Maryann R. Marzano | Attorney

Maryann Marzano is a partner and an AV-rated attorney with over 29 years of experience as a litigator. She handles all aspects of complex business, commercial and real estate disputes, with an emphasis in antitrust, unfair competition, securities, shareholder, breach of fiduciary duty, professional liability, corporate dissolution, fraud, embezzlement, identity theft and forgery claims. Her litigation experience includes trademark and copyright infringement matters, entertainment industry disputes, and banking, probate and trust matters. It also encompasses foreign and domestic aviation litigation, including licensing matters and the defense of aircraft and component part manufacturers, aircraft maintenance and servicing facilities through both direct retention and insurers in the U.S. and London markets.

She has prosecuted and defended a wide range of professional liability claims (including attorneys, accountants, stockbrokers, real estate brokers, officers and directors), as well as construction defect, product and premises liability claims. Her broad insurance practice includes coverage evaluation and bad faith litigation.

Ms. Marzano represents clients at all phases of litigation, through trial and appeal. She has also successfully handled administrative actions, arbitrations and mediations on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants in all State and Federal courts, including the Bankruptcy and probate courts, and before a wide variety of governmental tribunals. She has also successfully represented clients before the SEC, IRS, FTC, USDA, FAA, and NASD/FINRA in both civil and criminal matters. She has supervised international litigation and investigations, and managed complex litigation matters in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Caribbean and South Pacific.

Representative clients range from Fortune 500 companies and executives to small businesses, charitable organizations, banks and high net-worth individuals. She has counseled them in a wide variety of litigation and administrative proceedings as well as in general business contexts.

Significant Matters:

• Appointed as a Special Prosecutor by the Chief District Judge for the District of Nevada to prosecute contempt proceedings in an international banking and securities fraud case.
• Represented an SEC-appointed Receiver in one of the most successful SEC receivership matters and achieved a multi-million dollar recovery for victims in an offshore banking fraud and arbitrage trading scheme, involving a host of litigation, business and tax matters in the U.S. and globally.
• Favorably resolved numerous trademark and copyright actions involving ownership rights and wrongful use and infringement claims, obtained preliminary and permanent injunctive relief for both plaintiffs and defendants, and successfully defended against the issuance of injunctive relief.
• Obtained injunctive relief, the appointment of a receiver and a multi-million dollar award, including punitive damages, following a three month arbitration arising out of a partnership dissolution, real estate and fraud action.
• Successfully prosecuted civil embezzlement, fraud, identity theft and forgery claims on behalf of a textile manufacturing firm, recovered significant assets and restitution, and assisted the U.S. Attorney's Office in the resulting criminal prosecution and conviction.
• Defended and favorably resolved audit and investor claims involving major CPA firms.
• Obtained dismissals in a state court complex litigation matter involving alleged violations of the Cartright Act and California Business & Professions Code Section 17200 claims involving mobile home parks and owners.
• Obtained injunctive relief in favor of a shareholder in a federal securities fraud action and prevailed in prosecuting civil contempt charges against a defendant in that case resulting in the imposition of monetary sanctions and incarceration.
• Obtained summary judgment in favor of a Las Vegas resort in a federal Sherman Act antitrust action.
• Favorably negotiated on behalf of the United Steelworkers before the NLRB.
• Defended corporate executives in MDL litigation arising out of alleged price-fixing claims.
• Achieved favorable resolutions for production companies, musical recording artists and songwriters in matters involving record companies, partners, managers and agents.
• Obtained summary judgment in a wrongful death helicopter accident, upheld on appeal.
• Successfully defended and/or settled numerous mid-air collisions, wrongful death, product liability and aviation ground claims.
• Successfully resolved numerous bad faith actions.

Appellate Experience:

Extensive appellate experience includes the successful briefing and argument of appeals before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, California Court of Appeals and California Supreme Court, resulting in numerous reported and unreported decisions. Several of those noteworthy decisions certified for publication include:

• United States v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 719 F.2d 1386 (9th Cir. 1983)
• SEC v. Elmas Trading Corp., 620 F. Supp. 231 (D. Nev. 1985)
• SEC v. Elmas Trading Corp., 625 F. Supp. 890 (D. Nev. 1986)
• SEC v. Elmas Trading Corp., 683 F. Supp. 743 (D. Nev. 1987)
• SEC v. Elmas Trading Corp., 824 F.2d 732 (9th Cir. 1987)
• Harris v. Billings, 16 Cal. App. 4th 1396 (1993)
• Goodstone v. Southwest Airlines, Co., 63 Cal. App. 4th 406 (1998)
• Eichenbaum v. Alon, 106 Cal. App. 4th 967 (2003)
• SC Manufactured Homes v. Canyon View Estates, Inc., 148 Cal. App. 4th 663 (2007)

Education:

J.D., Pepperdine University School of Law (1980)
Clinical Law Reporter, Profiles Editor
B.A., Rutgers College, Rutgers University (1977)

Bar Admissions:

1980 State Bar of California
1981 U.S. District Court for the Northern and Central Districts of California
1982 United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
1991 U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
1993 United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
1995 United States Supreme Court
1996 U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
Pro Hac Vice Admissions in the Districts of Arizona, Nevada and Illinois, and the States of Florida and New York

Professional Affiliations:

State Bar of California
American Bar Association
Federal Bar Association
Los Angeles County and Beverly Hills Bar Associations
Association of Business Trial Lawyers
International Aviation Women's Association
Aviation Insurance Association
Italian American Lawyers Association
Panel member and presenter at the national ABA convention and AIA Conference
Member and supporter of numerous non-profit and charitable organizations
Former Director, Woodcraft Rangers