First Admitted: 2005, New York

Professional Webpage: http://www.burnscharest.com/warren-burns/

Bar/Professional Activity:

Member, Dallas Bar Association
Admitted before the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and Tenth Circuits
Member, State Bar of Texas
American Bar Association steering committee for the international litigation committee
Admitted before all United States District Courts in Texas
Member, American Society of International Law
President, Tulane Law Review Alumni Association
Admitted to practice in Texas and New York
Fellow, American Bar Association. The Fellows is an honorary organization of attorneys, judges, law faculty, and legal scholars whose public and private careers have demonstrated outstanding dedication to the welfare of their communities and to the highest principles of the legal profession. Membership in The Fellows is limited to one percent of lawyers licensed to practice in each jurisdiction.
Member, New York Bar Association

Verdicts/Settlements (Case Results):

ANTITRUST CLASS ACTION / LEADERSHIP: Burns serves on the executive committee in In re Domestic Airlines Antitrust Litigation (2015-present) now pending in the District of Columbia. Our clients have alleged that the nation’s four major airlines conspired to restrict capacity in order to fuel record-high profits.
COMMERCIAL CASE / CONFIDENTIAL SETTLEMENT: Lead trial counsel in a confidential arbitration representing a telecommunications company in its suit against its former billing aggregator. Burns' client hired him with less than three months to go before trial.
CLASS ACTION / JUDGMENT EXCEEDING $16 MILLION: Counsel in In re Universal Service Fund Litigation (D. Kan.) (2005-2013). We prevailed at trial on a breach of contract claim for AT&T’s California landline telecommunications customers.
ANTITRUST CASE / CONFIDENTIAL SETTLEMENT: Counsel in Morris & Dickson Co. v. Abbot Labs. (M.D. La.) (2006-2008), representing a regional pharmaceutical wholesaler in its suit against Abbott Laboratories for violation of the Robinson-Patman Act by unfairly favoring Burns' client’s competitors. He managed all aspects of the litigation, including settlement negotiations. The case was resolved before trial.
ANTITRUST CLASS ACTION / CONFIDENTIAL SETTLEMENTS: Burns serves as co-lead counsel in In re Vehicle Carrier Services Antitrust Litigation (2013-present) now pending in the District of New Jersey. On the eve of arguing against defendants’ consolidated motion to dismiss, Burns negotiated a confidential settlement with one of the principal defendants. He negotiated a second confidential settlement with another major defendant just weeks later.
COMMERCIAL CASES / CONFIDENTIAL SETTLEMENTS: Lead trial counsel in three cases against the gas giant Chesapeake for breach of contract and underpayment of royalties relating to the oil and gas lease on the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Burns has represented minority and women-owned business enterprises in their efforts to enforce contractual provisions against Chesapeake. He has settled all three cases successfully over the past three years, including one case that settled two days before trial.
COMMERCIAL CASE / JUDGMENT EXCEEDING $100 MILLION: Counsel in Assured Guaranty v. Flagstar Bank (S.D.N.Y.) (2011-2012), the first case to go to trial related to the residential mortgage backed securities market meltdown. Burns represented a bond insurer in a suit against the securities issuer, resulting in a judgment of over $100 million. In this expert-driven case, he managed plaintiff’s principal liability expert, on whose opinion Judge Jed Rakoff relied in reaching his judgment. At trial, Burns cross-examined defendant’s principal liability expert, whose opinion Judge Rakoff ultimately discredited.
PATENT CASE / CONFIDENTIAL SETTLEMENT: Counsel in Individual Network v. Apple (E.D. Tex.) (2007-2009) representing an inventor in its patent infringement case against Apple. This case involved Apple’s Genius recommendation engine. Burns managed all aspects of discovery and motion practice, including taking the depositions of all defense experts and managing plaintiffs infringement and validity expert. The case was resolved before trial.
In 2012, Warren Burns helped lead a trial team that took the first mortgage-backed-securities related case to trial. In a landmark and game-changing trial, Burns and the team secured a $106 million judgment on behalf of their client and obtained key pre-trial determinations that had a domino effect in related cases.
ANTITRUST CLASS ACTION / CONFIDENTIAL SETTLEMENTS: Burns previously served as co-lead counsel in In re Automotive Parts Antitrust Litigation (2011-2015) in the Eastern District of Michigan. He personally negotiated settlements exceeding $100 million with foreign defendants while successfully organizing and managing this complex case.
SECURITIES CLASS ACTION / DEFENSE COUNSEL: Counsel in Brady v. Kosmos Energy, Ltd. (N.D. Tex.) (2012-present)defending a start-up oil and gas company against allegations centering on its initial public offering. The court recently denied plaintiffs’ motion for class certification.
ANTITRUST CLASS ACTION / SETTLEMENTS EXCEEDING $50 MILLION: Counsel in In re Ready-Mixed Concrete Antitrust Litigation (S.D. Ind. 2005-2010). We resolved the case before trial with class members receiving more than 100 percent of their actual damages after deduction of attorneys’ fees.

