David C. Gustman

About

David Gustman is a member of the Firm's Litigation Practice Group, Co-head of the Firm’s Antitrust Practice Group and a member and former Chairman of the Firm’s Executive Committee.

David has handled and served as lead trial counsel on a variety of complex business litigation matters involving antitrust, accounting, banking, bankruptcy, construction, finance, insurance coverage and broker disputes, real estate and securities. He is a “go to” lawyer for the Firm’s most challenging and difficult cases, and is often called upon by clients to take over cases that have been previously handled by other counsel.

The following are representative examples of cases David has handled successfully as lead counsel:

• Obtained a defense verdict in favor of our clients in a nationwide antitrust class action, in which plaintiffs sought $500 million in damages. Also successfully argued and defended the judgment before the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. In re Sulfuric Acid Antitrust Litigation, 703 F.3d 1004 (7th Cir. 2012).
• Obtained a $36.4 million judgment against a governmental entity that wrongfully interfered with our client’s easement rights, delaying construction of The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Chicago, Magnificent Mile.
• Tried claims worth over $100 million to a federal jury arising out of defendant’s breach of a technology licensing agreement. The case settled before closing arguments, resulting in a recovery for our client of multiple millions of dollars (exact amount is confidential at the request of the defendant.)
• Successfully arbitrated claims requiring a landowner to turn over title to a real estate development, allowing closings of new, high-end, condominium units.
• Successfully defended class action antitrust claims seeking over $100 million in damages. In re Potash Antitrust Litigation, 954 F .Supp. 1334 (D. Minn. 1997); affirmed Blomkest Fertilizer, Inc. v. Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, Inc., 203 F.3d 1028 (8th Cir. 2000).
• Represented defendant Chairman of the Board in a securities class action matter brought on behalf of purchasers of common stock that sought remedies under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5, resulting in a successful settlement. 
• Following a two-week jury trial on behalf of a private equity fund client, obtained a multimillion dollar jury verdict against the seller of a business for misrepresentations and omissions in connection with the sale of the business to our client.
• Obtained approval from the U.S. Department of Justice for the merger of a large international mining company after a second request for information. This resulted in one of the largest mergers in Canadian history.
• Summary judgment for client dealership group on an action by a vehicle manufacturer for specific performance of a contractual right in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. 

David provides antitrust counsel to joint ventures, trade associations, research consortiums and companies involved in mergers and acquisitions, as well as those facing antitrust claims. He has also successfully defended clients in connection with criminal antitrust investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice. He is a frequent speaker and author on various legal topics, including antitrust, class actions and mergers. He has spoken several times at the PLI's Annual Antitrust Law Institute. He also co-authored a paper entitled Joint Ventures and Other Competitor Collaborations, published by the PLI Law Institute.