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Awards & Recognition

Donald R. Fountain, Jr. is a founding partner of Clark, Fountain, Littky-Rubin & Whitman, a nationally recognized plaintiff trial attorney known for his skilled representation of catastrophically injured clients. For over 37 years, he has guided individuals and families through some of the most difficult and life-altering events they will ever face.

Don is board certified in civil trial law by both The Florida Bar and the National Board of Trial Advocacy. He has been named “Lawyer of the Year” in plaintiff product liability litigation by Best Lawyers in America® in 2024, 2021, 2019, and 2015. His work has been featured in major publications including the Miami Herald and The Wall Street Journal.

He has represented clients in more than 26 states and has tried nearly every kind of case, from a cruise ship collision in Alaska to the mishandling of human remains by a funeral home chain. Don frequently handles cases involving automotive product liability, tire defects, dangerous consumer products, road and construction hazards, boating and locomotive crashes, aviation liability, legal malpractice, fires, and serious trucking and vehicle accidents. He has secured hundreds of seven- and eight-figure verdicts and settlements, recovering over $1 billion for clients across the United States.

In 2021, Don and his trial team obtained a $200 million jury verdict in rural Georgia on behalf of Stephan and Margaret Batchelder, whose 7-year-old son was killed in a boat swamping defect incident. It remains the largest verdict in Rabun County history and the largest single award for pain and suffering in a wrongful death case in the history of Georgia. Following the jury’s decision, Malibu Boats issued a worldwide bow swamping safety notice and service advisory affecting ten separate boat models with manufacture dates as far back as 1986, acknowledging longstanding risks associated with the defect and prompting safety reviews across the industry.

In 2024, Don authored Defect Safety: A Primer for Lawyers to Identify Defective Products and Promote Consumer Safety Through Litigation, a practical book drawn from decades of real-world litigation. The Florida Bar approved the book for 14.0 CLE credits, recognizing its value to attorneys handling complex product liability cases. It lays out the process Don uses to uncover hidden defects, build cases, and hold manufacturers accountable through the one mechanism they fear most: trial by jury.

Since the book’s release, Don has been featured by major news networks and publications as a leading voice on product defect litigation, including CNET, Law360, CBS, WFMJ, ABC4, and KOMO News. His insight into corporate safety failures and litigation strategy continues to influence lawyers, regulators, and media across the country.

Don has been recognized as one of the “Top 100 Trial Lawyers in America,” a “Leading Plaintiffs’ Lawyer in America,” and one of “Florida’s Top 10 Attorneys.” He is frequently brought in by other firms to lead high-stakes cases that require deep technical expertise, strategic vision, and the ability to take a case all the way to verdict.

He is also consistently named a “Top Lawyer” in South Florida Legal Guide and among Florida Trend’s “Legal Elite,” a distinction shared by just 2 percent of lawyers in the state. Don holds an AV® Preeminent™ rating from Martindale-Hubbell®, the highest possible rating for professional ability and ethical standards. He has also been selected as a Super Lawyer® for 22 consecutive years.

Don is proud that his work has led to real-world safety improvements. His product defect cases have prompted manufacturers to recall or redesign dangerous products, often after litigation exposed risks they failed to address. The American Association for Justice honored him with the Justice Steven T. Sharp Public Service Award after his investigation led to the nation’s largest recall of Firestone passenger tires. He also litigated one of the first Takata airbag defect cases before any recalls were issued. Days after that case resolved, Takata recalled 3,000 vehicles. The recall eventually expanded to more than 65 million vehicles.

One of Don’s most significant victories came when he and the Clark Fountain product liability team convinced two Florida courts to allow punitive damage claims against Chrysler for its line of 15-passenger vans. The plaintiffs alleged—and the courts agreed—that Chrysler knew the vans were dangerously prone to rollovers but continued selling them anyway. At the time, these were the only cases in the country where a court allowed punitive damages for that vehicle. After the litigation, Chrysler pulled the model from the market and replaced it with a new and improved version.

Don is often the lawyer clients turn to after other firms have said no. He’s built a reputation for finding what others miss—hidden defects, ignored warnings, and safety failures that were there all along—and turning those facts into results that hold companies accountable and prevent future harm.

Legal Victories

Firm Obtains $200 Million Verdict for Family, Whose Son Was Killed Due To A Defectively Designed Boat

Following a three week trial in Rabun County Georgia, partners Donald R. Fountain Jr., Julie H. Littky-Rubin, Ben J. Whitman, and Atlanta Georgia attorneys Drew Ashby, and Max Thelen successfully secured a $200 million verdict for their clients, Stephan Paul Batchelder and Margaret Mary Batchelder, who tragically lost their 7-year-old son, Ryan Paul Batchelder, in a 2014 boat swamping accident. It was the largest verdict in Rabun County history and the largest single verdict for the pain and suffering for wrongful death in the history of the State of Georgia.

Don Fountain’s Landmark Case, Batchelder v. Malibu Boats, LLC, Catalyzes Industry-Wide Reforms in Boat Manufacturing and Safety Protocols

In July 2023, Malibu issued a truly remarkable admission of defect. Malibu CEO Jack Springer undertook a new worldwide safety warning campaign by issuing a sweeping warning and safety advisory directly as a result of the death of Ryan Batchelder. This Safety Alert highlights the Bow Swamping Hazard in ten separate models of Malibu boats manufactured over a 25-year period (from 1986 – 2011) and sold worldwide.

