It’s gotten personal for Cellino and Barnes, personal injury attorneys.
Ross Cellino fired back at his estranged law partner Stephen Barnes Wednesday, saying that a deep loss of trust had taken place and that they “simply cannot work together.”
Barnes had become a disruptive force since Cellino filed for dissolution of the firm in May, new papers alleged.
“Barnes has engaged in a coordinated campaign of bullying other attorneys into signing affidavits, or otherwise declaring loyalty to Barnes,” Cellino’s attorney Terrence Connors said.
“When one attorney refused to acquiesce, respondent Barnes called him a f—ing coward and vowed that respondent Barnes ‘will remember this.'”
Cellino asks that a judge appoint a temporary receiver to oversee the firm’s operations as the breakup is negotiated.
The filing came one day after Barnes lobbed similar accusations at Cellino, saying the latter had tried to recruit staff to a new firm, encouraged clients to leave and talked trash about his partner.
Barnes had said Cellino was engaged in “reprehensible conduct” that could cause “catastrophic damage to the business.”
Cellino had a simple rebuttal.
“If ‘the pot calling the kettle black’ were a formal legal principle, it would be our first citation,” Connors wrote.
Both sides are due in Erie County Supreme Court in Buffalo Thursday.
The successful firm known for its “Don’t wait, call 8” jingle has over 10,000 clients in New York State, as well as offices in California.
