Dustin F. Guzior

• Dustin was first-chair trial counsel for Bayer AG in defense of multi-billion euro claims brought by BASF SE in an ICC arbitration relating to assets that BASF acquired from Bayer in connection with Bayer’s $66 billion acquisition of Monsanto Company. During a two-week in-person hearing in Frankfurt, Germany, 20 witnesses testified, and in August 2022, the Arbitral Tribunal dismissed all of BASF’s claims and awarded Bayer more than EUR 15 million as reimbursement for costs and fees. Dustin was named “Litigator of the Week” by The American Lawyer.
• For Ocado Technology, a U.K.-based robotics company, Dustin was co-lead trial counsel in proceedings before the U.S. International Trade Commission. Ocado’s competitor, AutoStore, sought to shut down Ocado’s U.S. business, and Dustin successfully defended Ocado against claims of patent infringement based on 80 asserted claims across five patents. After trial, the Chief Administrative Law Judge invalidated all of AutoStore’s key patents under § 112 (written description and enablement) and found that another patent was not infringed. In March 2022, the Commission unanimously affirmed the ALJ’s decisions. The S&C team was named a runner-up for “Litigators of the Week” by The American Lawyer.

• Also for Ocado, Dustin was co-lead trial counsel in asserting Ocado’s patents against AutoStore in the District of New Hampshire. In the run-up to a jury trial, the adversary agreed to pay more than £200 million to settle the dispute. For this “flip-the-script” strategy—turning a defense case into an offensive win—Dustin was named a “Litigator of the Week” by The American Lawyer. 
• Dustin was co-lead trial counsel to Columbia University during a jury trial in Richmond, Virginia (EDVA). Columbia asserted patent infringement and correction of inventorship claims against NortonLifeLock, and after a two-week trial, a jury of eight unanimously found in Columbia’s favor on all patent infringement claims and correction of inventorship. The jury awarded $185 million to Columbia, and found that Norton’s infringement was willful. Dustin was twice named runner-up for “Litigator of the Week” by The American Lawyer, once for the jury verdict and again for the court’s post-trial decisions.
• Dustin was lead trial counsel to Bayer in an M&A dispute with Merck & Co., Inc. before the Delaware Court of Chancery, and in April 2023, the Vice Chancellor ruled as a matter of law that Merck indefinitely retained sole liability for talc-related product liability claims in connection with consumer health products that Merck divested to Bayer in 2014. The Vice Chancellor adopted all of the arguments that Dustin had made during an extended oral argument. Dustin was named a runner-up for “Litigator of the Week” by The American Lawyer. Dustin also was co-lead counsel in defending the win on appeal to the en banc Delaware Supreme Court. The Supreme Court summarily and unanimously affirmed the win on appeal, and Dustin was again named runner-up for “Litigator of the Week” by The American Lawyer.
• Dustin was post-verdict triage counsel to Signify North America (f/k/a Philips Lighting) in the Hartford Superior Court in Connecticut after a jury rendered a $100 million verdict against Signify based on a negligence claim. Dustin led post-trial strategy, leading to a nearly 60% remittitur, which is reported to be among the largest ever. Dustin also is leading the appeal up to the Connecticut Supreme Court.
• BlackBerry Limited as co-lead trial counsel of its patent license-related claims against Qualcomm. After an evidentiary hearing, the JAMS tribunal awarded BlackBerry nearly $1 billion. Dustin was a senior associate at the time, and The American Lawyer recognized the S&C team with a “Litigator of the Week” honor.
• The University Technology Licensing Program (UTLP) in forming a novel patent pool among 15 U.S. research universities (Brown University, California Institute of Technology, Columbia University, Cornell University, Harvard University, Northwestern University, Princeton University, SUNY Binghamton, UC Berkeley, UCLA, University of Illinois, University of Michigan, University of Pennsylvania, University of Southern California, and Yale University). Dustin obtained favorable business review from the Antitrust Division, U.S. DOJ, and now represents UTLP in its patent licensing activities and litigation.
• Dolby and Via Licensing in connection with multiple patent infringement and licensing disputes, including in the Middle District of Florida.
• Kodak in successful defense of an adversarial proceeding during Kodak’s bankruptcy in which Apple claimed to be the owner of certain Kodak patents. Successfully argued that laches facially barred Apple’s patent ownership claims.
• LifeCell Corporation in successful pursuit of a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in a trade secret case brought against a medical device company. Dustin successfully obtained an emergency TRO that blocked launch of a competing product, and participated in an evidentiary hearing that resulted in preliminary injunction. Dustin successfully defended the preliminary injunction on interlocutory appeal.*
• Cisco Systems and Time Warner Cable in defense of a patent dispute with Rockstar, a patent assertion vehicle that was formed out of Nortel’s bankruptcy. The case involved complex work across several district courts and the bankruptcy court in Delaware, and Dustin argued several motions in bankruptcy court. Several early discovery victories led to successful global settlement.*
• IBM in connection with a trade secret misappropriation claim brought against the company. Achieved dismissal with prejudice after removal to federal court (2015).*
• Union Bank in connection with antitrust clearances for its acquisition of Santa Barbara Bank & Trust.
• ASML in connection with antitrust clearances for its acquisition of Cymer, a vertical merger concerning semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
• Intercontinental Exchange in connection with antitrust clearances for its acquisition of the New York Stock Exchange.
• General Cable in connection with antitrust clearances for Prysmian’s acquisition of General Cable.
• FXI in connection with a Section 1 price-fixing class action brought in District Court against the company, which favorably settled after extensive discovery.
• Australia New Zealand Banking Group in connection with a securities fraud class action brought against the company. Achieved dismissal with prejudice, and the plaintiffs’ firm (a prominent securities class action plaintiffs firm) was required to pay the defendant’s attorneys’ fees and costs.

Dustin’s pro bono service has included helping the ACLU invalidate as unconstitutional Arkansas’ de facto ban on adoption by same-sex couples and helping the ACLU to overturn North Carolina’s ban on marriage for same-sex couples before Obergefell. He also helped secure accommodations for a deaf prison inmate serving a life sentence in a Federal penitentiary, and helped secure improvements to a facility for inmates with serious medical conditions at Rikers Island.

*Denotes representations undertaken prior to joining S&C.