Malibu now specifically prohibits passengers from riding in the bow seats while the boat is in motion and has undertaken a campaign to communicate this safety hazard and provide new warning labels to all boat owners. [Access the Malibu Boat’s Safety Alert]

Partner Don Fountain Obtains $32 Million Verdict Against Tire Manufacturer For Truck Driver Whose Legs were Amputated in Crash

Partner Donald Fountain represented a tractor trailer driver who was transporting a loaded fertilizer trailer carrying 30,000 pounds of fertilizer when the truck suffered a front tire blowout. The tire explosion caused the vehicle to lose control and leave the roadway. As the vehicle traveled across a small ditch on the shoulder of the roadway the trailer broke loose from the tractor running through and over the tractor and the driver. The impact caused a traumatic amputation of both of the driver’s legs, pinned him in the vehicle and severed the vehicle fuel tank causing a fire. The driver was pulled from the burning wreckage by an eyewitness. The failure of the tire was traced to defects in the steel belt cord, which affected the tires adhesion properties and caused the tire to separate and blowout. At the conclusion of a month-long trial the jury determined that the tire was defective and returned a $32 million verdict against the tire manufacturer.

Partner Don Fountain Obtains $15.5 Million Verdict Against Truck Design Company For Truck Driver’s Surviving Family Members

Partner Donald Fountain and the Clark Fountain trial team represented a single father who lost his life after his tractor-trailer blew a tire and became completely uncontrollable due to the defective manner in which the truck had been modified. Using engineering data and research as key evidence, Partner Donald Fountain secured $15.5 million for the truck driver’s surviving family members.

Partner Don Fountain Secured $15 Million Verdict Against Vehicle and Tire Manufacturer in Rollover Event that Left Man Quadriplegic

During a road trip, a tire blowout caused a family van to roll over and render our client quadriplegic. Heartbreakingly, he had just taken his vehicle to a Ford dealership for service three weeks prior to the accident. During trial, it became clear that not only was the dealership at fault, but so was Dunlop (the tire manufacturer) for a defective tire design.

Partner Don Fountain Secured $10 Million Verdict Against Tire Manufacturer After Tire Blowout and Rollover

A $10 million verdict on behalf of a car accident victim was successfully attained by Partner Donald Fountain and the Clark Fountain trial team. The firm represented the victim of a horrific tire blowout on I-95 who spent a month in a coma, 102 days in the hospital, and underwent 17 surgical procedures. The trial culminated a four-year battle that Clark Fountain had waged against Continental Tire. The German tire maker was so confident in its position that it never offered even one penny to settle the case before trial. Continental vigorously opposed the case at every turn and still made no settlement offer, even after the Palm Beach County jury told Continental they owed our client nearly $11 million. Instead, it vowed to appeal… and did. The six-year battle finally ended when the Fourth District Court of Appeal punctuated it with its per curium affirmance.

Partner Donald Fountain and the Clark Fountain trial and appellate team secured an $11 million Verdict Against Vehicle and Seat Belt Manufacturer for Defective Seat Belt Resulting Ejection and Death of a 25-year old boy

Our client died after the seatbelt in a Mitsubishi Montero failed him during a rollover crash in 2004. He was a passenger in the vehicle on I-95 in Brevard County, FL. In 2008 a jury awarded the boy’s mother and father $11 million. The decision was appealed in 2010, but the Clark Fountain legal team obtained a favorable, 2-1 ruling from the Fourth District, upholding the verdict.

Significant Confidential Settlement Reached for a Defective Seatback Mechanism

A confidential settlement was reached on behalf of a 34-year-old man who experienced catastrophic and permanent brain injuries after a car accident in Nevada. Partner Donald Fountain discovered and was able to prove that the seatback recline mechanisms failed upon impact of the crash, causing our client severe injuries that will require around the clock medical care for the rest of his life.

Partner Don Fountain Obtained Numerous Significant Confidential Settlements Reached During and Before Trial

In The News

Law360 Article CPSC’s Amazon Ruling Is A Win for Safety, Accountability by Don Fountain

On July 14, 2021, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission filed an administrative complaint against Amazon.com Inc., the world’s largest retailer, to force the company to take responsibility for recalling potentially hazardous products sold through its online marketplace.[1]

Amazon’s position? It claimed it was not responsible for ensuring the safety of products sold by third-party sellers, arguing it was merely a platform, not a distributor.

Download the Full Article Here

Don Fountain’s Landmark Boat Case Results in $200 Million Jury Verdict Against Major Boat Manufacturer

Justice Prevails for Grieving Son: Clark Fountain Secures $15.5 Million Settlement in Unprecedented Lawsuit

Great Trials Podcast Interview Episode 138: Don Fountain and Drew Ashby | Batchelder et al v. Malibu Boats, LLC, f/k/a Malibu Boats, Inc.; Malibu Boats West, Inc. et al. | $200 million verdict

Firm Obtains $200 Million Verdict for Family, Whose Son Was Killed Due to a Defective Boat Design

Author Don Fountain Interview on Drive Time Live

Clark, Fountain, Littky-Rubin & Whitman founding partner Donald Fountain joins KSCJ’s Drive Time Live with Mark Hahn to discuss his groundbreaking book, Defect Safety. This insightful publication explores the critical role of product liability litigation in advancing consumer protection and enhancing product safety standards.

Author Don Fountain Interview on NBC TV

Author Don Fountain Interview on the Wake Up Call

Don Fountain on NightSide with Dan Rea

KOMO TV ABC Seattle Interviews Don Fountain

Don on WIBX Keeler In The Morning

Part 1: Gas Station’s Negligence Led to Fiery Death of Young Mother of Five

Part 2: Gas Station’s Negligence Led to Death of Young Mother of Five

Practice Areas

Florida Personal Injury
Wrongful Death
Florida Defective Products Lawyer
Florida Tire Defect Lawyers
Florida Boat Accident Lawyers
Airplane Accident Lawyers
Vehicle Fires
Expert Seat Belt Defect Lawyers | Clark Fountain
Florida Vehicle Rollover Lawyer
Construction Equipment
Common Accidents in Florida