Cellino & Barnes Breakup Takes Nasty Turn: Report

NEW YORK, NY — Don't wait, call hate! The breakup of famed personal-injury law firm Cellino & Barnes — known for its irritating TV jingle — has turned nasty, according to a new report in the New York Daily News.

Court papers say Ross Cellino, who filed a lawsuit in May to dissolve the firm, threatened to "burn the place to the ground" and start a new firm even if it means hurting his longtime partner Stephen Barnes, the Daily News reported.

Cellino reportedly wants to dissolve the Buffal0-based firm, which his father founded in 1958, due to personal differences with Barnes. But Barnes says closing it would be "financial suicide" for both them and their more than 200 employees in New York and California, the Daily News reported.

Cellino, though, wants to get the whole thing over with. "I don’t give a f--k, I will burn the place to the ground and start over with one lawyer. I have the resources," he said in August, the Daily News reported, citing court papers.

The firm is famous — or maybe infamous — in New York City for its TV commercials touting its repetitive phone number, 800-888-8888, and accompanying slogan, "Don't wait, call 8."

Cellino & Barnes' lawyers are continuing to serve clients despite the brutal court fight. Barnes and the firm "plan to aggressively oppose" Cellino's efforts to dissolve it, a spokesman for the firm told Patch in May.

Read the full New York Daily News story here.

(Lead image via YouTube)