David K. Willingham

Los Angeles

Litigation

As a partner at the law firm of King & Spalding LLP in Los Angeles, David K. Willingham enjoys practicing complex litigation for white-collar criminal defense and government investigations, but he particularly enjoys extolling the virtues of his fellow attorneys at the firm.

"The common thread is just an incredible group of people that I get to work with on all of these things, which make these kinds of results possible," he said, noting that his team moved to King & Spalding in 2020, having previously worked together at two other firms.

Such teamwork was recently on display in the case of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. RD Legal Funding, in which the CFPB and New York Attorney General claimed that the defendants had promised but did not deliver quick payouts for 9/11 first responders and former NFL players. After six years of litigation and a ruling that the CFPB was unconstitutional, RD Legal Funding settled for a $1 civil penalty and no admission of liability.

"When you go to war against the CFPB and the New York A.G.'s office for six years of litigation, they don't usually fold their cards over a $1 civil penalty with no admission of liability," he said. "That result is a shining example of the great work of the group of people that I've had the great fortune of working with over the last 10-15 years."

Additionally, Willingham is the lead counsel currently defending Delta Air Lines in a class action due to Delta Flight 89's engine failure, which occurred just after takeoff from LAX. In order to achieve a safe landing weight, the pilots had to jettison fuel over the Los Angeles area. Relying on trespass and nuisance claims, the class plaintiffs with homes under the flight path seek damages from the jet fuel dispersal, while over 300 separate plaintiffs claim personal injuries from alleged exposure to jet fuel or fumes. The consolidated class and mass tort actions are currently in the summary judgment phase with those motions pending. "We got hired to lead this," Willingham said, "but without a great team of people, I wouldn't be able to do it."

--Kathryn Stelmach Artuso