Current Employment Position(s)

Associate

Lawyer Overview

Sean Costello is an experienced litigator whose practice is focused principally on the defense of corporations in large-scale, class action litigation. He has helped clients defend against dozens of class actions in state and federal jurisdictions, including multidistrict litigation proceedings. He has played lead and instrumental roles in some of the most significant class action litigation of the last decade, including the "lights" cigarette class actions, Firestone tire recall multidistrict litigation, and the so-called "not for profit" hospital cases.

Sean is not exclusively a class action litigator. He has played significant roles in internal investigations, shareholder litigation, toxic tort and products liability cases, False Claims Act/qui tam actions, commercial disputes (representing both plaintiffs and defendants), and civil rights litigation. Sean has handled every aspect of the litigation process, from initial investigation and counseling through settlement, trial, and appeal.

Since joining the Firm, Sean has been a critical member of several trial teams. In 2006, he was one of three Jones Day lawyers who won a unanimous defense verdict following a multiweek trial in a high-profile products liability case in Seattle, Washington.

A prolific author, Sean has published well-received academic articles in prestigious law reviews and has written academic and practical "how to" articles for a range of other publications, including the Class Action Litigation Report and various Andrews Litigation Reporters. In addition, Sean is a frequent "guest blogger" on Jones Day Partner Mark Herrmann's drug and device law blog (druganddevicelaw.blogspot.com).

Sean is licensed to practice in Georgia and Ohio, is admitted to the bars of several federal trial and appellate courts, and has appeared in courts throughout the United States. He is an active member of the Defense Research Institute and the Case Western Reserve Law School Alumni Association Board.

Areas of Practice

• Trial Practice
• Class Action Litigation
• Commercial Disputes
• Consumer Fraud & Warranty Litigation
• Product Liability & Tort Litigation
• Class Action and Multidistrict Product Liability Litigation
• Consumer Goods Product Liability Litigation
• Coordination of Product Liability Litigation

Representative Cases

• Catherine Dias Sanders, et al. v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
• Dahl v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
• Debbie Nichols v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
• Gloria Rios, et al. v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
• Harper v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
• In re Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc. ATX, ATX II, and Wilderness Tires Products Liability Litigation, 288 F.3d 1012 (7th Cir. 2002), cert. denied, 123 S. Ct. 870 (2003)
• In re Ciprofloxacin Hydrochloride Antitrust Litig., MDL Docket No. 1383, 363 F. Supp. 2d 514 (E.D.N.Y. 2005)
• In re Not for Profit Hospital Litigation
• Julie Huntsberry v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, et al., No. 02-08173 (King Cty., Wash. Superior Ct.).
• Nobody in Particular Presents, Inc. v. Clear Channel Commc’ns, Inc., 311 F. Supp. 2d 1048 (D. Colo. 2004)
• Philip R. Kimball, as Administrator of the Estate of Carla M. Kimball v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Case No. 03-0664 (W.D. Wa.)
• Sheri Collora, et al. v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
• T. Rowe Price Recovery Fund, L.P., et al. v. Rubin, et al.
• The Lamson & Sessions Co. v. PW Eagle, Inc.
• Turner, et al. v. R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company
• United States ex. rel. Bagley v. TRW, Inc., U.S.D.C., C.D. Cal.
• Wilfred T. Laborde, et al. v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, et al.

West Practice Categories

Alcoholic Beverages, Apparel, Asbestos, Bankruptcy Litigation, Business & Commercial Law, Chemicals & Cosmetics, Class Actions, Collections & Repossessions, Commercial Leasing, Complex Litigation, Consumer Protection, Contracts, Debtor/Creditor, Federal Appellate Practice, Federal Claims Court, Federal Trial Practice, Firearms, Food & Agricultural Products, Franchising, International Trade Litigation, International Transactions, Joint Ventures, Lemon Law, Litigation & Appeals, Machinery & Tools, Medical Products & Devices, Mergers, Acquisitions & Divestitures, Military & Veterans Appeals, Motor Vehicle Defects, Multidistrict Litigation, Patent Litigation, Pharmaceutical Products, Products Liability Law, Recreational Products, Secured Transactions, State Appellate Practice, State Trial Practice, Tax Litigation, Tobacco, Transactions, Uniform Commercial Code, US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, US Supreme Court, Warranties

Bar Admissions

• Georgia
• Ohio

Education

• Case Western Reserve Univ

Published Works

• What's Behind the Curtain? Judicial Scrutiny of "Differential Diagnosis" Under Frye and Daubert, Practice Perspectives: Product Liability & Tort Litigation, 2009
• Product Crisis: Kigyo ni motomeareu Kiki-Kanri, ("Product Crisis: Crisis Management for Companies") Business Law Journal, 2008
• Put Your Boots On: Preparing For The Product Crisis, The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, 2008
• Robbing Peter to Pay Paul: The Conflict of Interest Problem in Sibling Class Actions, coauthor, Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics, 2008
• The Product Crisis: Staying Ahead by Planning Ahead, Practice Perspectives: Product Liability & Tort Litigation, 2008
• Shocking Ruling from the Seventh Circuit: "Less" Doesn't Mean "More," Drug and Device Law Blog (druganddevicelaw.blogspot.com), 2008
• Georgia Trade Secrets Law, coauthor, Book Chapter in Defense Research Institute's 50 State Compendium on Trade Secret Law, 2008
• The FJC's Latest Report on CAFA - The Trends Continue, Drug and Device Law Blog(drugand devicelaw.blogspot.com), 2008
• The Appeal Bond - What It Is, How It Works, and Why It Needs To Be Factored Into Your Litigation Strategy, coauthor, Practice Perspectives: Product Liability & Tort Litigation, 2008
• CAFA's Revolving Door?, Drug and Device Law Blog(druganddevicelaw.blogspot.com), 2008
• Minnesota - Still On the Road to Recovery, Drug and Device Law Blog(druganddevicelaw.blogspot.com), 2008
• The Class Action Fairness Act Two Years Later: Looking Back and Looking Ahead, Practice Perspectives: Product Liability & Tort Litigation, 2007
• Mass Torts that Fizzle, coauthor, BNA Class Action Litigation Report, 2007
• Does the Rise of the Consumer Fraud Class Action Mean the Decline of the Learned Intermediary Doctrine? Nah!, Drug and Device Law Blog(druganddevicelaw.blogspot.com), 2007
• News Flash: CAFA is Working, Drug and Device Law Blog(druganddevicelaw.blogspot.com), 2007
• Minnesota--On the Road to Recovery, Drug and Device Law Blog(druganddevicelaw.blogspot.com), 2007
• Rule 30(e): What You Don't Know Could Hurt You - Beware the sham errata sheet - or any other errata sheet!, The Practical Litigator, coauthor, 2006
• The Class Action Fairness Act: Enough Rope to Pull Class-Action Defendants Out of 'Judicial Hellholes' or Just Enough to Hang Them?, Andrews Toxic Torts Litigation Reporter, Thomson/West, also published iAndrews Insurance Coverage Litigation Reporter, 2005
• Show Me Your Wares: The Use of Provocative Ads to Attract Clients, 30 Seton Hall L. Rev. 64, 1999
• Strange Brew: The State of Commercial Speech Jurisprudence Before and After 44 Liquormart, Inc. v. Rhode Island, 47 Case Western Reserve Law Review 681, 1997

Address

1420 Peachtree Street, N.E.,
Suite 800
Atlanta, GA 30309-3053

Phones

1.404.581.8327 (Business Phone)

Faxes

1.404.581.8330 (Business Fax)

Emails

Contact Us (Business Email)

Websites

http://www.jonesday.com