a member of the Fresno County Bar Association and the Defense Research Institute. He is married to Stacy O'Rourke and they have a daughter, Addison.
David Michael Leath
David Michael Leath is an Associate Attorney with Petrie, Dorfmeier & Morris, LLP. Mr. Leath focuses his practice in the areas of civil litigation, business litigation, employment law, and insurance matters. Trials and other contested actions are his emphasis. He has developed significant expertise in a range of litigation matters, including agricultural crop loss, products liability, employment discrimination, construction defects, commercial liability, labor disputes, and vehicle actions. Prior to entering private practice, he served as a Deputy District Attorney in Merced, California.
Raised in Fresno, Mr. Leath earned his undergraduate degree from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1991 and his J.D. from San Joaquin College of Law in 1995. He is admitted to practice law in California as well as before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. Mr. Leath is a member of the Fresno County Bar Association. He is married to Michelle Leath and has two children, Tanner and Cassidy.
