Overview
Ryan Marth advises U.S. and international clients on all aspects of their businesses, including contractual relations, distribution, pricing, privacy, protection of intellectual property, and compliance with U.S. and foreign antitrust and competition laws. Chambers praises Ryan as an “excellent” lawyer and “a hard worker.”
After serving as a law clerk to Hon. Helen M. Meyer of the Minnesota Supreme Court, Ryan began his career at Robins Kaplan, working under the nation’s premier trial lawyers in the most complex antitrust and commercial cases. Now Ryan continues to use his experience in complex litigation to help clients anticipate business challenges, spot problems before they arise, and avoid conflict and litigation down the road.
When conflicts do arise, Ryan has proved his ability to help clients to obtain favorable business results. For example, Ryan was among the lead lawyers for a class of merchants that obtained a $5.6 billion settlement in an antitrust class action against Visa, MasterCard, and their member banks – the largest such settlement in the history of the antitrust laws. He has also obtained favorable results for smaller businesses, including securing the third-largest ever settlement with the City of St. Paul on behalf of a business owner whose services contract the city breached.
Ryan’s practice includes advising businesses that are victims of cartel or dominant-firm behavior on their remedies under U.S. and foreign competition laws, representing these businesses before state and federal courts and regulatory bodies, and collaborating with non-U.S. counsel when appropriate to help them obtain relief abroad. He also defends businesses against investigations and litigation involving accusations of anticompetitive conduct when they arise.
Before attending law school, Ryan lived in Norway for two years, including one year as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Oslo, studying Norway’s relationship to the European Union. Since returning home to Minneapolis, Ryan has become active in the local Norwegian-American community, and he regularly uses his knowledge of Scandinavian language and culture to identify and address the challenges that Nordic businesses may encounter when operating in or expanding to the United States.
Credentials
Education
- University of Minnesota Law School, J.D., magna cum laude, Order of the Coif (2003)
- University of Oslo, Fulbright Scholar (1999-2000)
- St. Olaf College, B.A., magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa (1999)
Languages
- Scandinavian
Selected Results
Representative Matters
In re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 1720 (E.D.N.Y.): Serving as court-appointed co-lead counsel, Robins Kaplan reached a $5.6 billion antitrust class action settlement on behalf of a class of more than 10 million U.S. merchants who accepted Visa and Mastercard credit and debit cards for the purchase of goods and services. Plaintiffs alleged that Visa and Mastercard, as well as major card-issuing banks such as JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo, and Capital One, violated antitrust laws and charged merchants who accept credit and debit cards supra-competitive fees on card transactions. The settlement, which was granted final approval in December of 2019 and affirmed on appeal in March of 2023, represents the largest settlement of a private antitrust action in the 130-year history of the Sherman Act.
In re Farm-Raised Salmon & Salmon Prods. Antitrust Litigation: As lead defense counsel for a Norwegian salmon sales and distribution company, reached global cost-of-defense settlement, resolving a series of putative nationwide class actions alleging a global price-fixing conspiracy among sellers of Norwegian farmed Atlantic salmon.
Yoakum, et al. v. Genuine Parts Company, et al. (W.D. Mo.): Serving as lead defense counsel, reached a favorable global settlement resolving a nationwide consumer class action against Genuine Parts Company (commonly known as NAPA Auto Parts). Plaintiffs challenged the labeling and marketing of various economy brands of tractor hydraulic fluid, which defendants were marketing for use in older tractors and other agricultural equipment.
Black Bear Crossings on the Lake, Inc. v. City of St. Paul: Obtained early summary judgment for café and event center against the City of St. Paul for breach of contract in failing to extend a lease. The case settled for $800,000, the third-largest settlement in the history of the City of St. Paul.
Recognition
- Benchmark Litigation—Minnesota Future Star (2024)
- Chambers USA—Antitrust, Minnesota—Band 2 (2019-2024)
- Named to "Top Lawyers List," Minnesota Monthly (2024)
- Listed in The Best Lawyers in America (2025 edition)
- Super Lawyers: Minnesota Super Lawyer (2013-2020)
- Chambers USA—Antitrust, Minnesota—Up and Coming Attorney (2016-2018)
- Minnesota State Bar Association: Recognized as a “North Star Lawyer” for providing at least 50 hours of pro bono legal services (2013-2015)
- Super Lawyers—Minnesota Rising Star (2012)
Community
Civic
- Norway House, Board of Directors
- Norwegian-American Chamber of Commerce
- Minneapolis Neighborhood Revitalization Program, Policy Board
Professional
- Former Chair, Minnesota State Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law
- Former Vice Chair, Joint Conduct Committee, American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law
- Federal Bar Association
- Eighth Circuit Bar Association
News & Insights
In the News
Speaking Engagements
Legal Insights
Speeches
- Antitrust Hot Spots for Business Lawyers and In-House Counsel
Minnesota CLE Seminar, Minneapolis, Minnesota (December 5, 2022) -
Managing Transatlantic Business in Uncertain Times
The Norwegian-American Chamber of Commerce, Inc. Presentation (April 29, 2020) - Insulating Your AI System from IP Claims and Guarding its Value
Nordic Innovation House Silicon Valley, Palo Alto, California (January 8, 2020) - Certified Questions, Discretionary Review, and Partial Judgments: Appellate Review While Your Case Is Still in the Trial Court
Minnesota CLE, Minneapolis, Minnesota (March 24, 2017) - Start your UAS Adventure in North Dakota
Unmanned Nordic Conference 2016, Oslo, Norway (November 15, 2016) - Detecting Antitrust Red Flags in Business Dealings: Avoiding Costly Pitfalls
Strafford Seminars (August 26, 2014) - Navigating the 2012 Merger Guidelines and Recent Government Enforcement Activities
MSBA Antitrust Section, Minneapolis, Minnesota (February 9, 2012) - Market Definition in Intellectual Property Markets
Minnesota CLE, Minneapolis, Minnesota (May 26, 2011) - Antitrust, Embroidery and the NFL: The Ramifications of Supreme Court Review of American Needle
Minnesota CLE, Minneapolis, Minnesota (May 7, 2010) - American Needle, Case in Point: Is the NFL a Single Entity?
Sports Lawyers Association, Boston, Massachusetts (April 28, 2010) - Can Section 5 and Article 82 Converge?
American Antitrust Institute, Washington, D.C. (June 18, 2009) - Examining Merger Reporting and the Anticompetitive Effects of Market Power
Minnesota CLE, Minneapolis, Minnesota (May 6, 2009) - New Challenges in an Evolving Antitrust Era
Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P., Minneapolis, Minnesota (May 18, 2006)
Articles
- "The Perils of Piecemeal Invocation of Arbitration Rights," Law360 (October 7, 2022)
Media Mentions
- "Nation’s Restaurateurs Urged to Apply for Credit Card Fee Claim As Part of Lawsuit Settlement," Total Food Service (February 27, 2024)
- "Breaking the Ice: Recovering Funds from Antitrust Settlement," Minnesota Lawyer (February 1, 2024)
- "Robins Kaplan lawyers fight Visa, Mastercard for 20 years, settle for $5.54B," Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal (December 7, 2023)
- “St. Paul Settles Como Park Café Lease Dispute for $800k,” Pioneer Press (August 22, 2014)
Practices
Admissions
- Minnesota
- New York
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
- U.S. District Court, Minnesota
- U.S. Supreme Court
