Bill Latham is a partner of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP.  He concentrates his practice in the areas of complex commercial litigation, the defense of consumer class actions and dealer/distributor/franchise litigation.

An experienced trial lawyer, Bill is AV peer review rated by Martindale Hubbell.  He has been retained by his clients to represent them in complex business/distribution cases and class actions throughout the country to include cases in state and/or federal courts in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and his home state of South Carolina.  He is a member of the South Carolina Bar and the State Bar of North Carolina.  In addition to his many pro hac vice admissions, he has been admitted to practice before the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fourth, Sixth, Eighth, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits; the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina; the Eastern, Middle and Western Districts of North Carolina, and the Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan.  Bill also has extensive experience in handling cases in alternative dispute resolution forums.

Bill speaks and writes regularly on class action developments and law practice technology issues.  He is a member of the American Bar Association; The ABA Forum on Franchising; The ABA Section of Antitrust Law; The ABA Business Law Section; the Defense Research Institute (Business Litigation Committee); the North Carolina Bar Association; and the Richland County Bar Association.  He has served as an elected delegate to the S.C. Bar Convention.  Bill is an active and involved member of Rotary International.

Bill earned a Juris Doctor, with honors, from the University of North Carolina School of Law in 1992.  During law school, he was a member of the editorial board of the North Carolina Journal of International Law and Commercial Regulation.  He earned a Bachelor of Science in Administration of Justice and Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1985.  He proudly served as a commissioned officer in the United States Marine Corps from 1985-89, obtaining the rank of captain. 

The following is a selected sampling of Bill's recent cases and is provided for informational purposes only.  Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in any future litigation matter:

• Represent  national consumer product manufacturer in pursuing deceptive advertising claim  against competitor before the National Advertising Division ("NAD")  of the Better Business Bureau.( Pending)
• Represent automobile manufacturer in alleged  "no injury"  product defect  multi-district litigation (MDL) pending in California federal court. (pending)
• Represent automobile manufacturer in a putative consumer class action (alleged product defect) filed in California state court. (pending)
• Represent automobile manufacturer in a putative consumer class action (alleged product defect) filed in Federal Court in California. Class certification denied and case dismissed. Denial of class certification affirmed on appeal by Ninth Circuit. Case remanded for trial of individual claims.  Renewed motion to dismiss granted with prejudice; on appeal to 9^th Circuit (pending)
• Represent automobile manufacturer in a putative consumer class action (alleged product defect) filed in Federal Court in California. Case dismissed on Rule 12(b)(6) Motion. Plaintiffs have appealed to Ninth Circuit. (pending)
• Defend national franchisor against RICO claims in putative nationwide class action pending in South Carolina Federal Court. (pending)
• Represent two national consumer products manufacturers in separate putative class actions (alleged breach of express warranty based on alleged misrepresentations). filed in Alabama Federal Court. Obtained Rule 12(b)(6) dismissals of both cases. Plaintiffs have appealed. (Pending)
• Defended national consumer product manufacturer in deceptive advertising claim filed before the NAD of the Better Business Bureau. Obtained ruling that client’s claims were supported by testing and could continue if nature of testing disclosed. (2011)
• Defend national consumer product manufacturer in Lanham Act injunction action in Michigan Federal Court. Case favorably settled. (2011)
• Enforced heavy duty truck manufacturer’s right of first refusal related to sale of franchise location by dealer through litigation in Georgia state court. (2010)
• Conduct bank internal investigation with findings. (2010)
• Represent consumer products manufacturer in product liability putative class action filed in the USDC for South Carolina, related to infant care product (alleged breach of express warranty based  on alleged misrepresentations). Case settled favorably to client (2010)
• Represented consumer products manufacturer in putative class action (alleged product defect) filed in Georgia. Class certification denied (2008). Obtained defense verdict in jury trial of putative class representative’s individual claims. (2009)
• Represented industrial manufacturer in Federal Court in Detroit, Michigan in litigation related to distributor termination. Summary Judgment granted in favor of client as to majority of claims leading to favorable settlement. (2009)
• Represented consumer products manufacturer in putative class action (alleged product defect) filed in South Carolina. Case favorably settled on individual basis. (2008)
• Represented automobile manufacturer in a putative consumer class action (alleged product defect) filed in Florida. Obtained dismissal of case. (2008)
• Represented automobile manufacturer in a putative consumer class action (alleged product defect) filed in Arkansas. Obtained dismissal of case. (2008)
• Represented multistate heavy equipment distributor in dealer termination litigation in Mississippi. Obtained favorable settlement. (2007)
• Represented Class 8 truck manufacturer in dealer termination litigation in South Carolina where claims were in excess of $10 million. After month long trial, Plaintiff obtained verdict of approximately $500,000. Verdict reversed on appeal resulting in complete defense victory. (2007)
• Represented manufactured home manufacturer in a putative consumer class action (no injury defect) filed in South Carolina. Obtained summary judgment that was affirmed on appeal. Appellate opinion is seminal case on “no injury” product liability claims in South Carolina. (2006)
• Represented automobile manufacturer in dealer termination protest filed in Maryland. Negotiated favorable settlement which eventually resulted in voluntary termination of dealer. (2006)
• Represented manufactured home manufacturer in a putative consumer class action (no injury defect) filed in Maryland. Obtained summary judgment for our client. Class certified against co-defendants who then entered into multimillion dollar settlement with plaintiffs. (2004)
• Represented manufactured home manufacturer in a putative consumer class action (no injury defect) filed in North Carolina. Obtained summary judgment that was affirmed on appeal. (2004)
• Represented national retailer in pharmacy related putative consumer class action in South Carolina. Following extensive discovery case was favorably settled on an individual basis. (2004)
• Represented class of small business plaintiffs against major automotive battery manufacturer. After over two years of litigation obtained settlement for class valued in excess of $17 million. (2002)