Daniel G. Bird
- ph: 202.326.7971
- fx: 202.326.7999
Daniel Bird is a litigation partner at the firm, specializing in complex commercial cases for plaintiffs and defendants in trials and appeals throughout the country. Mr. Bird regularly represents individual and corporate clients on a wide range of civil matters, and has particular expertise in antitrust, business torts, contract disputes, fraud, conspiracy, breach of fiduciary duty, defamation, and professional liability. He has successfully represented clients in high-stakes and high-profile disputes including elaborate tax frauds, health care antitrust violations, NASCAR sponsorship, and counterfeit wine.
Mr. Bird serves as trial and appellate counsel, has argued before numerous state and federal courts, and has achieved successful results through motions to dismiss, summary judgement, jury verdict, and appeal. He has experience in all aspects of litigation, with significant experience litigating complex issues of causation, damages, and attorneys’ fees. In addition, he advises clients on a variety of issues, including jurisdiction, the attorney-client privilege, choice-of-law, statute-of-limitations, and questions of trial and appellate strategy.
Mr. Bird is known for leading the trial team in UFCW & Employers Benefit Trust v. Sutter Health, No. CGC 14-538451 (Cal. Super. Ct.), an antitrust class action against a dominant hospital system in Northern California. On the eve of Mr. Bird’s opening statement, the case settled for $575 million and comprehensive injunctive relief.
Mr. Bird has an active pro bono practice and has repeatedly been named to the Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll. He frequently works with the Legal Aid Society to represent vulnerable individuals facing challenging legal problems. He joined the firm in 2006 after clerking for the Honorable A. Raymond Randolph on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. He earned his J.D. from the Yale Law School, where he was a Coker Fellow in Constitutional Law and served as Senior Editor of the Yale Law Journal.
Noteworthy Representations
Representing Associated Newspapers Ltd. and Mail Media, Inc. against Google LLC and Alphabet Inc. in multi-district litigation alleging that Google monopolizes the online display advertising market. In re Google Digital Advertising Antitrust Litigation, No. 21-MD-3010 (PKC) (SDNY).
Successfully represented Meta Platforms, Inc. in defeating preliminary injunction proceeding brought by the Federal Trade Commission, which sought to prevent Meta’s acquisition of Within, a virtual reality application developer. Federal Trade Commission v. Meta Platforms, Inc., No. 5:22-cv-04325-EJD, 2023 WL 2346238 (N.D. Cal. Feb. 3, 2023).
Achieved complete appellate victory affirming jury verdict and awarding costs in cross-appeal for major health plan, in a case concerning the “reasonable and customary value” of non-contracted hospital emergency room services. 71 Cal. App. 5th 323 (2021).
Successfully represented a certified class of employers, unions, and government entities alleging that the Sutter Health hospital system leveraged its market power to engage in anticompetitive conduct, insulate itself from competition, and charge inflated prices. Sutter agreed to pay $575 million and to comprehensive injunctive relief, including changing its practices under the supervision of a court-appointed monitor. UFCW & Employers Benefit Trust v. Sutter Health, No. CGC 14-538451 (Cal. Super. Ct.).
Successfully represented bankruptcy trustee on appeal in obtaining affirmance of a $213 million jury verdict against The Renco Group and Ira Rennert for fraudulent conveyance and breach of fiduciary duty. In re Magnesium Corporation of America, 682 F. App'x 24 (2d Cir. 2017).
Successfully represented iHeartCommunications, Inc. at trial after defeating motion to dismiss and establishing personal jurisdiction over noteholders of the company, in a dispute involving notices of default issued to iHeart in Texas. iHeartCommunications, Inc. v. Benefit Street Partners, LLC, No. 2016-CI-04006 (Tex. Dist. Ct., Bexar Cnty. May 6, 2016).
Obtained dismissal with prejudice of indemnification claims by former executives against Texas-based hospice providers. The Delaware Court of Chancery held that the former executives entered a valid and binding contract in which they gave up any indemnification rights. Curo Texas Hospice, LLC v. Kumar, C.A. No. 11665-VCL (Del. Ch. May 2, 2016).
Served as lead appellate counsel for a small drilling company alleging breach of contract against a major energy company. On appeal, successfully vacated the trial court’s order granting judgment as a matter of law to the defendant and obtained a new trial, in a case involving mutual assent, mistake, and fraud. Knox Energy, LLC v. Gasco Drilling, Inc., 2016 WL 385948 (4th Cir. 2016).
