Gov. Steve Bullock announced Thursday that he has appointed Amy Eddy of Kalispell as the new judge in the 11th Judicial District.

Eddy was one of four people whose name was sent to Bullock by the Montana Judicial Nomination Commission for possible appointment as Flathead County District Court judge to fill the position recently vacated by Ted O. Lympus.

Eddy is a Kalispell attorney and is a graduate of California Polytechnic State University and the University of Montana School of Law.

In an interview before her appointment, Eddy, said the high point of her career up till now has been working for all but one of the living former justices of the Montana Supreme Court in a case about judicial elections in the state. The case ended up before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Eddy said her experience in complex civil litigation had set her apart from the other candidates.

“If I was appointed to the seat, I would also be the only judge with such experience,” Eddy said. “Over my career, this has included representing hundreds of individuals and small businesses in property and contract disputes, questions pertaining to secured transactions, easements, personal injury, insurance coverage matters, employment law, and construction defects, to name a few. This type of work constitutes well over a third of the caseload of our court system here in Flathead County.”

The other nominees for the opening were Justice of the Peace Dan Wilson and attorneys Rich DeJana and Kay Lynn Lee.

Eddy will take office until a successor is determined through primary or general election in 2016.