SANTA BARBARA — Robert Curtis, managing partner at the Santa Barbara-based law firm Foley Bezek Behle & Curtis, has been recognized as one of The Best Lawyers in America(r) for exceptional work representing plaintiffs in mass tort litigation and class action lawsuits.
Curtis, who in conjunction with other partners at the firm has successfully pursued over $1.15 billion in settlements and verdicts against some of the biggest companies in the country, was recently included in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America(r). https://www.bestlawyers.com/lawyers/robert-curtis/206126
Best Lawyers has been regarded by lawyers and the public for more than 40 years as the most credible measure of legal integrity and distinction in the United States.
With a focus on complex business litigation, wildfire litigation, lender liability, class actions and real estate litigation, Curtis has been with Foley Bezek Behle & Curtis for 24 years. Among his settlements are multi-million-dollar successes against Southern California Edison, East West Bank, Shell Oil, Verizon Wireless, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, U.S. Airways and Bank of the West.
Curtis obtained a $38.9 million jury verdict in 2014 as lead trial counsel for the plaintiff in a lender liability trial in Los Angeles Superior Court against East West Bank. The verdict was the 12th largest verdict in California and the 54th largest verdict in the United States that year.
In 2018, the Superior Court in Los Angeles appointed Curtis to the leadership team for litigation against Southern California Edison over the cause of the Thomas Fire and the Montecito mudslide. In 2019, another judge in the Superior Court in Los Angeles appointed him to help lead litigation involving another utility-started fire, the Woolsey Fire.
Curtis is currently leading a class action lawsuit with two other law firms against Hawaii’s main electric company and its subsidiaries on behalf of victims and survivors of the August 8 Lahaina Fire in Maui, which killed at least 115 people and displaced thousands.
A graduate of UCLA and the Pepperdine University School of Law, Curtis is admitted to the State Bar of California and is also admitted to practice in the U.S. District Courts for the Central, Eastern, Southern and Northern Districts of California, the Western District of Michigan, and before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. He has received numerous accolades, including an “AV – Preeminent” rating from the nationally recognized Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory.
Inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America(r) is based on a comprehensive peer-review survey, which for the current edition comprised of more than 13.7 million confidential evaluations. Recognition by Best Lawyers signifies excellence in practice.
Foley Bezek Behle & Curtis, LLP is a dynamic California law firm whose attorneys have earned a national reputation in class and mass plaintiff actions, wildfire litigation, complex business litigation, lender liability, intellectual property litigation and entertainment litigation. The firm has offices in Santa Barbara and Costa Mesa.
— Foley Bezek Behle & Curtis, LLP, is at 15 W. Carrillo St. Santa Barbara. For more information about the firm visit foleybezek.com, or call (805) 962-9495