Served as trial counsel in a dispute between coal companies involving claims of fraud and tortious interference. Briefed, argued, and won summary judgment on individual plaintiff’s claims for millions of dollars in lost income and other damages, which the court held were derivative of injuries allegedly sustained by his company. Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co., 2014 WL 3579828 (Va. Cir. Ct. Apr. 15, 2014).
In post-trial representation of a defendant accused of consigning counterfeit wine for auction, successfully reduced compensatory and punitive damages from $12.4 million to less than $1 million, defeated a request for a permanent injunction, and obtained the complete denial of a claim for $8 million in attorney’s fees. Koch v. Greenberg, 14 F. Supp. 3d 247 (S.D.N.Y. 2014).
Represented various former public company executives in arbitrating tort claims against professional services firms for the fraudulent marketing and sale of tax-avoidance strategies. All claims were resolved successfully, recovering significant damages for each plaintiff. Confidential AAA Arbitrations (New York, NY; 2010, 2013).
Successfully represented Burford Group, a leading litigation finance provider, in establishing the legal principle that the attorney-client privilege and work-product doctrine protect a litigant’s communications with Burford. Devon IT Corp. v. IBM Corp., 2012 WL 4748160 (E.D. Pa. Sept. 27, 2012).
Represented private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners against a limited partner that alleged fraud and breach of contract and sought reformation of partnership agreement based on an alleged mistake. The Delaware Chancery Court granted summary judgment in favor of Thomas H. Lee Partners on claims of fraud and mistake. Great-West Investors, LP v. Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P., 2012 WL 19469 (Del. Ch. Jan. 4, 2012).
Successfully represented infoUSA, Inc. in the district court and on appeal against claims of infringing a patent on e-mail marketing. The Federal Circuit affirmed the grant of summary judgment in a widely-cited decision confirming the efficacy of “logic, judgment, and common sense” to invalidate a patent on the ground of obviousness. Perfect Web Technologies, Inc. v. InfoUSA, Inc., 587 F.3d 1324 (Fed. Cir. 2009).
Successfully represented BellSouth Telecommunications, Inc. in an appeal establishing that a Kentucky statute violated the First Amendment by prohibiting providers from disclosing on consumer bills that the state had imposed a new tax on providers’ gross revenues. BellSouth Telecomms, Inc. v. Farris, 542 F.3d 499 (6th Cir. 2008).
Speaking Engagements & Publications
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
Panelist, Texas Association of Health Plans Conference, Health Care Prices and Consolidation Are Out of Control: Where Do We Go from Here? (Nov. 8, 2022)
Presenter, Maryland State Bar Association Legal Summit & Annual Meeting, Alliance Litigation: Effective Collaboration Among Private Plaintiffs and Government Enforcers (June 11, 2021)
Panelist, Healthcare Revolution Conference, Transforming the Misaligned Incentives that Drive Waste, Overuse & Misuse in Health Care (May 17, 2021)
Panelist, Midwest Business Group on Health, Hospitals Driving Health Care Cost Increases: Misaligned Incentives, Lawsuits, and Remedies (May 5, 2021)
Presenter, National Academy for State Health Policy, Consolidation, Dysfunctional Markets, and the High Cost of Healthcare (Mar. 12, 2021)
Panelist, Houston Business Coalition on Health, Houston Hospital Transparency – Price, Quality & Employer Cost Mark-Up (Mar. 3, 2021)
Presenter, Employers’ Forum of Indiana, Anticompetitive Managed Care Contracting Practices (Aug. 19, 2020)
PUBLICATIONS
Wayward Samaritans: “Non-Profit” Hospitals and Their Tax Exempt Status, 85 U. Pitt. L. Rev. 81 (2023).
“Deciphering Sutter Health’s State-Court Settlement And Federal-Court Win In Parallel Antitrust Cases,” Health Affairs Forefront (May 10, 2022)
Note, Life on the Line: Pondering the Fate of a Substantive Due Process Challenge to the Death Penalty, 40 Am. Crim. L. Rev. 1329 (2003)
Education
Yale Law School, J.D., 2005
- Senior Editor, Yale Law Journal, 2003-2005
- Coker Fellow, Constitutional Law
- George Brent Mickum III Prize
- Charles A. Keigwin Award
University of Maryland, University College, B.S., 2001
- Kappa Beta Pi Prize
Clerkship
Law Clerk, Judge A. Raymond Randolph, U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit, 2005-2006