Kirby McInerney LLP | Robert J. Gralewski, Jr.

Partner

bgralewski@kmllp.com

San Diego
1420 Kettner Boulevard
Suite 100
San Diego, CA 92101
619.784.1442

Robert J. Gralewski, Jr. Partner

bgralewski@kmllp.com

San Diego
1420 Kettner Boulevard
Suite 100
San Diego, CA 92101
619.784.1442

Biography

Robert J. Gralewski, Jr. is a partner based in San Diego and manages our California office. Mr. Gralewski has dedicated his entire 24-year legal career to obtaining economic justice for businesses and consumers victimized by price fixing, monopolistic practices, consumer fraud, privacy violations, and unfair employment practices. He has successfully prosecuted a wide variety of federal and state court class actions against multinational conglomerates and Fortune 500 companies in industries including technology, food, automotive, consumer services, and healthcare, including at trial.

Mr. Gralewski has significant experience deposing CEOs, presidents, and other senior executives in high-stakes litigation, including in foreign languages. For example, Mr. Gralewski has first-chaired apex depositions of Samsung, StarKist, and Foster Farms executives in the In re Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) Antitrust Litigation, the In re Packaged Seafood Products Antitrust Litigation, and the In re Broiler Chicken Antitrust Litigation matters, respectively.

In addition to his class cases, Mr. Gralewski maintains an active pro bono practice. Working with Casa Cornelia since 2018, he has succeeded in helping four separate refugees obtain asylum after direct examinations in contested administrative proceedings. In recognition of his dedication and accomplishments, Casa Cornelia awarded Mr. Gralewski its Pro Bono Publico Award in 2019. He has also helped establish COSAL’s (The Committee to Support the Antitrust Laws) Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee on which he previously served.

Mr. Gralewski was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds after his senior year in high school but elected to attend college instead.

Princeton University (B.A. 1991)
California Western School of Law (J.D. cum laude, 1997)

California State Bar
United States District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Central Districts of California
United States District Court for the District of Colorado

Experience

Some of Mr. Gralewski's experience includes:

Ongoing representation of a proposed class of Division I college coaches whose wages were illegally fixed at $0 in Colon v. National Collegiate Athletic Association. Recently, the federal judge overseeing the case overruled the NCAA’s motion to dismiss the case. The litigation seeks to recover years of back wages on behalf of thousands of hardworking employees who were not paid due to a conspiracy among the NCAA and its member schools.
Mr. Gralewski leads the KM team as one of the core firms in In re Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) Antitrust Litigation, an indirect purchaser antitrust case against some of the largest electronics manufacturers in the world. The case has resulted in settlements on behalf of end payers exceeding $575 million, and the firm continues to pursue one remaining defendant with a trial set to commence in early 2024. The Special Master in the CRT litigation noted that, "Kirby played an integral role in this case and assumed significant risk....Kirby's work was at a very high level [and] Kirby's work greatly benefitted the Class."
Representation of a class of purchasers in In re: Hard Disk Drive Suspension Assemblies Antitrust Litigation, a case alleging that defendants fixed the prices of suspension assemblies (a critical component of hard disk drives) which artificially increased the prices of computers throughout the U.S. Through the course of his work on the case, Mr. Gralewski has taken several foreign-language depositions of high-level witnesses in Thailand.
Serving as counsel on behalf of a certified class of restaurants and other commercial and institutional businesses in In re Broiler Chicken Antitrust Litigation, a case alleging that numerous poultry producers, such as Tyson and Perdue Farms, conspired to limit production and increase the price of broiler chickens, one of the most common menu items everywhere.
One of the core firms representing a certified class of everyday consumers in In re Packaged Seafood Products Antitrust Litigation. This case alleges that StarKist, Bumble Bee, Chicken of the Sea, and their parent companies conspired to fix the price of packaged tuna. StarKist, Bumble Bee, and some of their executives have already pleaded guilty, and Bumble Bee’s former president was convicted of price fixing by a jury. This case seeks damages for increased prices of this food staple.
First-chaired numerous arbitration hearings on behalf of employees of a nationwide fast casual chain who were subject to a mandatory arbitration provision. Relying upon JAMS’ Employment Arbitration Minimum Standards, he convinced many arbitrators to order broad e-discovery concerning the respondent’s practices despite the relatively low-dollar value of the individual proceedings. Ultimately, Mr. Gralewski and KM obtained economic justice for thousands of minimum-wage employees.
For over a decade, Mr. Gralewski represented classes of businesses and consumers in monopoly cases against Microsoft Corporation in several states and served as consulting and advisory counsel to Canadian lead counsel in a similar Canadian class action. He was an integral member of the trial teams in the Minnesota and Iowa Microsoft class actions which both settled for more than $350 million after months of hard-fought jury trials. During both trials, Mr. Gralewski was responsible for the evidence and argued evidentiary issues before the trial judges daily. Ultimately, he helped recover more than $2 billion in the aggregate for businesses and consumers alleged to be overcharged as a result of Microsoft’s monopolistic practices.

