Ben Cannon

Author

David McLendon
A Mass Tort Attorney Fighting for Wildfire Survivors

David McLendon has spent nearly two decades in mass tort litigation, and most of it standing with people whose lives were upended by wildfire. David was among the first attorneys to take on wildfire litigation on behalf of survivors, working the Tubbs Fire cases in 2017 and 2018 with Mikal Watts after the fire tore through Northern California wine country and became, at the time, one of the most destructive in California history.

Today David represents survivors of the January 2025 Eaton Fire, which devastated communities across Altadena and Pasadena. Working alongside Perfected Claims and the LA Fire Justice team from the firm’s Los Angeles claims office, he helps homeowners, renters, and small businesses pursue recovery for lost homes, property, livelihoods, and the lasting disruption the fire caused.

The litigation is pending in the Superior Court of California for Los Angeles County, before Judge Laura Seigle. His commitment is to guide each client through a complex process with clear communication and close personal attention, so families can focus on rebuilding while their claims move forward.

Working Alongside Mikal Watts for More Than 15 Years

David’s first mass tort was also where his long working relationship with Mikal Watts began: MDL 1873, In re: FEMA Formaldehyde Toxicity Litigation, in the Eastern District of Louisiana, where thousands of hurricane victims pursued claims over toxic formaldehyde levels in government-provided trailers.

From 2009 through 2023, David worked with Mikal on these cases, building the experience that mass tort work demands and a shared conviction that large corporations should answer for the harm they cause.

That background shows in how he practices. David knows these cases from every angle, from the first intake call to the courtroom, and he knows that behind every claim number is a family that lost something it cannot replace.

The Tubbs Fire: Holding PG&E Accountable for the North Bay Fires

In October 2017, a series of 250 wildfires broke out across Napa, Lake, Sonoma, and Mendocino counties. Among them, the Tubbs Fire became the most destructive single wildfire in California history at the time, destroying thousands of homes and entire neighborhoods in Santa Rosa and forcing roughly 90,000 residents to evacuate. The North Bay fires killed 44 people and caused an estimated $14.5 billion in damages.

These were not natural disasters. Investigations found the fires were ignited by the negligence of Pacific Gas & Electric, whose equipment failures and downed power lines, during a period of prolonged drought and strong winds, set the stage for catastrophe. PG&E knew the wildfire risks its system posed and failed to take the precautions that could have prevented it.

David and Mikal represented fire victims against PG&E, taking on one of the largest utilities in the United States on behalf of families who had lost homes, businesses, and loved ones. The litigation forced a multibillion dollar settlement for fire victims, one of the largest recoveries in California history. For David, the lesson has shaped every fire case since: when a company’s negligence destroys a community, the people who lived it deserve attorneys willing to hold that company fully accountable.

The Eaton Fire: Seeking Justice for Altadena and Pasadena

On January 7, 2025, the Eaton Fire broke out in the Altadena area of Los Angeles County and spread across more than 14,000 acres. It killed at least 17 people and destroyed more than 14,000 structures, devastating homes, businesses, and entire neighborhoods across Altadena, Pasadena, and the surrounding communities.

The fire is under investigation, and the signs point in a familiar direction. The origin point sits near electrical transmission towers, and the firm’s investigation, drawing on its experience from the North Bay and Camp Fire litigation, is examining whether Southern California Edison failed to prepare for conditions it knew were coming: drought, extreme Santa Ana winds, and the catastrophic risk of downed lines and energized conductors.

In past wildfire cases, the firm has found utilities that postponed critical maintenance to cut costs and failed to follow their own fire prevention plans when the weather demanded it. If the Eaton Fire tells the same story, the survivors deserve to know.

David represents homeowners, renters, and small businesses pursuing recovery for lost homes, property, livelihoods, and the lasting disruption the fire caused. Working alongside Perfected Claims and the LA Fire Justice team from the firm’s Los Angeles claims office, he guides each client through a complex process with clear communication and close personal attention, so families can focus on rebuilding while their claims move forward. The litigation is pending in the Superior Court of California for Los Angeles County, before Judge Laura Seigle.

