On January 28, 2020, United States District Court Judge Philip Gutierrez certified a class action lawsuit filed against Plains All American Pipeline by Santa Barbara County property owners who have easement contracts with Plains and whose properties were impacted during the 2015 Refugio oil spill. (Grey Fox, LLC et. al v. Plains All American Pipeline, L.P., et. al, U.S. District [ More... ]
A recent ruling by a Santa Barbara Superior Court judge will mean less public access to Hollister Ranch beaches for at least three to five years as litigation in the land use dispute continues, says A. Barry Cappello, lead counsel representing the Hollister Ranch Owners Association. "Judge Colleen Sterne’s decision to invalidate a 2017 settlement, which was tentatively approved at [ More... ]
Owners of High Sierra Grill, a restaurant and bar at the Santa Barbara Municipal Airport from 2015 until 2019, filed a claim for damages against the City of Santa Barbara alleging the City constituted numerous contractual breaches resulting in substantial financial losses. High Sierra Grill had a 10-year lease with the City, with options to renew for three additional five-year [ More... ]
Scoring big in prestigious tournaments and earning a No. 3 national ranking, UCLA School of Law’s trial advocacy team enjoyed unprecedented success in 2018-19. Under the direction of veteran litigator and legal educator Justin Bernstein — who joined UCLA Law in 2018 to direct the trial advocacy program — the trial team won three tournaments in the academic year and [ More... ]
Seventy UCLA Law alumni, including Barry Cappello, were featured in the school’s Fall 2019 magazine that celebrated UCLA Law’s 70th Anniversary. Cappello was singled out as one of the school’s five “Top Trial Lawyers” in its 70-year history.
Ed Behrens, former principal of San Marcos High School (SMHS) in Santa Barbara, filed an appeal today after a Santa Barbara County Superior Court dismissed his lawsuit that contended he should get his job back since the Santa Barbara Unified School District Board wrongfully removed him from his principal position. (Edward Behrens vs. Santa Barbara Unified School District, et. al, [ More... ]
One week after the Conception dive boat burst into flames at 3 a.m. Labor Day — killing 34 of the 39 people onboard — many questions go unanswered: One of the victims’ remains is still lost at sea, the reason for a search warrant issued Sunday morning is still unknown, and the owners of the boat recently filed a lawsuit protecting themselves from damage claims — a move that came as a surprise to many.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The owners of the dive boat where 34 people perished in a fire off Southern California filed a lawsuit Thursday to head off potentially costly litigation, a move condemned by some observers as disrespectful to the families of the dead. Truth Aquatics Inc., which owned the Conception, filed the action in U.S. District Court in Los [ More... ]
Supporting what is rapidly becoming one of the top law school trial programs in the country, UCLA Law alumnus A. Barry Cappello (class of 1965) has pledged to donate an additional $500,000 to UCLA School of Law’s Cappello Program in Trial Advocacy. The gift raises Cappello’s total donations to UCLA Law to $2.75 million. The new funds will support additional [ More... ]
Barry Cappello and Leila Noël, partners in the Santa Barbara law firm Cappello & Noël LLP, were recently selected for inclusion in 2020 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. Both attorneys were recognized for their legal skills in mass tort litigation and plaintiff class action representation. Since 1992, Cappello has been consecutively ranked as one of the “Best Lawyers [ More... ]
