Ian Gore represents both plaintiffs and defendants in high-stakes litigation in federal and state courts across the United States. Ian has been recognized with the American Antitrust Institute’s Outstanding Antitrust Litigation Achievement by a Young Lawyer Award and was a part of the Susman Godfrey team recognized by Benchmark Litigation’s National Impact Case of the Year . He was also recognized as a Rising Star of the Plaintiffs Bar by National Law Journal’s Elite Trial Lawyers series (2022, ALM).

Ian’s practice covers a variety of practice areas, including antitrust and competition, commercial disputes, intellectual property, product liability, and energy disputes. On the plaintiffs’ side, Ian has recovered nearly $200 million for his clients. For defendants, Ian has successfully defended clients against billions of dollars of potential exposure.

Some of Ian’s significant matters include:

ANTITRUST & COMPETITION

• In re National Football League’s “Sunday Ticket” Antitrust Litigation (C.D. Cal.). Ian plays a leading role in the team appointed by the Court to serve as co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs in this multidistrict class action case. In this case that has the potential to impact sports broadcasting, plaintiffs challenge the structure behind Sunday Ticket, including the elimination of competition among the NFL’s teams and the NFL’s decision to offer Sunday Ticket to DIRECTV on an exclusive basis. Ian was instrumental in his team’s success in upholding the plaintiffs’ allegations before the Ninth Circuit and later when the Supreme Court declined to review that decision. The case is ongoing.
• Markson v. CRST International, Inc. (C.D. Cal.). Ian leads a team of lawyers from Susman Godfrey and three other firms in a class action against several trucking companies for an alleged agreement among those companies not to poach each other’s contract drivers. Specifically, Ian successfully opposed multiple motions to dismiss and won multiple discovery motions against the defendants. To date, Ian and the Susman Godfrey team have secured $9.75 million in settlements for the class (pending Court approval; net recovery to be determined) and the case is ongoing against the remaining defendants.
• In re Dental Supplies Antitrust Litigation (E.D.N.Y.). Ian was a part of a team of lawyers from Susman Godfrey appointed co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs in a nationwide antitrust class action against the largest distributors of dental supplies and equipment. Plaintiffs alleged that the defendants had illegally agreed not to compete on prices for products sold to dental offices and laboratories. In 2018, a settlement was reached for $80 million (net recovery $48 million). Ian was honored by the American Antitrust Institute with the Outstanding Antitrust Litigation Achievement by a Young Lawyer Award for his work on this matter.
• Waymo v. Uber (N.D. Cal.). Ian and a team from Susman Godfrey were hired by Uber Technologies, Inc. just months before trial in the lawsuit between Waymo and Uber regarding self-driving car technology. Alphabet’s Waymo claimed more than $2 billion in damages against Uber over allegations of stolen trade secrets and patent infringement. In a critical move, Ian’s team got all of Waymo’s expert damages opinions struck and the case settled during the first week of trial. The case was highly publicized in the media, including the New York Times, Reuters, CNN, Wired, and The Verge. Benchmark Litigation awarded Ian and the Susman Godfrey team National Impact Case of the Year for their work on this matter.

COMMERCIAL DISPUTES

• Mirada Energy v. Oasis Petroleum (Texas State Court). On behalf of Mirada Energy, Ian prosecuted claims against Oasis Petroleum for breach of a contractual right to participate in midstream oil and gas facilities that Oasis constructed to serve the prolific Wild Basin area in the Bakken and Three Forks shale plays in North Dakota. The case settled with Oasis agreeing to pay Mirada Energy $42.75 million.
• Papua New Guinea Oil and Gas Dispute (International Centre for Dispute Resolution). Ian represented a group of oil and gas investors in a dispute arising from oil and gas interests in Papua New Guinea. The dispute was resolved after the conclusion of a full arbitration hearing.
• Quality Is Our Recipe (Wendy’s) v. DavCo. (Ohio State Court). Ian defended one of the largest Wendy’s franchisees in a lawsuit brought by Wendy’s in a franchise compliance dispute. The case had significant implications for the relationship between franchisors and franchisees, particularly within the Wendy’s franchise system, and resulted in a favorable settlement with the purchase of DavCo’s franchised restaurants.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

• Fitbit v. Jawbone (International Trade Commission). Ian defended Jawbone in a patent infringement action before the ITC. Ian briefed motions regarding the invalidity of Fitbit’s patents and argued at the Markman hearing before the presiding administrative law judge. Ian and the Susman Godfrey team successfully secured a ruling that Fitbit’s patents were invalid.

PRODUCT LIABILITY

•  Blitz Gas Can Litigation – Walmart (Federal Courts in Arizona, Kansas, New Jersey, and Texas; State Courts in Arkansas and Oklahoma). Ian successfully defended Walmart in several product liability lawsuits in state and federal courts arising from injuries caused by plastic portable gasoline containers manufactured by Blitz. The cases were resolved with favorable dispositive motions or settlements.

PRO BONO

• Military Discharge Upgrade. For several years, Ian has represented a former Marine that was discharged from the Marine Corps with a bad conduct discharge. Ian’s client later discovered that he suffered from a severe form of post-traumatic stress disorder that caused the behavior underlying the court-martial. Ian extensively researched the legal and factual record, obtained a forensic psychiatrist to evaluate his client, and prepared an application to the Naval Discharge Review Board. Despite a record of being one of the most difficult fora to receive a discharge upgrade, the Board granted an upgrade to Ian’s client.

Ian joined Susman Godfrey after starting his career in the U.S. Army. After graduating from the U.S. Military Academy (West Point) as a distinguished cadet, Ian went served for five years as a military intelligence officer. During that time, Ian deployed in support of operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

After his military service, Ian graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he was the Editor-in-Chief of the Harvard Journal on Legislation. Upon graduation, Ian clerked for the Honorable Dennis Jacobs of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.