Social Media Litigation at Morgan & Morgan

Prior to joining Watts Law Firm LLP, David spent two years at Morgan & Morgan, working on the social media addiction cases brought on behalf of children and teenagers. The litigation alleged that Meta, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube designed their platforms to be addictive for young users, and that this design caused depression, anxiety, eating disorders, self-harm, and in the most tragic cases suicide.

David worked on both fronts of the litigation: the federal cases consolidated in In re Social Media Adolescent Addiction, MDL 3047, in the Northern District of California before Judge Gonzalez Rogers, and the California state court cases coordinated as JCCP 5255 in Los Angeles Superior Court before Judge Kuhl.

Coordinating claims across federal and state courts, and across thousands of families, requires the same skills the fire cases demand: organization at scale, patience with complex proceedings, and a refusal to be intimidated by giant corporations, because the size of the harm, not the size of the defendant, is what decides these cases.

From New Orleans, With Roots in Every Case

David makes his home in New Orleans with his wife, Tracy, and his son, Miles, a high school senior headed to college. The three of them live the city’s calendar: Jazzfest, the food, Mardi Gras. When David and Miles travel, they look for one more thing, a good tennis court.

Key Areas of Practice

• Eaton Fire Litigation
• Wildfire Litigation
• Mass Tort Litigation
• Toxic Tort Litigation
• Hurricane Property Damage Claims

Education

• Juris Doctor, Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, New Orleans, LA (May 2001)
• Master of Business Administration, Finance and Marketing, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC (May 1996); Dean’s List
• Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Management, University of South Carolina Honors College, Columbia, SC (December 1993); Presidential Scholar

Mass Tort & MDL Litigation Experience

• Worked on 17 federal MDL and California JCCP mass tort proceedings spanning pharmaceuticals, medical devices, consumer products, environmental disasters, and antitrust
• Handled matters before federal courts nationwide, including E.D. La., D.N.J., N.D. Cal., S.D. Fla., N.D. Ill., S.D. W. Va., D. Kan., D. Minn., and N.D. Fla., as well as California state coordinated proceedings
• Brings combined legal and business training to complex, high-volume litigation

Representative matters:

Pharmaceutical

• In re Pradaxa, MDL 2385 (S.D. Ill., Judge Herndon)
• In re Xarelto, MDL 2592 (E.D. La., Judge Fallon)
• In re Valsartan, MDL 2875 (D.N.J., Judge Kugler)
• In re Zantac, MDL 2927 (S.D. Fla., Judge Rosenberg)
• In re Elmiron, MDL 2973 (D.N.J., Judge Martinotti)

Medical Devices

• In re C.R. Bard, Inc. Pelvic Repair System, MDL 2187 (S.D. W. Va., Judge Goodwin)
• In re Boston Scientific Corp. Pelvic Repair System, MDL 2326 (S.D. W. Va., Judge Goodwin)

Consumer Products

• In re 3M Combat Arms Earplugs, MDL 2885 (N.D. Fla., Judge Rodgers)
• In re JUUL Labs, Inc., MDL 2913 (N.D. Cal., Judge Orrick)
• In re Abbott Laboratories, et al., Preterm Infant Nutrition, MDL 3026 (N.D. Ill., Judge Pallmeyer)
• In re Social Media Adolescent Addiction, MDL 3047 (N.D. Cal., Judge Gonzalez Rogers)
• Social Media Cases, JCCP 5255 (L.A. Super. Ct., Judge Kuhl)

Environmental & Disaster

• In re FEMA Formaldehyde Trailers, MDL 1873 (E.D. La., Judge Engelhardt)
• In re BP Oil Spill (Deepwater Horizon), MDL 2179 (E.D. La., Judge Barbier)
• In re California North Bay Fire Cases, JCCP 4955 (S.F. Super. Ct., Judge Karnow)

Agricultural & Antitrust

• In re Syngenta AG MIR 162 Corn, MDL 2591 (D. Kan., Judge Lungstrum)
• In re Cattle and Beef Antitrust, MDL 3031 (D. Minn., Judge Tunheim)