Robert E. Sumner IV
Office Information
Robert is a member of Butler Snow’s commercial litigation group where he focuses his practice on complex civil litigation for a variety of clients, including large corporations, manufacturers, small businesses, real estate owners and developers, and trustees. He has tried jury and non-jury cases in state and federal courts in North and South Carolina, and has successfully handled appeals before the Court of Appeals and Supreme Courts of North and South Carolina, as well as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Biography – View PDF Bio
- Associations
- Bar Admissions
- Civic Involvement
- Distinctions
- Education & Honors
- Experience
- In the News
- Papers, Presentations, & Publications
Bar Admissions
- North Carolina, 2002
- South Carolina, 2003
- U.S. District Courts
- South Carolina: District of South Carolina
- U.S. Court of Appeals
- 4th Circuit
Civic Involvement
- Leadership Charleston, Class of 2012
- Charleston Stage, Board Member
Distinctions
- South Carolina Super Lawyers®
- Business Litigation, 2016-2019
Education & Honors
- University of South Carolina, J.D., 2002
- Articles Editor, South Carolina Environmental Law Journal
- Member, Moot Court Bar
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, B.A., English, 1999
Experience
- Lead counsel representing a family in a series of actions pending in Probate and Circuit Courts in Beaufort, SC, seeking to remove a trustee from a series of revocable, irrevocable, and charitable trusts and recover damages for breach of trust and breach of fiduciary duty. After five years of litigation, the cases settled. December 2018.
- Lead trial counsel in a multi-week jury trial in the Circuit Court in Charleston County, SC defending a property owner from personal injury claims related to an alleged toxic exposure. The case settled after two days of trial. September 2018.
- Represented an online travel company in a class action filed in District Court in South Carolina. The District Court granted the travel company’s motion to dismiss on the grounds that the arbitration clause and class action waiver contained in the hybrid clickwrap/browsewrap agreement were enforceable. June 2018.
- Lead counsel for the plaintiff trust in an LLC derivative proceeding pending in the South Carolina Business Court, seeking damages for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and an accounting. The case settled after two years of litigation. May 2018.
- Lead trial counsel in a two-week jury trial in the Circuit Court in Charleston County, SC defending a property owner from claims of breach of contract and interference with contract after the property was damaged by fire. The owner settled with one of the parties after the trial. The remaining portions of the case are currently on appeal in the South Carolina Court of Appeals. February 2018.
Papers, Presentations, & Publications
- Co-Author, “How to Achieve the Mandate of Proportionality Through Phased Discovery,” ABA Section of Litigation Trial Practice, May 2018.
- Presenter, “Weathering the Storm of Data Breach Liability,” Commercial Law WebAdvisor Webinar, June 27, 2017.
- Speaker, “Recent Developments in Electronic Discovery & Defense Strategies,” Hannover, Germany, June 13, 2017.
- Presenter, “The War Against Fiduciaries: A Growing Trend in Trust & Estate Litigation,” Commercial Law WebAdvisor Webinar, April 25, 2017.
- Co-Author, “When Do You Need an English Translator in Civil Depositions?,” ABA Section of Litigation Trial Practice, August 2016.
- Author, “European Parliament Passes Landmark Data Protection Regulation”, Privacy & Data Security Law Blog, July 2016.
- Co-Author, “Resident Defendant Exception for Removal: A Clever Move or Legal Gamesmanship?,” ABA Section of Litigation Trial Practice, April 2016.
- Co-Author, “Requests for Admission: The Forgotten Weapon in the Litigator’s Arsenal,” American Bar Association’s Spring Newsletter, June 2015.
- Co-Author, “Does Your Company Have Insurance Coverage For a Data Breach?,” Inside Counsel, December 2014. More...
- Co-Author, “The Consumer May Not Be Your Worst Enemy in the Case of a Data Breach,” Inside Counsel, November 2014.
- Author, “The Typical Data Breach Lawsuit and How to Protect Your Company,” Inside Counsel, October 2014.
- Author, “The Importance of an Effective Trial Theme” (Book Chapter), Trying Your First Case – A Practitioner’s Guide, August 2014.
- Co-Author, “2013 Amendments to Rule 45: Significant Changes to Subpoena Practice”, by Robert E. Sumner, IV, and Lesley A. Firestone, The DefenseLine, May 2014.
- Presenter, “Data Breach and Cyber-liability: Preparing for Litigation,” Charlotte, N.C., February 27, 2014.
- Presenter, “Motions Practice in South Carolina,” South Carolina Legal Services Conference, Myrtle Beach, S.C., November 21, 2013.
- Presenter, “Data Breach and Cyber Liability in South Carolina,” Charleston, S.C., October 16, 2013.
- Presenter, “Cyber Liability: Data Breach Litigation in the Wake of the South Carolina Department of Revenue Hacking Scandal,” South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys’ Association 46th Annual Summer Meeting, Asheville, N.C., July 26, 2013.