PROVO — Keith Barton can finally say, "That's all."
As in, that's all, folks.
The bitter divorce of Gregory, Barton and Swapp — the state's largest personal injury law firm — is all but over.
Barton, known for his "One Call, That's All" advertisements, announced Tuesday that he is starting his own firm.
The announcement is hardly a surprise. In March, Buddy Gregory and Craig Swapp filed court papers to dissolve their partnership with Barton, alleging Barton had sunk the firm in a mountain of debt through a series of personal loans.
At the time, the firm had more than 5,000 clients and brought in about $600,000 a month.
"There was a huge philosophical difference over how you run a company," Swapp said. "We got to the point where we didn't want to do business together."
Barton said he also wanted out of the firm, and now he is anxious to get back to business — even if it means competing head to head with his former partners.
"It's nice to be on our own," he said. "I'm excited to be able to get back to serving individuals who have been unfairly harmed or injured."
The only thing surprising about Barton's announcement was the timing of it. Swapp said all parties involved in the firm's dissolution had agreed to keep mum until a July 19 hearing.
At that hearing, the split will become official.
But Barton said he was given the green light to break from the firm earlier this month.
On Monday Barton began running a new series of television ads. For weeks his former partners had been running ads without him, using the "one call, that's all" slogan he made famous.
"We were a little surprised by it," Swapp said of the announcement. "I wish him well. I think he's just trying to establish himself."
For the time being, Barton will focus on product liability cases, such as phen-fen and Vioxx. Money from those cases will be used to pay off creditors. If there is anything left, it will go toward the shareholders of Gregory and Swapp.
But it won't be long before Barton is competing with his former partners for personal injury clients as well.
"It's a little odd," Barton said of competing against his former partner and father-in-law, Buddy Gregory.
"At times, the process of working out how to break up the firm became very emotional, and it seemed it might take forever," Barton said. "I'm extremely grateful that our family was able to come together in the end and reach a fair agreement."
E-mail: jhyde@desnews.com