Cases & Investigations

Case / Company Name
Type
Status

Name In re Broiler Chicken Antitrust Litigation,
No. 16-cv-08637 (N.D. Ill.).
Type Antitrust
Status Pending
Serving as counsel for a certified class of commercial and institutional businesses in a case alleging that numerous poultry producers, such as Tyson and Perdue Farms, conspired to limit production and increase the price of broiler chickens. These big-name poultry producers' conduct additionally led to a criminal investigation and numerous indictments.

Name In re Packaged Seafood Products Antitrust Litigation,
No. 15-md-02670 (S.D. Cal.).
Type Antitrust
Status Pending
Representing class members in this case alleging that the defendants, StarKist, Bumble Bee, Chicken of the Sea, and their parent companies, conspired to fix the price of packaged tuna. This case impacts the everyday consumer due to the overwhelming control these three corporations have over the market for this food staple.

Name In re Hard Disk Drive Suspension Assemblies Antitrust Litigation,
No. 19-md-02918 (N.D. Cal.).
Type Antitrust
Status Pending
Ongoing representation of a class of purchasers alleging that defendants fixed the prices of suspension assemblies, a critical component of hard disk drives, raising the prices of computers throughout the U.S.

Name Smart v. National Collegiate Athletic Association,
No. 23-cv-00425 (E.D. Cal.).
Type Antitrust
Status Pending
Ongoing representation of a proposed class of Division I college coaches whose wages were illegally fixed at $0 in Colon v. National Collegiate Athletic Association. Recently, the Federal Judge overseeing the case overruled the NCAA’s motion to dismiss the case. The litigation seeks to recover years of back wages on behalf of thousands of hard-working employees who were not paid due to a conspiracy among the NCAA and its member schools.

Name In re Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) Antitrust Litigation,
MDL No. 1917 (N.D. Cal.).
Type Antitrust
Status Settled
KM is one of the core firms in an indirect purchaser antitrust litigation. The case resulted in settlements on behalf of end payers totaling $576.75 million. Specifically, the Special Master in the CRT litigation noted that, “Kirby played an integral role in this case and assumed significant risk . . . Kirby’s work was at a very high level [and] Kirby’s work greatly benefited the Class.”

Name Microsoft Antitrust Cases
Type Antitrust
Status Settled
Co-lead counsel on behalf of classes of indirect purchasers in connection with antitrust proceedings against Microsoft. The litigations resulted in settlements totaling nearly a billion dollars for consumers in the states of New York, Florida, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Minnesota (where the litigation proceeded to trial). More recently, KM served as consulting and advisory counsel to Canadian lead counsel based on the firm’s co-lead roles in the U.S. Microsoft cases. The Canadian action resulted in a settlement of $395 million.

News

10/19/2019 | Firm News Kirby McInerney Partner Bob Gralewski Awarded a Pro Bono Publico Award

Kirby McInerney LLP Partner Bob Gralewski was awarded a Pro Bono Publico Award at Casa Cornelia's 12th Annual La Mancha Awards.

04/10/2019 | Firm News Kirby McInerney Wins Asylum Protection for Pro Bono Clients

Responding to the influx of immigrants presenting themselves at ports of entry to seek asylum, Kirby McInerney LLP has stepped forward to provide pro bono legal services to detained refugees in removal proceedings. Over the past year, Kirby McInerney has helped two people fleeing persecution gain asylum protection.