Imagine if Ben sued Jerry. If Black sued Decker. If Johnson sued Johnson.
New Yorkers are coping with the news that Cellino & Barnes, a personal injury law firm known for its ubiquitous advertising, is splitting. And it’s not pretty.
Ross Cellino sued Stephen Barnes in a case that appears to call for the dissolution of Cellino & Barnes.
Cellino & Barnes’ earworm ad jingle is a trademark tune. If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times. It’s catchy — and it’s grating. But it’s about as New York as pizza by the slice and getting elbowed on the subway.
Documents related to Cellino’s suit against his firm, filed on Wednesday, have been sealed but the court. But Cellino & Barnes (the firm, not the individuals) said in a statement that Cellino intends to break up the team.
“Mr. Barnes and the firm plan to aggressively oppose the dissolution papers filed by Mr. Cellino; however, we reiterate that regardless of outcome, the firm will continue to do business in the many markets we serve,” it said on Wednesday.
Cellino & Barnes, which has 300 staff members, handles personal injury cases in California and New York. It was founded by Cellino’s father, Ross Cellino Sr., who established the firm as Cellino & Likoudis in 1958.
Neither Cellino nor Barnes responded to a request for comment. Terrence Connors, who is listed in court documents as Cellino’s attorney, also did not respond to a request for comment.
New Yorkers spent much of Wednesday and Thursday mourning the potential loss of the dynamic duo, whose phone number many know by heart (for the uninitiated, it’s 800-888-8888).
