Dan Gustafson is a founding member of Gustafson Gluek PLLC. Dan has dedicated his career to representing individuals and small businesses and giving them a voice in our legal system. Throughout his career, Dan has fought for plaintiffs against corporate wrongdoers for antitrust violations, deceptive marketing practices, and product defects. He has steadfastly spoken up for people who can’t afford lawyers.
Dan has spent thousands of hours on pro bono work and played a role in starting the Minnesota Federal Bar Association’s Pro Se Project, which matches volunteer lawyers in Minnesota federal court with pro se litigants. In 2019, Dan was given a lifetime achievement award by the Minnesota Federal Bar Association for his work on the Pro Se Project.
Dan is active in the Minnesota legal community including the Minnesota Federal Bar Association where he has served in various roles over the years. He has received many accolades throughout his career (lawyers love to give each other awards) including receiving the “Richard S. Arnold Award for Distinguished Service” by the Eighth Circuit Bar Association in 2021, being selected as an Attorney of the Year several times and frequently being designated a “Top 100 Lawyer” and a “Super Lawyer” in the fields of business litigation and class actions. Dan testified before Congress and the Commission on Antitrust Modernization, and he has authored and presented numerous seminars and continuing legal education pieces on various topics related to class action litigation, antitrust, and consumer protection. For many years, Dan also taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota Law School.
Dan grew up in Minnesota before dropping out of high school and leaving home early. He eventually obtained his GED and enrolled in the University of North Dakota. After six fun-filled years, he graduated with honors in Economics and Sociology. Dan then attended the University of Minnesota Law School and after graduating with honors, he had the privilege of clerking for the Judge Diana Murphy in the Minnesota federal district court.
Dan has three children and five grandchildren. Dan and Jill love to travel, go to the lake cabin and spend time with their family (especially those grandchildren). For many years, Dan has kept bees, built furniture in his woodshop and played golf. In his later years, he is trying to teach himself to paint and play the electric guitar – neither very successfully.
For more information regarding Dan and a list of his representative cases, see below.
More About Dan
-
University of Minnesota Law School, J.D., cum laude (1989)
University of North Dakota, B.A., magna cum laude (1986)
-
Minnesota State Bar
U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan
U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuits
U.S. Supreme Court
-
Power 30 Business Litigators (2023, 2024) by Minnesota Lawyers
Top 100 Minnesota Lawyers (2012-2024) by Super Lawyers
Minnesota Super Lawyer in the field of antitrust litigation (2001-2024) by Super Lawyers
Minnesota Icon Honoree (2023) by Minnesota Lawyer
North Star Lawyer (2012, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2020, 2023) by the Minnesota State Bar Association
Richard S. Arnold Award (2021) for Distinguished Service by the Eighth Circuit Bar Association
ProSe Project Lifetime Achievement Award (2019) from the Minnesota Federal District Court
Attorney of the Year (2010, 2013, 2017) by Minnesota Lawyer
Meritorious Service Award (2014) by American Antitrust Institute
-
Dan is currently or has been actively involved in the representation of plaintiffs and plaintiff classes in hundreds of cases over his career. Dan has been named as Lead or Co-Lead Counsel in many cases. Recently he has been appointed Overall Lead Counsel in the In re Change Healthcare, Inc. Customer Data Security Breach Litig. (D. Minn.), representing victims of the data security incident in early 2024, which exposed more than six terabytes of healthcare patients’ personal and health information and disabled the software that facilitated business operations to healthcare providers.
Dan has also been appointed to the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee for the Direct Purchaser Plaintiffs in the In re Granulated Sugar Antitrust Litig. (D. Minn). In the Sugar case, plaintiffs are alleging that the sugar producing defendants conspired to fix and artificially raise the price of sugar, resulting in plaintiffs paying above-market prices for sugar.
Dan recently served as one of the Co-Lead Counsel and trial counsel in In re Broiler Chicken Antitrust Litig. (N. D. Ill.), in which the Firm was representing a class of commercial indirect purchasers of chicken who were alleging that chicken suppliers colluded to artificially restrict the supply and raise the price of chicken in the United States.
Dan also served as one of the Co-Lead Counsel in the 3M Combat Arms Earplugs (Minn.) cases venued in Minnesota State Court. In these cases, Gustafson Gluek represented individuals seeking damages for hearing loss and other-related injuries due to the use of earplugs manufactured by 3M and Dan was part of the settlement team with counsel from the MDL in Florida, and helped recover over $6 billion for over 250,000 individuals who had been injured by this product.
Among the other cases in which Dan is involved and Gustafson Gluek has been named Lead or Co-Lead counsel, Co-Lead Trial counsel, or Settlement counsel include:
In re Deere & Co. Repair Services Antitrust Litig. (N.D. Ill.) (Co-Lead Counsel)
In re DPP Beef Litig. (D. Minn.) (Co-Lead Counsel)
In re Pork Antitrust Litig. (D. Minn.) (Co-Lead Counsel)
In re Regents of the Univ. of Minnesota Data Litig. (Henn. Cnty.)
In re Syngenta Litig. (Minn.)(Co-Lead Trial counsel and court-appointed Settlement counsel)
In re Medtronic, Inc. Sprint Fidelis Liability Litig. (D. Minn.) (Lead Counsel)
Precision Assocs. Inc. v. Panalpina World Transport (Holding) Ltd. (E.D.N.Y) (Co-Lead Counsel)
In re Medtronic, Inc. Implantable Defibrillators Liability Litig. (D. Minn.) (Co-Lead Counsel)
In re Vitamin C Antitrust Litig. (E.D.N.Y.) (Co-Lead Counsel)
In re DRAM Antitrust Litig. (N.D. Cal.) (Co-Lead Counsel).
The Shane Group, Inc. v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (E.D. Mich.) (Co-Lead Counsel)
Karsjens v. Jesson (D. Minn.) (Lead Trial Counsel)
Dryer v. National Football League (D. Minn.) (Settlement Counsel)
Other Representative Cases:
Colon et al. v. NCAA (E.D. Cal.)
In re Recalled Abbott Infant Formula Products Liab. Litig.
Rud v. Johnston, et al. (D. Minn)
Dalen v. Harpstead (D. Minn.)
In re Asacol Antitrust Litig. (D. Mass.)
In re Wellbutrin SR/Zyban Direct Purchaser Antitrust Litig. (E.D. Pa.)
Reitman v. Champion Petfoods (C.D. Cal.)
Weaver v. Champion Petfoods (E.D. Wis.)
Rydman v. Champion Petfoods (W.D. Wash.)
Synthes USA, LLC v. Spinal Kinetics (N.D. Cal.)
KBA-Giori, North America, Inc., v. Muhlbauer, Inc. (E.D. Va.)
Spine Solutions, Inc. v. Medtronic Sofamor Danek, Inc. (W.D. Tenn.)