Cellino and Barnes, injury attorneys, may soon be fighting for custody of their iconic phone number and jingle.
WGRZ-Buffalo reports that Ross Cellino filed a lawsuit against Stephen Barnes in State Supreme Court on Wednesday, with the intention of dissolving their law firm of 22 years.
The charges made by Cellino remain unclear, and no petitions have been e-filed yet. Barnes is scheduled to appear in court on May 19th to respond to the suit.
His attorney Terry Connor could not be reached for comment. The person who answered the phone at 800-888-8888 could not offer details, either.
The Buffalo News spoke to attorney Paul Cambria, whose firm sometimes competes with Cellino and Barnes: "If this goes forward, it will be like a huge divorce … a huge business divorce. This law firm has been very successful and has all kinds of assets."
He added, "They basically invented themselves out of thin air, with very thoughtful, successful, innovative advertising. ...They became a huge success. They do have some very good attorneys over there and a good reputation. I was driving down Fairfax Avenue in [Los Angeles] last week, and right in front of me was a bus with their logo and their phone number on it. ... Amazing."
While the injury firm may be no more, the duo's legacy, an unscratchable itch in the auditory cortex of Greater New York, will live on for years to come.
