March 2017 – Kendall Brill & Kelly is mourning the passing of one of its distinguished colleagues, attorney Barry G. West. Barry passed away on Sunday, March 12, after a brief illness. He had joined KBK in 2015, building on an illustrious legal career of more than 40 years. He had represented business entities and individuals in all aspects of complex business litigation as well as high profile entertainment disputes. He had successfully represented plaintiffs and defendants in corporate, partnership, real estate, First Amendment, attorney and accounting malpractice, sports, entertainment, advertising, and numerous other categories of disputes. He also had secured victories in several high-profile, bet-the-company jury trials in federal and state court.
Among his many trial victories, the following are examples of his extraordinary talent as a trial lawyer. Barry was lead defense counsel in a three-month jury trial brought by former major stockholders of Tickets.com against a major venture capital firm and one of its managing members, seeking $149,000,000 in damages. The jury returned a verdict in favor of Barry’s clients, ruling against plaintiffs on both liability and damages. The jury verdict was affirmed on appeal.
He was also lead defense counsel for Sony and Columbia in an action brought by the producer-creator of the long-running television series “Married…With Children” who sought more than $20,000,000 in allegedly unpaid profit participations. After a three-week jury trial, the jury returned a defense verdict in favor of Barry’s studio clients. The jury verdict was affirmed on appeal.
He also successfully represented Consumers Union (along with Joe Cotchett and Frank Pitre) in an important federal product disparagement and trade libel action brought by Isuzu Motors Ltd. accusing Consumers Union of misrepresenting the Isuzu Trooper’s rollover propensity. The jury ruled in favor of Consumers Union.
Barry had been ranked among the Best Lawyers in America and the Best Lawyers in Los Angeles. He had also been active in the community, serving on boards and holding other leadership positions in a variety of community and charitable organizations. He will be missed by all of us at KBK.
Services will be at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, March 16, at Mt. Sinai Memorial Parks and Mortuaries’ TaNaCH Chapel, 5950 Forest Lawn Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90068. For more information, please click here.