'Firm' Slap on Ex-Pal
Cellino just ‘8’ up Barnes in court
Score one for Ross Cellino. The first-named half of the personal-injury law firm Cellino & Barnes — known for its “Don’t Wait, Call 8” ad jingle — walked out of a Buffalo courtroom smiling Thursday after winning a showdown with estranged partner Stephen Barnes.
Barnes was conspicuously absent from the hearing over the breakup of the firm, even though he had asked the judge for a preliminary injunction to block Cellino from allegedly poaching clients and staff.
Cellino’s “illicit conduct . . . continues to cause catastrophic damage to C&B, its reputation, and its brand,” Barnes had argued in court papers filed early this week.
At the hearing, Barnes’ attorney, Gregory Photiadis, seemed to contradict his client’s position by saying the firm was “functioning as a well-oiled, multimillion-dollar machine.”
Cellino’s lawyer, Terrence Connors, called out Photiadison the boast.
“They say their business is doing well,” Connors told the judge, adding that if that was the case, then Barnes couldn’t also say Cellino was trying to “irreparably harm” the firm.
If anyone was hurting the firm, it was Barnes, Connors argued, accusing Barnes of taking funds from the New York-based business to finance a California offshoot.
“What partner does that to another partner?” Connors asked.
On Monday, Barnes first accused Cellino, his law partner of 25 years, of trying to pirate employees with the argument that the “Cellino” name carried more weight in the firm.
The “Cellino” name is “better than the ‘Barnes’ ” name, Cellino reportedly bragged, comparing the squabble to Harley-Davidson by saying, “No one ever calls their motorcycle a Davidson.”
Barnes said Cellino’s comparison was “a pitch clearly intended to recruit C&B attorneys and employees to Ross’ new firm.”
Then Cellino hit back, calling Barnes “dictatorial” for forcing their employees to pledge “loyalty oaths.” When they refused, Barnes allegedly called one a “f--king coward” and fired another.
“Barnes has engaged in a coordinated campaign of bullying other attorneys into . . . declaring loyalty to him,” Cellino said in court papers.
The firm has 12,000 clients, employs 230 people and spends millions a year on advertising.
Cellino is suing Barnes to dissolve the firm.
Erie County Supreme Court Justice Deborah Chimes ruled against Barnes’ request to muzzle his partner.
Cellino declined to comment after the proceeding but wore a Cheshire grin.
Barnes’ spokesman declined to comment or say why Barnes was a no-show.