T. David Hoyle

David Hoyle is a trial lawyer who works to bring about change through the civil justice system, representing victims of corporate wrongdoing and negligence in litigation ranging from toxic torts to environmental contamination and catastrophic incidents.

David plays a leading role in litigation involving per- and poly-fluroalkyl substances or PFAS. These man-made 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 MDL. He is also co-lead counsel for a test case, with water contamination levels more than 1,000 times the regulatory limit, set for a bellwether trial involving alleged PFAS contamination from the operation and disposal practices of the former Wolverine World Wide tannery in Rockford, Michigan which used 3M’s PFAS-containing Scotchgard™ products. 

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. He previously represented governments and businesses affected by the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. 

David began his career at Motley Rice working on behalf of victims suffering from mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases and continues to represent Canadian provincial workers’ compensation boards concerning third-party asbestos claims. 

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 also negotiated the resolution of numerous cases with a focus on the 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 includes the implementation of a new Child Protection Policy that includes the enforcement of stricter procedures and a decade of outside monitoring. David also litigated the claims of a rape survivor against the owner of a self-storage facility and negotiated 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, 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).
 
David currently serves in a leadership role for the South Carolina Association for Justice. Active in his community, he has served on the Board of Directors for the Lowcountry Autism Foundation and volunteered for more than 10 years with the Lowcountry AIDS Legal Clinic. He is a former member of the Ecclesiastical Court of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina, and is an appointed member of The Episcopal Church Province IV Court of Review.