Practice Areas - Personal Injury
- Wrongful Death Litigation
- Flammable Upholstered Furniture/Mattress
- Flammable Fabrics
- Home Fires Causing Burn Injury or Death
| - Products Liability
- Automobile Accidents
- Brain Injury
- Workers Compensation
|
|
|
|
| Contact Info | Telephone: 864-242-6200
Fax: 864-233-0290
http://www.fosterfoster.com
http://www.scburnlawyer.com
|
|
| Mailing Address | 601 East McBee Avenue, Suite 104P.O. Box 2123, Greenville, South Carolina, 29602 |
|
| University | University of Tennessee, B.S., Mechanical Engineering, 1979 |
|
| Law School | University of South Carolina, J.D., 1983 |
|
| Admitted | 1983, South Carolina; 1985, U.S. District Court, District of South Carolina; 1996, U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit |
|
| Memberships | American Bar Association, Greenville County Bar Association; South Carolina Bar (Member: House of Delegates, 1990-1996; Practice and Procedure Committee, 1991-1996); Member Pi Tau Sigma, Member, American Association for Justice since 1995, (Product Liability Section); Selected for Inclusion, Best Lawyers of America (tm) , 2009, 2010, 2011, Inclusion, Super Lawyers, 2010, Member, 1997— and Chairman, 2004—, Thirteenth Circuit Resolution of Fee Disputes Board. Member, National Fire Protection Association since 2002. Member, Phoenix Burn Society, Member, Executive Board, Risk Management Committee Chairman, Blue Ridge Council, Boy Scouts of America, since 2000. |
|
| Born | Greenville, South Carolina, 1957 |
|
| Biography | Mr. Foster has been trying personal injury litigation cases and workers compensation cases since beginning the practice of law in 1983. During the last 15 years, he has been focused upon litigating product liability and flammability cases related to fires, burn injuries and deaths, filing lawsuits against the makers of flammable upholstered furniture, hardwood plywood paneling used as an interior finish, flammable clothing, acrylic bathtubs and mattresses, mobile homes, smoke alarms and other products. He has co-authored an article about flammable upholstered furniture litigation, "Is There a Time Bomb in the Sofa?", Trial Magazine, ATLA, November 2005; He has also appeared on the CBS "Early Show", Extra and the NBC affiliate TV station in Atlanta Ga., to discuss legal issues and proposed legislation relating to flammability of upholstered furniture. His firm's website above, as well as his website scburnlawyer.com, has description of the firms experience in fire related and other litigation, including videos of the TV interviews and full scale fire testing of products in litigation, including upholstered furniture, and video deposition statements by executives of major furniture manufacturers about the flammability of their products. Mr. Foster stays abreast of proposed regulation in these areas, and has submitted his written comments to the CPSC in May, 2008, regarding his views of the CPSC's proposed flammability standard of Feb., 2008. |
|
| Reported Cases | Wallace Graham v. Progress Energy, Inc., 2010 U.S. App. Lexis 13086 Decided June 25, 2010, unpublished (Mr. Graham used candles to illuminate his home the evening following Power Company's wrongful termination of electric service. He forgot to blow out all candles and a candle fell on a sofa from a wall sconce. The ensuing sofa fire caused him catastrophic injuries. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a grant of summary judgment to Progress, holding the trial court erred in finding no proximate cause because it was unforeseeable Graham would forget to blow out the candles before retiring to bed. Progress' web site urged the use of caution in placing candles used for light during power outages. The NFPA evidence submitted also showed 34% of all home candle fires occurred with unattended, or abandoned candles during a study from 1999-2001)Clearly this was foreseeable; Sizemore v. Georgia Pacific and Hardwood Plywood Veneer Association, 114 F.3d 1177 (4th Cir. 1997)(Ct. affirms grant of summary judgment to plywood trade association, in spite of association members submitting misleading testing of its members product, to code officials considering regulation of flammability of hardwood plywood, causing code bodies to be misinformed about the true nature of the flammability of the product); Elsie Marie Allen, As Personal Representative of the Estate of Donna L Swaim, et. al., v. Choice Hotels International, Inc., 4th Cir., Op.