T. David Hoyle

David is co-lead counsel in In re New Indy Emissions Litigation, C/A No. 0:21-cv-01480-SAL (D. S.C.) which alleges that the daily lives of thousands of people are impacted by emissions of hydrogen sulfide, methyl mercaptan, and other toxic air pollutants from a pulp and paper mill in Catawba, South Carolina.

David has a leading role in litigation involving per- and poly-fluroalkyl substances, or PFAS. These synthetic chemicals are “forever chemicals,” which do not biodegrade and are extremely persistent in the environment. David has taken dozens of liability depositions concerning the alleged concealment of these hazards. He leads the 3M Discovery Team for the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee in In re Aqueous Film-Forming Foams Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2873, involving AFFF firefighting suppressant products. In addition, David represents governmental entities and water providers in the AFFF MDL. David’s representation includes residents of Elkton, Md., in litigation alleging PFAS contamination from a W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc. manufacturing facility. David also represents the International Association of Fire Fighters in a lawsuit against the National Fire Protection Association for its role in imposing a testing standard that effectively requires the use of PFAS in fire fighter protective gear.

David has also litigated complex personal injury cases involving catastrophic burns, brain injury, loss of limb and paralysis, as well as wrongful death cases resulting from negligence, fires, industrial accidents and defective products. 

David began his career at Motley Rice representing asbestos victims suffering from mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases. He has worked with attorneys licensed in Canada for years concerning cross-border litigation, including filing asbestos claims in the United States for Canadians. David holds a Foreign Legal Consultant (FLC) permit issued by the Law Society of Ontario to give legal advice in Ontario about the federal law of the United States and he continues to represent Canadian provincial workers’ compensation boards concerning third-party asbestos claims.

As a leader of Motley Rice’s toxic tort practice, David has litigated chemical exposure cases involving methylene chloride, benzene, and other chemicals and has represented governments and businesses harmed by the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

For more than 15 years, David’s wide-ranging curiosity, genuine empathy, and versatile litigation skills have made him comfortable in a variety of settings and allowed him to handle all aspects of litigation, from initial client meetings to first chairing jury trials and making appellate oral arguments. An AV^® rated attorney in Martindale-Hubbell^®, he has negotiated the resolution of numerous cases with a focus on his clients’ goals and changing defendant conduct. Following the conviction of a South Carolina child predator, David litigated sexual abuse survivor claims against the predator’s former employer, Pinewood Preparatory School, negotiating a resolution that included the implementation of a new Child Protection Policy implementing enforcement of stricter procedures, a decade of outside monitoring and other measures. David also litigated the claims of a rape survivor against the owner of a self-storage facility, negotiating a resolution that included the business changing its security practices.

David has presented at seminars on a diverse range of topics, such as the economic loss rule in environmental cases, PFAS litigation, trends in federal practice, ethical issues involving social media, NFL concussion litigation, and asbestos disease awareness. He is the author of "Seal of Disapproval: International Implications of South Carolina's Notary Statute," 3 S.C.J.Int'l. L. & Bus. 1 (2006).

As chair of the South Carolina Association for Justice PAC, David helps lead the organization. Active in his community, he has served on the Board of Directors for the Lowcountry Autism Foundation, the Episcopal Church Province IV Court of Review, and as a volunteer for more than 10 years with the Lowcountry AIDS Legal Clinic.