Christopher D. Dusseault

Chris Dusseault is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Gibson Dunn. He practices in the Firm’s Litigation Department, and the Antitrust and Competition and Trials Practice Groups. Chris previously served as Partner in Charge of the Firm’s Los Angeles and Century City offices.

Chris is an accomplished trial and appellate lawyer who has spent more than three decades defending the nation’s largest and most successful companies in their most significant legal matters. His practice focuses on high-stakes antitrust class actions raising claims of horizontal and vertical conspiracy, monopolization, exclusive dealing, and predatory contracting practices. In addition to hiring Chris when a case is first filed, clients have repeatedly turned to Chris when they have gone to trial and lost and are facing a judgment in the hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars, seeking his assistance with post-trial motions, appeals, and follow-on class actions. Chris also represents clients in a broad range of cases outside of antitrust, including claims of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, product liability, and wrongful death. Chris was one of the lead trial lawyers in Hollingsworth v. Perry, the landmark civil rights case that established marriage equality in California.

Chris is recognized as one of the leading antitrust litigators in the country. Chambers USA 2025 ranks Chris in its California Antitrust category, reporting that clients describe him as “a fantastic antitrust litigator,” a “creative problem solver,” and “very practical and smart.” Best Lawyers in America recognizes Chris in both the Antitrust and Commercial Litigation categories. Lawdragon included Chris on its list of “500 Leading Antitrust and Competition Lawyers” (2024 and 2025). The Daily Journal included Chris on its list of “Top Antitrust Lawyers” (2024 and 2025), and on its list of “Top 100 Lawyers in California” (2024). The Los Angeles Business Journal included Chris on its “Top 100 Lawyers” list for 2024. In July 2025, Chris received “Shout Out” honors from AmLaw Litigation Daily for winning the early dismissal of all claims in a nationwide antitrust class action alleging price fixing with respect to real estate commissions.

Chris’s representative matters include the following:

Antitrust Matters

• Representing Berkshire Hathaway affiliate HomeServices of America in a nationwide class action brought by home sellers alleging price fixing with respect to broker commissions, handling post-trial motions after an adverse jury verdict and recently arguing a consolidated group of appeals before the Eighth Circuit.
• Representing Berkshire Hathaway affiliate HomeServices of America in a nationwide class action brought by home buyers alleging price fixing with respect to broker commissions, leading the team that won dismissal of all claims in the Southern District of Florida. 
• Representing Energizer Holdings, Inc. in three nationwide antitrust class actions alleging that Energizer and a major national retailer conspired to inflate wholesale and retail battery prices.
• Representing the National Football League in connection with post-trial motions and appeal before the Ninth Circuit in a nationwide antitrust class action alleging that the NFL conspired with its business partners to inflate the price of its NFL Sunday Ticket television offering.
• Representing Duke University in three antitrust class actions alleging that private universities conspired to inflate the cost of attendance for students, resolving one such case and securing dismissal of all claims in another.
• Representing UnitedHealth Group in an MDL proceeding alleging that managed care providers and a vendor violated the antitrust laws by conspiring to deflate compensation for visits to out-of-network providers.  
• Representing Chevron in a nationwide antitrust class action alleging that manufacturers of plastic resins conspired to mislead the public about the recyclability of end-use plastic products, thereby increasing demand and prices.
• Representing Covidien (formerly Tyco Healthcare and currently a unit of Medtronic) in an antitrust class action in which purchasers of pulse oximetry products challenged Covidien’s product design changes and contracting practices under Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act. Chris led a Gibson Dunn team that defeated class certification and won summary judgment on all claims. The Ninth Circuit affirmed the victory in  Allied Orthopedic Appliances v. Tyco Healthcare, 592 F. 3d 991 (9^th Cir. 2010).
• Representing Covidien (formerly Tyco Healthcare and currently a unit of Medtronic) in connection with post-trial motions and appeal of an antitrust case in which a competitor alleged that Covidien violated the antitrust laws through contracting practices such as sole-source contracts, market share discounts and bundling discounts with respect to pulse oximetry products. The district court reduced damages from $140 million to $14.5 million and ruled in Covidien’s favor on the bundling claims. The Ninth Circuit affirmed.
• Representation of CFM International, Inc. in an antitrust case in which a nascent business challenged as an unlawful conspiracy defendants' decision not to sell aircraft engines to plaintiff for use in the re-engining of 727 aircraft. Chris led a Gibson Dunn team that won the dismissal of all claims on a motion for summary judgment. Chirs argued the appeal before the Ninth Circuit, and the Ninht Circuit affirmed in Aviation Upgrade Tech. v. Boeing Co, 78 Fed. Appx. 623 (9^th Cir. 2003).
• Representation of American Airlines in an antitrust case brought by the United States Department of Justice alleging monopolization of routes to and from DFW airport. The Gibson Dunn team prevailed at summary judgment and on appeal.
• Representation of Merck in a group of antitrust class actions alleging that Merck conspired with a generic drug manufacture to delay generic entry through the settlement of patent litigation.

