Robert A. Curtis (JD '99) Named Among Best Lawyers in America 2024
Pepperdine Caruso Law alumnus Robert A. Curtis (JD '99) has been named as one of The Best Lawyers in America® for his work representing plaintiffs in mass tort litigation and class action lawsuits. Curtis is a managing partner at the Santa Barbara-based firm Foley Bezek Bhele & Curtis.
From the Foley Bezek Bhele & Curtis announcement:
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®. 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. He has received numerous accolades, including an “AV – Preeminent” rating from the nationally recognized Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory