David Cialkowski is a partner with Zimmerman Reed, and dedicates a substantial portion of his practice to the area of complex and mass tort litigation, with a primary focus on antitrust and consumer protection litigation.
Dave Cialkowski has two decades of experience in complex and class litigation. His leadership and litigation skills have been recognized by state and federal courts and have led to his appointment as class counsel and to several MDL leadership positions.
Dave was a member of the legal team representing the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office in Mississippi ex rel. Hood v. AU Optronics, 571 U.S. 161 (2014), an antitrust case against manufacturers of LCD displays, which presented the issue of whether an attorney general’s parens patriae case is a “mass action” under the meaning of the Class Action Fairness Act. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Mississippi’s favor.
Dave served as discovery team leader coordinating complex discovery in In re Generic Pharmaceuticals Pricing Antitrust Litig, 16-md-2724 (E.D. Pa.), In re Domestic Airline Travel Antitrust Litigation, 15-mc-1404 (D.D.C), and In re Hard Disk Drive Suspension Assemblies Antitrust Litigation, 19-md-291 (N.D. Cal.).
Dave was also appointed to leadership positions in consumer protection class actions including class counsel on behalf of consumers in the consolidated action Hudock et al. v. LG Electronics U.S.A. Inc., 0:16-cv-01220 (D. Minn.), as a member of the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in In re Apple iPhone 3G and 3GS “MMS” Marketing and Sales Practices Litigation, MDL 2116, and co-lead counsel in In re Dockers Roundtrip Airfare Promotion Sales Practices Litigation.
His extensive class action experience advanced the claims in In re Fedex Ground Package Systems, Inc., MDL 1700, a multi-district consolidated proceeding involving 40 different state class actions challenging FedEx Ground’s independent contractor model. He also served as a lead counsel team member in Target Corporation Customer Data Security Breach Litig. (D. Minn.), to recover financial institutions’ losses from the company’s massive 2013 data breach.
In addition to his consumer protection and antitrust work, Dave is experienced in complex mass torts. He was a member of the lead counsel trial team in Levaquin Products Liability Litig., MDL 1943, and represented plaintiffs in In re St. Jude Silzone Heart Valves Product Liability Litigation, MDL 1396. Dave also represented a class of people injured following a train derailment and chemical release in In re Soo Line Railroad Company Derailment of January 18, 2002 in Minot, N.D. His work and leadership led to a clarification in federal law which limited the application of railroad preemption.
In addition to being recognized by the courts, Dave is recognized by his peers as one of Minnesota’s top 100 lawyers in 2020, as a Super Lawyer in Minnesota from 2015-2020, and as a Rising Star in Minnesota from 2006-2008 and 2010-2013.
Dave is licensed to practice and a member in good standing, for the bars of the State of Minnesota and the State of Illinois.
Presentations and/or Publications
- Developments in Litigation Since the U.S. Supreme Court Validated Class Action Waivers in Consumer Contracts
- Supreme Court: A CAFA ‘Plaintiff’ Means, Well, a Plaintiff; Does ‘Claims…Tried Jointly’ Mean a Joint Trial of the Claims?, Class Action Litigation Report (BNA)
- “Class Action Bill Would Burden Minnesota Courts”, Minnesota Lawyer Professional
Professional Memberships
- Minnesota State Bar Association
- Hennepin County Bar Association
- American Bar Association
Recognition
- Super Lawyers Honoree 2015-2020
- Rising Star 2006-2008, 2010-2013
- Top 100 Lawyers in Minnesota, 2020
- Best Lawyers in America (Mass Tort Litigation / Class Actions) 2019-2020
In The News
- Law360, “LG, Best Buy Can’t Duck Misleading TV Advertising Action“
- MinnPost, “Does Minnesota’s unclaimed property program safeguard abandoned assets — or seize them illegally?“
- Law360, “Vizio Smart TV MDL Should Go To Ark. Or Ind., JPML Told“
- Pioneer Press, “Lawsuit challenging Minnesota’s property seizures gets green light“
- Law360, “Target Pays $39M To Settle Card Issuers’ Data Breach Claims“
- Law360, “Wells Fargo To Pay $62M To Exit Investor Class Action“
- Fox, “H&R Block Taxpayer Glitch Leads to Lawsuits“
- MarketWatch, “H&R Block tax-return error sparks lawsuits“
- Law360, “Arbitration Antitrust MDL Plaintiffs Want Deal Approved“
Education
- J.D., University of Illinois College of Law
- B.A., University of Illinois College of Liberal Arts and Sciences