Fine, Kaplan and Black, R.P.C.

Paul Costa

Paul Costa, a member, has represented plaintiffs and defendants in complex matters in federal and state courts and in arbitration. His practice focuses on antitrust class actions. For several years running, Mr. Costa has been named a "Pennsylvania Super Lawyer" by Philadelphia Magazine in its annual listing of the top lawyers in Pennsylvania. He also has been recognized in the "Who's Who: Legal Competition" guide by Global Competition Review.

Fine, Kaplan and Black currently serves as Interim Lead Counsel for the End-Payer Plaintiffs in In re Generic Pharmaceuticals Pricing Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 2724 (E.D. Pa.), a massive price-fixing case involving dozens of defendants, a federal criminal probe, a multi-state investigation, and a number of different private plaintiff groups. Since 2016, Mr. Costa has taken the day-to-day lead for the firm on all aspects of the case.

Mr. Costa has extensive experience in every stage of complex litigation. Fine, Kaplan and Black currently serves as Lead Counsel for the End-Payer Plaintiffs in In re Generic Pharmaceuticals Pricing Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 2724 (E.D. Pa.), a massive price-fixing case involving dozens of defendants, a federal criminal probe, a multi-state investigation, and a number of different private plaintiff groups. Mr. Costa is taking the day-to-day lead for the firm on all aspects of the case.

Mr. Costa was a member of the trial team in the Urethane Antitrust Litigation, in which the firm as Co-Lead Counsel secured the largest price-fixing jury verdict in the history of the federal antitrust laws against The Dow Chemical Company. The judgment of $1.06 billion after trebling was unanimously affirmed by the Tenth Circuit. In re Urethane Antitrust Litig., 768 F.3d 1245 (10th Cir. 2014). While Dow's appeal was pending before the Supreme Court, Dow agreed to a settlement of $835 million, the largest settlement ever recovered in a price-fixing case from a single defendant.

Like many of the firm's attorneys, Mr. Costa has authored numerous prevailing briefs addressing motions to dismiss, class certification, summary judgment, motions in limine, Daubert, and a host of other issues. Some of the lessons learned in preparing for the Urethane trial are included in The Practical Side of Preparing for a Civil Antitrust Trial, ANTITRUST TRIAL PRACTICE (Winter 2014), authored by Mr. Costa.

Mr. Costa has been active in the American Bar Association's Section of Antitrust Law. Along with Fine Kaplan's Roberta Liebenberg, he coordinated revisions to the ABA's Model Jury Instructions in Civil Antitrust Cases.

Mr. Costa's pro bono activities have included representing low-income seniors in need of estate planning documents, as well as representing a coalition of religious organizations and faith leaders, as amici curiae, supporting the City of Philadelphia's refusal to subsidize religious and sexual-orientation discrimination by a private group that occupied City-owned property.

Mr. Costa received his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated cum laude. He received his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center, where he graduated magna cum laude and was elected to the Order of the Coif. Following law school, he worked as an associate in the Washington, D.C. offices of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, L.L.P. Prior to joining Fine Kaplan in October 2004, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable Cynthia M. Rufe of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Practice Areas

  • Antitrust
  • Class Actions
  • Complex Litigation

Bar Admissions

  • Pennsylvania, 2001
  • U.S. District Court Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 2004

Education

  • Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, DC, 2001, J.D.
    Honors: magna cum laude
    Honors: Order of the Coif
    Law Journal: Georgetown International Environmental Law Review, 1999 - 2001
  • University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States, 1999, B.A.
    Honors: cum laude

Published Works

  • The Practical Side of Preparing for a Civil Antitrust Trial, ANTITRUST TRIAL PRACTICE (Winter 2014)
  • Unbuilding a Bridge to the Twenty-First Century: The Coast Guard, Common Sense, The Law, and Sustainable Development, 31 Envtl. Law 95 (Winter 2001)

Representative Cases

  • In re Generic Pharmaceuticals Pricing Antitrust Litigation, 338 F. Supp. 3d 404 (E.D. Pa. 2018)
  • In re Urethane [Polyether Polyols] Antitrust Litig, 768 F.3d 1245 (10th Cir. 2014) (affirming jury verdict and judgment of more than $1.06 billion against The Dow Chemical Company)
  • In re Metoprolol Succinate Antitrust Litig., 2010 WL 1485328 (D. Del. April 13, 2010)
  • Alberton v. Commonwealth Land Title Ins. Co., 2010 WL 1049581 (E.D. Pa. Mar. 17, 2010)
  • Terrapin Express, Inc. v. Airborne Express, Inc., No. 11-199-01536-05 (AAA 2007) ($24.75 million settlement)
  • Consolidated Risk Services, Inc. v. Automobile Dealers WC Self Insurance Trust, 2006 WL 1737471 (E.D. Pa. 2006)
  • In re Remeron End-Payor Antitrust Litig, 2005 WL 2230314 (D.N.J. Sept. 13, 2005)

Professional Associations and Memberships

  • Philadelphia Bar Association, 2002 - Present, Member

Past Employment Positions

  • Hon. Cynthia M. Rufe, United States District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Law Clerk, 2002 - 2004
  • Akin, Gump, Strauss, Haver & Feld, LLP, Associate, 2001 - 2002
  • Georgetown University Law Center, Legal Writing Fellow, 1999 - 2000

Fraternities/Sororities

  • Phi Gamma Delta

Pro Bono Activities

  • Senior Law Center
  • Cradle of Liberty Council, Inc. v. City of Philadelphia, C. A. No. 08-2429 (E.D. Pa.), No. 12-2095, 12-2096 (3d Cir.)