David Shelton is a resident of Oxford, Mississippi, where he lives with his wife and three children. David was raised in nearby Hernando, Mississippi and graduated from Hernando High School, Millsaps College, and the University of Mississippi School of Law. In law school, David served as Editor-in-Chief of the Mississippi Law Journal and graduated with honors.
After graduation in 1999, David began his legal career as a litigator at a law firm with a diverse national and international litigation practice, representing both Plaintiffs and Defendants. As a young lawyer, David gained priceless experience litigating cases throughout the United States. After five years, David worked for a national plaintiffs’ litigation firm, where he continued litigating cases nationally. David tried several complex jury trials, obtaining verdicts of approximately $30 million. David formed his own law firm in 2008. David maintains a national practice, primarily in federal courts.
David’s peers have honored him with an AV® Rating by Martindale-Hubbell® which is a testament to his excellence in his field. Super Lawyers® also recognized David in their Rising Stars℠ list for numerous years.
David’s practice is almost exclusively in the area of civil litigation. The majority of his litigation experience is in complex litigation that typically proceeds in federal courts. David also serves as a mediator in resolving many types of disputes.
David has the experience, skill, and competence to investigate, litigate and successfully try the hardest cases, including class actions and complex civil litigation. David’s litigation experience ranges from mass torts to class actions, and includes high-stakes cases relating to products liability, consumer fraud, food labeling class actions, and consumer digital privacy cases.
In re: AT&T Mobility Sales Tax Litigation (MDL 2147). Mr. Shelton has and is currently serving as counsel for the Mississippi sub-class in the national class action settlement in In re: AT&T Mobility Sales Tax Litigation, consolidated before the Honorable Amy St. Eve, District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois. In the summer of 2010, the parties presented a proposed settlement of the case to Judge St. Eve, which was ultimately given final approval in August of 2011 and resulted in a cooperative effort between the Settlement Class and AT&T Mobility to seek recovery of over $1.1 Billion in sales and other taxes that were remitted to some 1200 taxing jurisdictions throughout the United States and its territories. In addition, the settlement resulted in the cessation of the collection of the taxes in question, which represented a present value to the Settlement Class of over $2 Billion.
In re: Welding Fume Products Liability Litigation (MDL 1535). Mr. Shelton served in a leadership role in the consolidated products liability cases in the Northern District of Ohio, consolidated before the Honorable Kathleen O’Malley. Shelton served as co-lead trial counsel in several MDL bellwether trials in obtaining landmark verdicts against manufacturers of welding consumables for product liability claims. In addition to obtaining approximately $30 million in jury verdicts, Shelton selected the juries that unanimously awarded the only two punitive damages verdicts in the history of that litigation.
Consumer Digital Privacy Litigation. Shelton also represents litigants in pending class action MDLs such as In re: Facebook Internet Tracking Litigation (MDL 2314), consolidated before the Honorable Edward J. Davila in the Northern District of California, and In re: Google Inc. Cookie Placement Consumer Privacy Litigation (MDL 2358), consolidated before the Honorable Sue L. Robinson in the District of Delaware.
Shelton has also been retained by Mississippi’s Attorney General’s office through his appointment as Special Assistant Attorney General and/or outside counsel to litigate complex claims on behalf of Mississippi governmental entities. Representative cases include consumer protections actions against McKesson Corporation and various drug manufacturers in the Average Wholesale Price Litigation.