Marco Quazzo

Shareholder Litigation

• Marco represented long-time minority shareholders in a privately held agricultural company in California’s Central Valley in pursuing claims for corporate dissolution and breach of fiduciary duty against the company’s directors and officers, which after several years of litigation culminated in a lucrative buyout of the minority shareholders.   
• Marco defended the directors and officers of a mortgage bank against breach of fiduciary duty claims by shareholders who sought $30 million in damages.
• Marco defended the selling shareholders of a high technology company against indemnity claims totaling $25 million asserted by the buyer after losses arose from patent infringement litigation that was pending at the time of sale.
• Marco represented the general partner of a family investment partnership against claims of breach of fiduciary duty and fraud asserted by 15 limited partners.
• Marco secured a favorable settlement in a JAMS arbitration proceeding on behalf of the estate of a deceased shareholder of a closely held company that refused to repurchase his shares upon his death.

Real Estate Litigation

• Marco successfully defended a restaurant in litigation in which a landlord claimed he was owed substantial monies over a 20-year period, resulting in a judgment in favor of the restaurant and an award requiring the landlord to pay more than $600,000 in attorneys’ fees to the restaurant.
• Marco represented a real estate investment trust in pursuing breach of contract and fraud claims against a property management company entrusted with managing and selling a shopping center portfolio of 60 properties in California.
• Marco successfully defended sellers of a commercial property in San Francisco against claims by a title insurance company for $3.3 million in damages by obtaining a dismissal before trial with sellers paying nothing to the title company.
• Marco represented retail tenants throughout the United States in litigation with commercial landlords arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, and obtained several favorable settlements for retail tenants in cases involving lease terminations and/or rent abatement.
• Marco represented two real estate developers in an eight-week jury trial in San Francisco Superior Court against claims of fraud and breach of contract.
• Marco litigated claims against a real estate broker for breach of fiduciary duty and fraud on behalf of a commercial property developer.
• Marco litigated premises liability claims against a building owner and security company, and negligence claims against a gun manufacturer and retailer on behalf of a shooting victim at 101 California Street in San Francisco.
• Marco litigated claims for breach of contract, non-disclosure, fraud and construction defects on behalf of a property owner who incurred more than $1 million in water damage against the seller, developer, and contractor for the property.
• Marco defended a leading university in a jury trial involving premises liability claims, and resolved the case by settlement two weeks into trial.

Commercial Litigation

• Marco represented a major automobile company in a $3 million dispute with two suppliers involving the shipment of hundreds of thousands of vehicles between California and Hawaii.
• Marco secured summary judgment in U.S. District Court on behalf of an investment bank against a company which refused to pay a $2 million “success fee” after the company was acquired in a private equity transaction.
• Marco prevailed at trial in U.S. District Court on all claims asserted by his client, a maritime transportation company, against a medical clinic in a dispute arising from the clinic’s negligent treatment of the company’s employee. SeaRiver Maritime, Inc. v. Industrial Medical Services, Inc., 983 F.Supp. 1287 (N.D. Cal. 1997).

• Guest Lecturer, University of San Francisco Law School, Corporate Governance Seminar
• Speaker and Co-Author; International Council of Shopping Centers – U.S. Law Conference, November 2021: Frustration, Impossibility and Force Majeure: A Litigator’s View of Whether COVID-19 Can Be Invoked to Avoid Lease Obligations
• Speaker and Co-Author; International Council of Shopping Centers – U.S. Law Conference, October 2020: The Litigation Wave and Impact of COVID-19 on Retail Lease Obligations
• Los Angeles & San Francisco Daily Journal (May 4, 2020): 5 Guidelines Courts Will Use to Decide Force Majeure Claims in COVID-19 Cases
• Bloomberg BNA Corporate Accountability Report, August 2013: Corporate Officers and Directors Face Personal Liability Under The Responsible Corporate Officer Doctrine