J. David Black

David has handled high-stakes bet-the-company litigation ranging from investigations, temporary restraining orders, and injunctive proceedings through discovery, trial, and appeal. He is known for fiercely pursuing the best outcome for his clients while delivering practical, business-oriented counsel.

David's reputation as a highly skilled bet-the-company litigator has been widely recognized in The Best Lawyers in America^®, Martindale-Hubbell, and Super Lawyers. Prior to joining the firm, David served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Kenneth G. Goode of the Sixth Judicial Circuit.

• Notable Victories

• Successfully resolved dozens of high-stakes lawsuits across the country concerning a prominent entertainer's estate.

• Obtained a $200,000 sanctions order, one of the largest in North Carolina history, for a major Hollywood motion picture studio.

• Successfully resolved a $200 million derivative shareholder class action concerning equity interests in power supplier contracts.

• Lead South Carolina counsel for the nation's second-largest power provider in its $6.8 billion acquisition of a Fortune 500 power supplier.

• Entertainment Litigation

• Represented a high-profile trust and estate before the South Carolina Supreme Court concerning an order removing former fiduciaries and a compromise settlement agreement. The South Carolina Supreme Court affirmed the Circuit Court's removal of the former fiduciaries and reversed the compromise settlement agreement. The matter is currently pending on remand before the Circuit Court.

• Represented a high-profile trust and estate in two separate appeals involving former trustees attempting to return to positions of authority over the trust and estate. Both appeals have been successfully resolved, other than an award of attorneys' fees that may be asserted against one former fiduciary in contempt proceedings.

• Represented a high-profile trust and estate in a declaratory judgment, accounting, and copyright action filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. In this matter, an individual claimant argued that they were entitled to more than half of the estate’s royalties and intellectual property pursuant to an alleged oral agreement. A motion to dismiss was filed on the basis of improper personal and subject matter jurisdiction. The District Court granted the motion, ruling that personal and subject matter jurisdiction did not exist in the California federal court.

• Corporate and Business Litigation

• Represented a South Carolina municipality in a federal court action filed by a large water and sewer provider seeking injunctive relief. The action was successfully dismissed on summary judgment in favor of the municipality.

• Represented a shareholder in a minority squeeze-out lawsuit. The action was resolved during the early stages of litigation in favor of the minority shareholder.

• Represented a South Carolina manufacturer in a contract dispute with a local municipality. Shortly after filing the lawsuit, the action was resolved in favor of the manufacturer.

• Represented a multinational Global 500 company in a products liability and accounting action challenging the design of drywall fasteners. Prior to engaging in lengthy discovery and mediation, he assisted the client in negotiating a favorable settlement dismissing both actions.

• Represented a database developer in a contractual dispute concerning contract terms, payment, and the absence of a termination clause related to the development of a database. After a weeklong trial in federal district court, the court held that the contract did not run in perpetuity and that termination was proper on a prospective basis.

• Cooperative and Broadband Litigation

• Served as counsel to a statewide fiber network entity, a coalition of electric cooperatives and key partners, in the development and launch of the state's first middle-mile fiber broadband network. The network is designed to reach each of the state's counties, delivering high-speed internet to rural communities and supporting economic growth across the state.

• Represented an electric cooperative in a purported derivative class action challenging the cooperative's compliance with its enabling statute and other corporate governance issues.

• Represented a regional electric cooperative in a purported current-member derivative class action challenging the cooperative's compliance with applicable statutes, bylaws, and other corporate governance issues.

• Represented 17 South Carolina electric cooperatives in a purported former-member class action challenging the cooperatives' compliance with applicable statutes, bylaws, and capital credit retirement policies. The former members seek early retirement of more than $250 million in capital credits.

• Represented a regional electric cooperative and obtained a directed verdict in its favor in circuit court. The case involved a challenge to a substation expansion and multimillion-dollar distribution-line easement along a U.S. highway.

• Represented a South Carolina electric cooperative in a federal lawsuit concerning annexation, territorial service rights, and a $16 million infrastructure investment. Through mediation, he assisted the client in negotiating a favorable settlement that will preserve the electric cooperative's post-annexation territorial service rights.

• Intellectual Property Litigation

• Successfully obtained a service mark license enabling a client to continue using an energy-efficiency service mark registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

• Successfully obtained several USPTO service marks for a Lowcountry real estate developer.

• Represented a nationally recognized, award-winning home plan designer in a copyright and trademark action involving the unauthorized publication of house plan renderings. Without the aid of a mediator, he assisted the client in negotiating a favorable settlement, ending years of litigation.

• Represented a United Kingdom software developer in a copyright action involving point-of-sale computer source code. Without the aid of a mediator, he assisted the client in negotiating a favorable settlement that provides international protection for the software code.

• Recording Industry

• Represented a national trade association in more than 60 federal actions involving copyright infringement and illegal peer-to-peer file sharing.

• AV^® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
• Listed in Best Lawyers in America^® for Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions – Defendants (2021 – present) and Litigation – Trusts and Estates (2021 – 2025)
• Columbia Business Monthly's Legal Elite of the Midlands (2024 – present)
• Recipient – University of South Carolina School of Law Justice J.B. Ness Academic Honors Scholarship
• Chairman – Caro Federal Credit Union
• Member – South Carolina Bar Resolution of Fee Disputes Board
• Member – South Carolina Public Service Commission Advisory Committee
• Member – Electric Cooperative Bar Association
• Member – South Carolina Bar Association, Litigation Section
• Member – American Bar Association, Litigation and Energy Sections

• Author – "Real-world copyright, licensing, and posthumous rights," Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law: Music Law in Music City (February 2024)
• Co-author – "Southeast E-Discovery Leaders Say Generative AI Needs More Development for Their Use," Law.com (August 2023)

• Featured Speaker – Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law Symposium: Music Law in Music City (February 2024)
• E-Discovery Lunch & Learn, Association of Corporate Counsel South Carolina (2020)
• 19th Annual In-House Counsel Ethics Seminar (2020)
• Featured Speaker – National Rural Electric Cooperative Association Annual Meeting: Electric Cooperative Class Actions and Corporate Governance Litigation, Orlando, Florida; Washington, D.C.; Vail, Colorado; and Monterey, California (2012)
• South Carolina Tort Reform Act: A Primer on South Carolina Tort Reform, A Look at the History and Meaning of Tort Reform in South Carolina (2004)