Commercial Litigation Matters

• Representing and obtaining a complete victory for a health care company in a confidential, two-week arbitration involving a business dispute with a medical group. The health case company is currently seeking recovery of its legal fees and costs.
• Representing ev3, a subsidiary of Medtronic, in a lawsuit alleging breach of a merger agreement with respect to the pursuit of certain deal milestones. Ev3 retained Chris and the Gibson Dunn team to handle an appeal to the Delaware Supreme Court after a jury awarded $250 million in damages and interest. The Delaware Supreme Court reversed, and Chris led the team that prepared the case for retrial in Delaware.
• Representing Inter-Con Security Systems in a lawsuit in the Central District of California seeking to enforce a substantial judgment entered against the company in Honduras. Chris led the Gibson Dunn team that secured dismissal of all claims on a motion for summary judgment.
• Representing and securing injunctive relief and attorneys’ fees for a leading independent power producer in a confidential international arbitration involving allegations of design defects and breach of contract with respect to the purchase of hundreds of wind turbines.
• Representing TSL and Sofradim, subsidiaries of Medtronic, in a multidistrict litigation asserting product liability claims with respect to pelvic mesh products. Chris led the team that litigated claims for indemnification and declaratory relief against C.R. Bard arising out of more than 11,000 cases.
• Representing Prime, Inc. in a wrongful death action in New Mexico arising out of a truck accident. Chris was lead counsel in the case, which resolved shortly before trial.
• Representation of Voom, Inc. as plaintiff in a three-week trial involving claims of breach of contract against Dish Network. The Gibson Dunn team secured a highly favorable settlement after three weeks of trial in state court in New York.

Civil Rights Matters

• Representing plaintiffs Kris Perry, Sandy Stier, Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo in Hollingsworth v. Perry (N.D. Cal.), the lawsuit that successfully challenged Proposition 8, California’s ban on same-sex marriages. Chris was one of the lead trial lawyers during the three-week bench trial that resulted in a finding that Proposition 8 violated the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment and an injunction barring enforcement of Proposition 8. In June 2013, the United States Supreme Court upheld the district court’s decision and permanently restored marriage equality in California. Chris also successfully argued a separate appeal before the Ninth Circuit resulting in the unsealing of video recordings of the trial.

Chris received his B.A., summa cum laude, from Yale University in 1991. He received his J.D., with high honors, from Duke University School of Law in 1994, where he was Special Projects and Notes Editor of Law and Contemporary Problems and Vice-Chairman of the Moot Court Board. Prior to joining the firm, Chris served as law clerk to The Honorable Robert E. Payne in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Chirs served for 22 years on the Governing Board of LA’s BEST, a nationally recognized expanded learning program serving the children of Los Angeles, and he was Board Chair for 7 years. Chris currently serves as a Senior Member of the Board of Visitors of Duke Law School, and he is one of four Board members of The Riordan Foundation, a non-profit created by former Los Angeles Mayor Richard J. Riordan.

Capabilities

• Antitrust and Competition
• Appellate and Constitutional Law
• Class Actions
• Crisis Management
• Life Sciences
• Litigation
• Media, Entertainment, and Technology

Credentials

Education:

• Duke University - 1994 Juris Doctor
• Yale University - 1991 Bachelor of Arts

Admissions:

• California Bar

Clerkships:

• USDC, Eastern District of Virginia, Hon. Robert E. Payne, 1994 - 1995