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David Yarborough is a co-founder of the Charleston-based Yarborough Applegate law firm, which is dedicated to representing injured individuals in bad faith, catastrophic injury, and wrongful death cases.  He has prosecuted bad faith cases involving most forms of insurance including first- and third-party auto claims, life, long-term disability, long-term care, homeowners, commercial general liability, professional liability, alcohol liability, and E&O coverage.  On behalf of their clients, David and his law firm have achieved more than $50,000,000 in settlements, verdicts, and judgments outside or above policy-limits coverage because of insurance bad faith and negligent claim handling.  David is frequently associated by other attorneys to serve as lead trial counsel to handle cases involving bad faith, default scenarios, blown Tyger River or time-demand letters, and unreasonably denied claims.   

John T. grew up in Walhalla, South Carolina where his father was a school district administrator and his mother was a high school principal. John T. attended and graduated from Davidson College. At Davidson, he was a member of the wrestling team. He received his law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law.  

After graduating from law school, John T. began practicing at Nauful & Ellis in Columbia, South Carolina which evolved into Ellis, Lawhorne & Sims. He remained there until 2011 when he helped start the Columbia office of Gallivan, White & Boyd.  

John T.’s practice focuses on complex, high-stakes litigation, and he has tried more than 100 cases to verdict. His practice includes class actions, death and catastrophic injury claims, product claims, high profile business disputes, Qui Tam, and legal malpractice. He has been involved in some of the most significant cases in South Carolina legal history including what is believed to be South Carolina’s most significant legal malpractice case, South Carolina’s most significant estate and trust dispute, South Carolina’s most significant class action, and South Carolina’s largest sanctions award against a party for misconduct. He represented Clive Cussler in a federal court case to determine who found the Hunley, an American Civil War era submarine. For several years, he served as the Director of Nuclear Litigation for South Carolina’s Public Utility. He currently is serving in the role of Receiver in a nationally recognized matter in South Carolina.  

John T. served as President of the International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC) from 2016-2017. The IADC is the pre-eminent legal organization representing corporate and legal insurance interests throughout the world. With representation in 45 countries on 6 continents, the IADC takes a leadership role in many areas of legal reform and professional development. John T. was also President of the South Carolina Chapter of ABOTA from 2015-2016 and was President of the South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys’ Association from 2008-2009. He is also a proud fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL).  

In 2010, John T. received the Fred H. Sievert Award from the Defense Research Institute. He is also a recipient of the Gold Compleat Lawyer Award from the University of South Carolina School of Law.  

John T. has been recognized extensively by his peers including Best Lawyers in America (Lawyer of the Year in Insurance, 2016; Product Liability – Defendants, 2017, 2022; Mass Torts and Class Actions, 2018; and Bet-the-Company Litigation, 2019). He has been recognized as a South Carolina Super Lawyer since 2009, has been on the South Carolina Super Lawyers Top 25 list in 2014 and 2018-2022 and was recognized on the South Carolina Super Lawyers Top 10 list in 2019. He has been recognized by Benchmark Litigation and Who’s Who Legal: Life Science – Product Liability Defense. He has also been selected to Chambers USA Guide since 2013. Chambers’ sources consider him to be “a gifted trial lawyer and gifted communicator” and note that he is “well respected by the judiciary.” Chambers and Partners also noted, “John T. is described by market sources as a very skillful practitioner. He undertakes a variety of class action litigation as well as mass torts, catastrophic injury and professional negligence matters.”  

Outside of his litigation practice, John T. has been involved in the community his entire professional career. Currently, he serves on the Boards of Directors for the South Carolina Alzheimer’s Association, Richland County Library, and the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce.  

John T. and his wife, Sharon, live in Columbia and are the proud parents of Eliza, Thomas, and James.