Attorneys
Thomas J. White, III
twhite@whiteandallen.com | vCard
Tom was born in Kinston, N.C., on April 16, 1941. He is an experienced civil trial attorney with numerous jury trials in state and federal court and several landmark appellate case decisions to his credit over a 42-year career, including criminal trials during his earlier years.
Tom more recently has concentrated his practice in the areas of automobile and other negligence claims, injury and property damage claims from defective products and workplace injuries, as well as contract, shareholder and other business disputes and disputes arising during estate administration. Workplace injury cases also include those in the specialized areas of railroad workers under the Federal Employers Act and Seamen’s Claims under the Jones Act.
A licensed pilot since 1969, Tom has handled numerous matters arising from commercial, military and private aircraft crashes, defective engine and other aircraft components, leasing and other disputes. In 1966, he earned certification by the North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission as a Mediator to conduct settlement conferences.
After graduating from Woodberry Forest School in 1959, Tom attended the University of North Carolina as a Morehead Scholar and was awarded the degrees of Bachelor of Arts in 1963 (English and classics major) and Bachelor of Laws in 1966. While at the University, he was active in student government, played on the UNC soccer team and was President of his fraternity. He was presented with the Outstanding Graduate Award by Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity in 1966.
Following a year’s clerkship with United States District Judge John D. Larkins, Jr., Tom began practice with his father, Thos. J. White, and John R. Hooten. Thereafter, the three of them joined William A. Allen, Jr. and John M. Hines in 1970 to co-found White, Allen, Hooten & Hines, the predecessor firm of today’s White & Allen, P.A.
Tom is licensed to practice in the State and Federal Courts of North Carolina and Alabama, the United States Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court. He is a member of the North Carolina Bar Association, Lawyer-Pilots’ Bar Association, North Carolina Advocates for Justice, and Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference. He is a past president of the Lenoir County Bar Association.
He is a member of the Kinston Rotary Club, the Pride of Kinston’s Waterfront-Now Committee and the Coastal Conservation Association. He is a trustee at Lenoir County Community College and a member of the Lenoir County Historical Association.
Tom is an avid hunter and fisherman and enjoys graphic arts, cooking and anecdotal historical writing. He and Mrs. White train bird dogs for quail hunting. He is a “recovering” golfer.
In recent cases of note:
- Successfully defended and obtained an award of attorneys’ fees for a widow in an estate administration from unwarranted claims of mismanagement.
- In a defective product claim in federal court for an aviation business client against an engine manufacturer, teamed with Wyles Johnson to uncover through discovery that manufacturer knew, but concealed, a turboprop engine component defect, enabling client to collect repair costs under the “concealment exception” to the 18-year Statute of Repose.
- In a “case of first impression,” established by appellate decisions compensability of a farm worker’s heat stroke as an “accident” within the meaning of the Workers Compensation Act, recovering a multi-million award dollar for client in “vegetative state.”
- Teamed with Matt Sullivan and Greg Floyd on a landmark Superior Court decision and affirming appellate decision regarding the requirement of liability insurance carriers to provide their insureds with the opportunity—in writing—to select the amount of underinsured motorist coverage desired, when writing policies above minimum limits.
