Brian Gudmundson concentrates his practice on complex litigation and commercial class actions, including the areas of Consumer, Antitrust, Securities, Intellectual Property, and Sports Litigation. Brian represents individuals, businesses, and public and private institutional clients in a variety of complex cases.
Ongoing litigation highlights
- Member of the Lead Counsel Committee in a nationwide action challenging CenturyLink, Inc.’s alleged systematic and deceptive sales and overbilling practices (MDL 2795)
- Appointed to the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee on behalf of financial institutions nationwide in the Equifax Data Breach (MDL 2800)
- Appointed co-lead counsel to represent banks and credit unions in recovering losses caused by the Arby’s data breach (In re: Arby’s Restaurant Group, Inc., Data Security Litig., 17-cv-00514, (N.D. Ga.))
- Member of the Plaintiffs Steering Committee alleging Vizio violated state and federal privacy laws by unlawfully collecting and selling private consumer data (MDL 2693)
- Co-lead counsel in GLS Companies, et al. v. Minnesota Timberwolves Basketball LP, challenging implementation of paperless ticketing system and restrictions on transfer of game tickets on behalf of ticketholders
- Member of the Plaintiffs Steering Committee representing banks and credit unions in recovering losses caused by the Home Depot data breach (MDL 2583)
- Member of the Plaintiffs Steering Committee representing banks and credit unions in recovering losses arising from the Wendy’s Data Breach (First Choice Fed. Credit Union v. The Wendy’s Co., 16-cv-00506 (W.D. Pa.))
- Appointed to Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee representing public and private entities that purchased allegedly defective artificial turf from FieldTurf, Inc. that is prone to premature degradation (MDL 2779)
- Member of the Plaintiffs Executive Committee representing Cigna Health Insurance plan participants alleging Cigna illegally inflated and clawed back prescription copayments (Negron v. Cigna Corp., et al., 16-cv-01702 (D. Conn.))
- Member of the Plaintiffs Executive Committee representing Humana insurance plan participants alleging that Humana illegally inflated and clawed back prescription copayments (In re Humana, Inc. PBM Litig., 16-cv-00706 (W.D. Ky.))
- Member of the Plaintiffs Executive Committee asserting claims on behalf of dentists against 3M for alleged sale of defective dental crowns (Vikram Bhatia, D.D.S. v. 3M Co., 16-cv-01304 (D. Minn.)
- Member of the lead counsel team that representing financial institutions in recovering losses suffered in the 2013 Target data breach, which resulted in the first certified nationwide data breach class and multimillion dollar settlement (MDL 2522)
- Member of the lead counsel team representing retired NHL players in claims arising from concussive head injuries suffered while professional players (MDL 2551)
- Member of the lead counsel team that achieved a $50 million settlement on behalf of retired National Football League players in a class action against the League for the unauthorized use of former players’ identities to generate revenue (Dryer v. National Football League, 09-cv-02182 (D. Minn.)
- Represents hundreds of retired NFL players in claims arising from concussive head injuries suffered while professional players (MDL 2323)
- Specializes in claims under the RICO Act and represents multiple non-profit and faith-based investors pro bono in RICO claims arising from the $3.5 billion Petters Ponzi scheme
Brian currently serves on: the Board of Directors of the Class Action Roundtable; and a Dialogue Leader for the Sedona Conference Working Group 11 (Data Security and Privacy Liability).
Brian received his BA from the University of Minnesota and his JD, cum laude, from the University of Minnesota Law School. Brian is admitted to the state courts of Minnesota, the U.S. District Courts for the District of Minnesota, the Northern District of Illinois, the District of Colorado, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Presentations and/or Publications
- “The NHL Players Concussion Injury Litigation, A Look Inside the Case and a Discussion of its Potential Impact”
- “Oregon Law Summer Sports Institute,” University of Oregon School of Law
- “Sports Law & the Former Athlete,” Anoka County Bar Association CLE
- “Game Changers, Tackling Sports Law,” Perspectives Magazine
- “The Second Circuit Determines that No Reliance is Necessary,” ricoact.com
- “The Fourth Circuit’s Attempt to Achieve a Balance Between the Policies Reflected in the McCarran-Ferguson Act and RICO,” ricoact.com
Professional Memberships
- Federal Bar Association
- Minnesota State Bar Association
- Hennepin County Bar Association
- American Bar Association
- American Association for Justice
In The News
- Law360, “Wendy’s Inks $50M Deal To End Hacked Payment Data Claims” (February 13, 2019)
- Law360, “Cigna Must Face RICO Claims In Insured Price Suit” (March 13, 2018)
- Law360, “Lead Attorneys Appointed in Equifax Data Breach MDL” (February 13, 2018)
- PennRecord, “Class action filed against FedLoan Servicing over alleged mismanagement of student loans” (January 4, 2018)
- Washington Post, “After the breach, Equifax now faces lawsuits” (September 22, 2017)
- Law.com, “5 Things to Know About the First Wave of Equifax Actions” (September 8, 2017)
- Law360, “Long Island Borrower Targets Navient With Damages Action” (August 21, 2017)
- MinnPost, “A new era in the old war between teams and ticket scalpers” (February 13, 2017)
- New York Times, “The N.H.L.’s Problem With Science” (January 8, 2017)
- CBS News, “Supreme Court Rejects Former Players’ Challenge to $1 Billion NFL Concussion Settlement” (December 12, 2016)
- Law360, “Home Depot Can’t Dodge Banks’ Claims In Data Breach MDL” (May 18, 2016)
- Law360, “Ex-NHL Players Say League ‘Mischaracterized’ Doctor’s Tests” (April 20, 2016)
- Vice Sports, “Screwing Over Sports Ticket Buyers? There’s An App For That” (March 12, 2016)
- Law360, “NBA’s Timberwolves Sued Over Paperless Tickets” (March 7, 2016)
- Star Tribune, “Timberwolves sued over paperless ticket policy” (March 4, 2016)
- Pioneer Press, “Timberwolves sued over digital ticket sales” (March 3, 2016)
- KSTP, “Group Representing Timberwolves Season Ticket Holders Files Lawsuit Against Team” (March 3, 2016)
- Law360, “NFL Fans Want Sunday Ticket Suite Returned to Calif. Court” (February 1, 2016)
- Law360, “Vizio Smart TV MDL Should Go To Ark. Or Ind., JPML Told” (January 21, 2016)
- Law360, “Target Pays $39M To Settle Card Issuers’ Data Breach Claims” (December 2, 2015)
- Law360, “NFL, DirecTV Hit With Another Suit Over ‘Sunday Ticket” (September 4, 2015)
- Pioneer Press, “NHL brain-trauma lawsuit lands in St. Paul’s federal court” (August 27, 2015)
- Atlanta Business Chronicle, “Legal teams take shape for court battle over Home Depot data breach” (February 3, 2015)
- Perspectives, “Game Changers, Tackling Sports Law” (Fall 2014)
- Law360, “Wells Fargo To Pay $62M To Exit Investor Class Action” (May 29, 2014)
- New York Times, “Petters’s Victims May Have Long Road Ahead” (December 4, 2009)
Recognition
Education
- J.D., Cum Laude, University of Minnesota Law School
- B.A., University of Minnesota
Practice Areas
- Antitrust
- Consumer Protection
- Intellectual Property
- Right of Publicity Infringement
- Securities & Financial Fraud
- Sports Law
- Trademark Infringement