Jury Levels $370 Million Verdict in Georges Marciano Counter Suit by Ex-Employees
After hearing hours of testimony, a Los Angeles jury handed down a whopping $370 million verdict against Georges Marciano, co-founder of Guess? Inc., for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress against his former employees.
Marciano, who founded Guess? Inc. in 1981 and left in 1993 in a dispute with his business-partner brothers, is running for governor of California in the 2010 election.
Marciano called the trial a complete sham. He said he was not allowed to speak, pick the jury, participate in any proceedings or otherwise defend himself because of the “abusive” actions taken by a “biased” judge. “Mr. Marciano’s confident that the Court of Appeal will overturn this unjust, abusive and excessive judgment, and he will continue to fight for justice through the appeals process,” his office said in a statement.
In 2007 and 2008, Marciano sued several of his former employees, accusing them of stealing millions of dollars’ worth of art, fine wines and other assets and then selling them off. The pieces allegedly stolen were works by well-known artists such as Ed Ruscha, Robert Rauschenberg, Jeff Wall and Roy Lichtenstein.
The legal tussles began in August 2007 when Marciano sued former employee Joseph Fahs. In February 2008, he amended the Los Angeles County Superior Court complaint to include four other former employees: Miriam Choi, Camille Abat, Steven Chapnick and Elizabeth Tagle. All of the former employees filed cross-complaints against Marciano, alleging defamation and infliction of emotional distress, according to Raymond Parris, one of the attorneys for Choi and Abat.
Marciano’s lawsuit was dismissed Dec. 31, 2008, by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Elizabeth White, but the cross-complaint remained.
On May 15 and May 18, White presided over a trial where she found Marciano liable for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress against the former employees.
White then set a jury trial for damages on July 20, with the verdict being issued on July 27.
After Marciano’s brothers bought his 40 percent share of Guess for $240 million, the garment manufacturer went on to acquire a small fortune in Beverly Hills commercial buildings, well-known artwork, pricey luxury cars and a jet.
In 2007, he bought an 84.37-carat white diamond at a Sotheby’s auction for $16 million because he had never seen such a beautiful diamond before. And he said he believed it was a good investment. —Deborah Belgum