Representative Clients:

Representing a class of residential and business customers against AT&T and other defendants for overcharging customers for a Universal Service Fund ("USF") fee. Following a six-week trial in Kansas City, Kansas, the jury awarded over $16 million in damages on the California residential plaintiffs’ breach of contract claim.
Representing the respondent in an arbitration between oil and gas service industry giants involving breach of contract and fraud claims. The dispute was resolved successfully before hearing.
Representing Individual Network, LLC in its patent infringement case against Apple, Inc. This case settled on confidential terms in 2009. Briefing and arguing an appeal from the grant of a preliminary injunction in a trademark infringement suit before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Representing over one hundred mineral owners in two Oklahoma cases seeking damages for underpayment of gas royalties. These cases settled before trial on confidential terms.
Representing a class of direct purchasers of Ready-Mixed Concrete in an antitrust class action against producers for fixing the price of concrete in the Central Indiana area. Burns and Susman Godfrey served as co-lead counsel in the dispute and obtained settlements exceeding $50 million.
Representing a leading Florida asphalt plant manufacturer in its dispute against former auditors for violations of professional standards occurring in the United Kingdom and the United States. Warren led a team of lawyers in both countries. This suit was resolved successfully before trial.
U.S. District Judge Donovan W. Frank of St. Paul, MN has named Warren Burns as co-lead counsel in a consolidated group of class-action lawsuits filed by dentists accusing Minneapolis-based 3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) of manufacturing defective dental crowns and forcing thousands of dental practices nationwide to cover the cost of replacements. Burns initially filed the proposed class action earlier this year, and will serve as lead counsel for the plaintiffs with Daniel C. Hedlund of Gustafson Gluek PLLC in Minneapolis. The firms will coordinate all pre-trial filings and further consideration of class certification by the court. According to the litigation, 3M aggressively began marketing its Lava Ultimate crowns in 2011, telling dentists that the crowns provided unmatched aesthetics and durability for tooth restorations. But the plaintiff dentists say the 3M crowns failed at rates of 50 percent or more, requiring expensive replacements. The company pulled the Lava Ultimate products for use in restorative crowns from the market last summer and admitted that the product was “de-bonding at a higher-than-anticipated rate.” The proposed class includes dentists or corporate dental practices in the United States, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam who purchased and/or used 3M’s Lava Ultimate Restorative. The case is Vikram Bhatia et al v. 3M Company, Case No. 0:16-cv-01304, in the U.S. District Court of Minnesota.

Pro bono/Community Service:

For several years has taught a week-long trial-advocacy course at their alma mater, Tulane Law School. The Boot Camp program has won Tulane Law School recognition as one of the nation’s 20 Most Innovative Law Schools by National Jurist magazine. Burns Charest LLP proudly supports Tulane Law School, its faculty, and its students.

Honors/Awards:

Listed as one of The Best Lawyers in America, 2019-2021, 2021
Texas Super Lawyers by Thomson Reuters, 2019-2020, 2020
Named as one of the Top 100 National Trial Lawyers, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
Named to the International Who’s Who of Competition Lawyers, U.S. Plaintiffs section. Selection is based upon “comprehensive, independent survey work with both general counsel and private practice lawyers worldwide,” according to the guide. 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
Elected to the American Law Institute. The American Law Institute is the leading independent organization in the United States producing scholarly work to clarify, modernize, and improve the law, 2016
Texas Rising Stars by Thomson Reuters, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015

Educational Background:

Burns graduated summa cum laude and Order of the Coif from the Tulane University School of Law in 2004. He received the John Minor Wisdom Award, Tulane’s highest prize for graduating law students. While at Tulane, Mr. Burns served as Editor in Chief of the Tulane Law Review. After law school, Burns clerked for the Hon. Paul J. Kelly, Jr. on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

Scholarly Lectures/Writings:

Litigation Trends in the $50 Era, 2015 Energy and Environmental Law Summit (October 2, 2015)
King Cake or Po-Boy? Do Class Actions Offer Meaningful Compensation to Class Members, or do They Simply Rip Off Consumers Twice?, 19th Annual National Institute on Class Actions, American Bar Association (October 22, 2015)

Other Outstanding Achievements:

Member of the American Association for Justice
Board of Advisory Editors of the Tulane Law Review, a national board comprised of distinguished alumni
Fellow in the Southern Trial Lawyers Association
Member of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association
Successfully handled numerous cases involving price fixing, monopolization, breach of contract, intellectual property, business torts, consumer protection statutes, and accounting malpractice.

Industry Groups:

Automotive
Energy
Environmental
Financial
Health Care
Oil & Gas
Pharmaceutical
Technology
Telecommunications

Warren T. Burns