# 07-1409, Decided May 1, 2008 (unpublished)(summary judgment affirmed for franchisor despite exercising strict and detailed control over franchisee in fire safety and related matters, and despite not requiring franchisee to install sprinklers in hotel as condition of operation); Allen v. RG Properties LLC, Ca No. 6:04-2327, 405 F. Supp. 2nd 653 (DSC 2005)(denying summary judgment to franchisee, in RG's failure to security rear door to hotel leading to entry of arsonist who started a fire causing 6 deaths and 12 injuries); Becker v. Estes Express Lines, Inc. C.A. No. 8:07-716-HMH (DSC 2008)(SC law of negligent entrustment not limited to use by intoxicated driver only, in death case resulting from truck accident caused by truck driver with history of seizures, which was known by his employer); Hicks v. Piedmont Cold Storage, 324 S.C. 628, 479 S.E. 831 (SC App. 1996)(Employee who died when car fell off tines of company forklift, while repairing plant managers car at managers request off company time, but at plant with company tools, held compensable under workers compensation laws); (reversed by SC Supreme Ct. at 335 S.C. 46, 515 S.E. 2nd 532, 1999 - activity did not benefit the corporate employer, in spite of fact that plant manager could spend more time for company on job by having employee repair car on Saturday); American Security v Howard, 315 S.C. 47, 431 S.E.2nd 604 (SC App. 1993)(lack of meaningful offer of UIM coverage; coverage rolled on and stacked for each vehicle with UIM coverage, but in amounts limited to the limits of owned vehicle involved in accident); Gunning v. State Farm, 340 S.C. 526, 532 S.E.2nd 16 (SC App. 2000)(insured could not stack UIM from vehicles not involved in the accident, in amount greater than that on accident vehicle - no UIM on motorcycle in accident, so no recovery, despite argument that rules of stacking did not apply to first "back home" vehicle ,since there was nothing to stack onto); Samson v. Carolina Georgia Blood Center, 297 S.C. 409, 377 S.E.2nd 311 (SC 1989)(provision of blood deemed a service, not a sale for purpose of product liability in S.C., barring a product claim for AIDS related transfusion)(Also, blood shield statute held constitutional upon equal protection grounds, barring implied warranty claim against blood center, 295 S.C. 359, 368 S.E.2nd 665(SC 1988); Cousar v. New London, 306 S.C. 37, 410 S.E.2nd 243 SC 1991 (product liability claim against bag flattening machine maker which severely injured employee when the rollers pulled both arms, and pulled plaintiff up to his neck cutting off oxygen. Right of action by maker against component part maker for contribution did not accrue until machine maker paid or settled the claim. Motion to add third party denied); American Mutual Fire Ins. v. Aetna Ins., 303 S.C. 301, 400 S.E.2nd 147 SC 1991)(auto servicing exclusion of liability policy held invalid as against statute defining permissive users covered by insurer); Timms v. Mary Green National HealthCorp., 310 S.C. 469, 427 S.E.2nd 642 (SC 1993)(resident whose head burned under hairdryer at defendant's facility not bound by arbitration clause of residency contract, as contract did not comply with notice provision in SC statute); Collins Music v. Lord, 289 S.C. 458, 346 S.E.2nd 724, (SC 1986)(evidence to correct deficiency in service affidavit of Complaint allowed, in action to quash an order to appear for supplemental proceedings); Motts v. Mohasco Upholstered Furniture Company, 97-CP-42-1461 (Common Pleas, Spartanburg County SC)(burn victim, burned over 85% of his body and lost his wife, in fire accelerated by an upholstered sofa made with polyurethane foam); Wistafke v. La-Z-Boy, England, Inc., CV-02-H-1729-NE (2002, Ala.)(Three children died, mother of children injured seriously, in fire accelerated by mattress and upholstered sleeper sofa group made of highly flammable polyurethane foam); Turner v. Futuristic and Oakwood Homes, 04 CVS 1714, Superior Court of Onslow County, N.C., (6 children killed, and 4 injured seriously in mobile home fire fueled by flammable upholstered sofa); Guthry v. Berkline Corp., 04-CV-653, Circuit Ct, Greene County Tn.(2 children killed in house fire starting in a Berkline sofa with massage/heat unit); Holmes v. Better Bath and Clayton homes, 04:02-2165-12, DSC Florence Division (2 persons seriously injured by fire starting in highly flammable plastic bathtub from candle); Carmichael v. Style-line Furniture Inc., DC Al., CV-01-BU-538-M (4 children killed when electrical fire accelerated by polyurethane foam filled Stye-Line sofa); Riordon v Genesis Furniture Industries, Inc. Jefferson Ky. Circuit Court Case No: 09-CI-009826(Disabled woman killed from foam fed sofa fire started by smoking materials); Bankston v. Ashley Furtiture Industries, Inc, et. al., state Court of fulton county Ga. 10EV010676, filed 8-9-10 (man killed by fast spreading couch fire fueled by polyurethane foam filled sofa). |
|
| ISLN | 907322458 |
|
View Ratings & Reviews |
Profile Visibility  | | #214 in weekly profile views out of 1,478 lawyers in Greenville, South Carolina | | #185,926 in weekly profile views out of 1,447,639 total lawyers Overall |
|
|