David N. Allen

David Allen practices litigation for a broad variety of clients. He has been trying lawsuits for more than 30 years with close to 100 juries empaneled during that time.

A former president of the North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys (NCADA), David is a frequent lecturer on substantive and technical aspects of trial practice for numerous sponsors of continuing legal education presentations, having addressed both the NCADA and the North Carolina Advocates for Justice in recent years. David is an elected councilor of the North Carolina State Bar and a former chair of its Ethics Committee and regularly presents on issues of professional responsibilities.

In 2020, David won the NCADA Award for Excellence in Trial Advocacy established “to recognize members who have demonstrated over their career sustained excellence advocating for their clients in legal proceedings while maintaining the highest degree of professionalism. This award recognizes members who are eminently qualified to advocate for clients in state and federal courtrooms. They are considered by the NCADA as among the finest trial lawyers in the state. Not only have they consistently obtained favorable results for their clients, they have done so while exhibiting a command of the skills necessary to obtain such results. Importantly, their accomplishments were brought about without sacrificing any of the high ethical and moral standards espoused by the NCADA.”

My Practices

• Recently reported decisions include Red Valve, Inc. v. Titan Valve, Inc., 2021-NCSC-17, 376 N.C. 798, 854 S.E. 2d 580 (2021) a trade secret and commercial piracy case, Kelly v. Cap. Senior Living Corp., 850 F. App’x 194 (4th Cir. 2021) (per curiam) upholding client’s arbitration agreement, and Erwin v. Myers Park Country Club, Inc., No. 21 CVS 4936, 2021 WL 3179142 (N.C. Super. July 27, 2021) which defines a shareholder’s right to inspect corporate records.
• Lead trial counsel in In Re: Pedestrian Walkway Failure Litigation, one of the largest mass tort actions in North Carolina history, involving more than 100 claimants, 47 lawsuits, several trials to verdicts, and more than half a dozen appeals to the North Carolina Court of Appeals
• In January of 2018, began the defense of an international tire manufacturing company in the first of a series of cases involving 10 deaths and 8 significant personal injuries. After more than two weeks of pretrial motions and jury selection, the case was successfully resolved.
• In December of 2017, successfully tried Bailey, et al v. Copart, Inc., et al,a case alleging the misappropriation of trade secrets as well as unfair and deceptive trade practices arising out of a non-disclosure and non-circumvention agreement. Plaintiff alleged that Copart misappropriated several of the trade secrets shared pursuant to the NDA and gained more than $50,000,000 in profits, which plaintiff claimed under an unjust enrichment theory.  A verdict for defendants on all claims was returned by the jury.
• Recently tried a trade dress and Lanham Act case in the Western District of North Carolina, Irwin Industrial Tool Co. v. Worthington Cylinders Wisconsin, LLC, 2010 WL 565251 and prevailed in a 1983 action on behalf of the City of Asheville Robert D. Gaddy, Jr. v. W.M. Yelton, et al.2011 WL 3608023 (W.D.N.C.) (January 20, 2012)
• Involved across the country in national and multidistrict litigation and has been national counsel for his clients in medical device litigation
• Regularly defends pharmaceutical companies in the Carolinas, achieving one of the first victories in the thimerosal litigation, foretelling the lack of a link between thimerosal and autism. Doe 2 v. Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, Inc.,440 F.Supp.2d 465 (M.D.N.C. 2006)

Honors & Recognitions

Recognized by The Best Lawyers in America©— Mass Tort Litigation/Class Actions - Defendants (2026) (“Lawyer of the Year” 2017, 2020), Medical Malpractice Law — Defendants, Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants (“Lawyer of the Year” 2013), Product Liability Litigation — Defendants (“Lawyer of the Year” 2012) (2005–2026); Commercial Litigation (2022-2026)

Recognized by North Carolina Super Lawyers in Class Action/Mass Torts, Personal Injury– Products: Defense, and Civil Litigation: Defense (2006–2025)

Recognized by Business North Carolina’s “Legal Elite” (2005–2007, 2010, 2013, 2017–2019, 2021, 2025)

NCADA Award for Trial Excellence (2020)

“Acritas Star” by Acritas (2019)

North Carolina Lawyers Weekly Leaders in the Law (2012)

Education

University of North Carolina School of Law, J.D., 1980

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, B.A., 1977

Admissions

North Carolina

U.S. Supreme Court

North Carolina Business Court

North Carolina Court of Appeals

North Carolina Supreme Court

U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4^th Circuit

U.S. District Court for the Western, Middle, and Eastern Districts of North Carolina

Professional & Civic Activities

Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism, Supreme Court of North Carolina

North Carolina State Bar, State Bar Councilor

North Carolina Bar Association

North Carolina Association of Defense Attorneys

Defense Research Institute

International Association of Defense Counsel

I’m a huge movie fan. I’ll watch just about anything, from sweeping epics to offbeat comedies. I have a soft spot for the classics — Casablanca, Gone with the Wind, and Unforgiven always hit the mark. But I’m just as happy belting along to musical comedies like The Producers and 1776. My taste is eclectic. On one night, I might dive into film noir brilliance like The Maltese Falcon or Chinatown, and on another, I’ll revisit the cinematic masterpieces The Godfather and The Godfather Part II. As an attorney, courtroom dramas hold a special place in my heart. If you haven’t seen Witness for the Prosecution with Charles Laughton, do yourself a favor—it’s a masterclass. Same goes for Paul Newman in The Verdict. Intolerable Cruelty with George Clooney gives the legal genre a clever, comedic twist. And of course, no list is complete without To Kill a Mockingbird—Atticus Finch is basically sacred text. But I’m also in it for the whimsy. Wes Anderson’s magical world in The Grand Budapest Hotel or Woody Allen’s tsarist Russia in Love and Death are pure cinematic joy. Honestly, there’s no such thing as too many movies. The perfect night? Catching a surprise double feature on TCM or diving into timeless classics with nowhere to be and nothing on the clock. If you haven’t done it yet, clear your schedule—and thank me later.