Robert H. Sasser, III

Robert earned his Juris Doctor degree in 1983 and a Bachelor of Science in business in 1980 from Wake Forest University. As a founding partner of Barringer Sasser, Robert has extensive jury trial experience in North Carolina federal and state courts, handling numerous types of litigation, including commercial disputes, covenants not to compete, product liability, construction, personal injury defense, antitrust, insurance fraud and coverage, accountant and real estate broker malpractice, and civil rights violations, including employment discrimination.

He also renders counsel to clients involving corporate and partnership formation, as well as various types of business transactions, including buy-sell agreements, small business mergers and acquisitions, and shareholder buyouts. Robert has advised clients regarding employment matters, including non-competition, consulting, and severance package agreements.

He has represented counties and municipalities throughout North Carolina, as well as clients in courts in Mississippi and Louisiana. While serving as national coordinating counsel for a large manufacturer, Robert coordinated the defense of over 50 cases involving over 450 plaintiffs. He also developed expert witnesses throughout the U.S. and Canada for a major international manufacturer and worked with Canadian counsel in defense of class action and recoupment cases in multiple provinces, including British Columbia, Quebec, and New Brunswick. Prior co-founding Barringer Sasser, Robert practiced at Womble Carlyle and Sasser Fields, LLP, where he was a founding partner.

Robert has an AV Martindale Hubbell rating.

Areas of Practice

Commercial/Business Litigation

Education

B.S., 1980, Wake Forest University
J.D., 1983 Wake Forest University School of Law, Wake Forest Law Review.

Prior Legal Employment

Founding Partner, Sasser Fields, LLP, January, 2010 – March, 2013
Member, Womble Carlyle, 1990 – January 2010
Associate, Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, 1983 – September, 1990

Significant Cases

Hudgins vs. Allstate Insurance Company (insurance fraud)
Powell vs. Seawell Realty (real estate broker malpractice)
Braswell vs. Edgecomb County (wrongful death case involving claims of excessive force against the Sheriff’s Department)
Sanders vs. City of Henderson (fire loss claims)
Hicks vs. New Hanover County (employment discrimination and workplace harassment)
County of Guilford vs. Wm. F. Freeman, Incorporated d/b/a Wm. F. Freeman Associates, et.al. (claims alleging design and engineering defects in the construction of the High Point City Jail)
Mitchell vs. BET Plant Services (catastrophic personal injury claims surrounding scaffolding collapse)
Char – Mike, Inc. vs. National Security Services (claims surrounding security system failure to detect jewelry store robbery)
Carville vs. Honda Motor Company (wrongful death case resulting from ATV accident)
Chapel Hill Pediatrics vs. Black (accounting malpractice)
Slaughter vs. Life Connection of Ohio (claims surrounding the transplantation of a cancerous kidney)
Estate of Dawn Jolly vs. Orange County (wrongful death case involving claims of failure to protect)
Lakey vs. Wake County, et. al. (claims surrounding the evisceration of a small child after sitting on a wading pool drain)
McLawhon, et.al. vs. Food Lion (multi district litigation involving allegations of being coerced to work “off the clock”)
Deloach vs. Philip Morris Companies, et. al. (anti-trust claims)
Owens Corning vs. R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, et.al. (claims against the tobacco industry in Jefferson County, Mississippi for recoupment of $25 billion in asbestos settlements)
Ezell Thomas, et.al. vs. R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, et.al. (claims of multiple joined plaintiffs in Jefferson County, Mississippi asserting personal injury and wrongful death claims)
King vs. R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, et.al. (personal injury and wrongful death claims)
Gunnie McGee, et.a. vs. R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, et.al. (personal injury and wrongful death claims of multiple joined plaintiffs in Jefferson County, Mississippi)
Mary Emma Woods vs. R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, et.al. (personal injury claims in federal court)
Conseil Que’be’cois Sur Le Tabac Et La Sante’ and Jean-Yves Blais vs. JTI – MacDonald Corp. and Imperial Tobacco Canada and Rothmans, Benson & Hedges, Inc. vs. Attorney General of Canada (class action brought by all “addicted” smokers in Quebec)
Ce’cilia Le’tourneau vs. JTI – MacDonald Corp. and Imperial Tobacco Canada and Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc. vs. Attorney General of Canada (class action brought by all persons in Quebec suffering from an alleged smoking related disease)
Her Majesty The Queen in Right of British Columbia vs. Imperial Tobacco Canada Limited, Rothmans, Benson & Hedges, Inc., Rothmans Inc., JTI MacDonald Corp., Canadian Tobacco Manufacturers’ Council., B.A.T Industries p.l.c., British American Tobacco (Investments) Limited, Carreras Rothmans Limited, Philip Morris Incorporated, Philip Morris International, Inc., R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, R. J. Reynolds Tobacco International, Inc., Rothmans International Research Division and Ryesekks p.l.c. (medical cost recoupment claims brought by British Columbia)
Her Majesty The Queen in Right of The Province of New Brunswick vs. Rothmans Inc., Rothmans, Benson & Hedges, Inc., Carreras Rothmans Limited, Altria Goup, Inc., Philip Morris U.S.A., Inc., Philip Morris International, Inc., JTI-MacDonald Corp., R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, R. J. Reynolds Tobacco International Inc., Imperial Tobacco Canada Limited, British American Tobacco P.L.C., B.A.T Industries P.L.C., British American Tobacco (Investments) Limited, and Canadian Tobacco Manufacturers’ Council (medical cost recoupment claims brought by New Brunswick)
Bankers Life and Casualty Company vs. Kevin King, et. al. (non competition and non-solicitation claims against insurance agents and class action counterclaims alleging Fair Labor Standards Act violations )
Hicks v. Gemmy Industries, Proctor & Gamble and Duracell (claims for personal injury suffered by defective battery-powered Halloween costume)

Community Activities

Member – First United Methodist Church, Cary
Board Member – Children’s Flight of Hope, 2016 to present
Trustee – The Raleigh School Board of Trustees, 2007 – 09
Board Member – MacGregor West Homeowners’ Association, 1995 – 97
YMCA Indian Guides’ and Princesses’ programs – 7 years

Personal

Robert and his wife Andrea have three children, Harrison, Emily, and Patrick, and a Portuguese Water Dog named Arnie. He is a member of Cary First United Methodist Church and sits on the board of Children’s Flight of Hope. He enjoys travel, coaching youth sports, golf, and attending Wake Forest sporting events.

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