Mark Whitburn is an associate in the Dallas office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and practices in the firm's Litigation Department.  He focuses largely on appellate matters, consumer and class action litigation, and ERISA cases.  His cases have included appellate matters before numerous courts, including the Texas Supreme Court, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.  Mr. Whitburn has assisted in the defense of consumer and class action litigation in both state and federal courts at both the trial court and appellate level in cases involving issues ranging from securities to product liability to insurance coverage.  In particular, he has done extensive work defending cases involving allegations of consumer fraud and violations of state consumer protection acts. He has also served as lead attorney in a number of ERISA cases before the Northern, Southern, and Eastern Districts of Texas and co-authored an article concerning the impact of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 on ERISA funds.  In addition, he contributed to and assisted in the editing of the 2005 Supplement to Antitrust Law Developments, published by the American Bar Association.  Some of Mr. Whitburn's representative engagements include:

• In re Pet Food Products Liab. Litig. (MDL).  Represents pet food manufacturer in the defense of a putative nationwide class action consolidated through MDL transfer before the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey involving alleged melamine contamination of pet food products.  The case remains pending. 
• Blaszkowski v. Mars, Inc.  Represents pet food manufacturer in the defense of a putative nationwide class action before the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida involving allegations of unhealthy ingredients in pet food products.  The case remains pending. 
• DaimlerChrysler Corp. v. Inman.  Represents auto manufacturer in its appeal to the Texas Supreme Court of lower court ruling that named plaintiffs had standing to complain on behalf of a nationwide class that seatbelts had “defects,” although their own seatbelts had never malfunctioned.  The case remains pending. 
• Patel v. Farmers Ins. Exch.  Represented insurance company in the defense of a putative nationwide class action case before the United States District Court for the Central District of California involving issues of policy construction.  The case was dismissed.   
• Yazdchi v. AutoPlanet.  Represented auto rental company in the defense of consumer fraud claims in state and federal trial courts and on appeal before the Fifth Circuit.  All claims were dismissed in all cases. 
• Cox v. Arkansas Best Corp. Represented ERISA fund in the defense of a participant benefits case.  All claims were dismissed.

Mr. Whitburn received a B.A. in Philosophy from Yale University in 1986 and a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Texas at Austin in 1998.  He received a J.D. with Honors from the University of Chicago in 2003, was a member of the University of Chicago Law Review, and was elected to the Order of the Coif.  Mr. Whitburn taught philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin from 1991 to 2000 and was the recipient of six teaching awards during his tenure. 

Mr. Whitburn is admitted to practice law in Texas state courts, in the United States District Courts for the Northern, Southern, and Eastern Districts of Texas, and in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.