Professional Qualifications

Mr. Quazzo has served as litigation counsel to some of the largest companies in the United States, as well as privately held businesses, high-net-worth individuals, directors and officers, founders and trustees. He is known for his depth of experience, thoughtful approach and commitment to meeting a client’s unique business objectives through practical litigation strategies.

Maintaining a versatile commercial litigation practice, Mr. Quazzo regularly handles disputes involving breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud and other business torts. He also litigates partnership and shareholder disputes, corporate governance matters and disputes arising from the sale, purchase or leasing of real property. Mr. Quazzo’s experience includes litigation involving manufacturers, distributors, suppliers and other business entities.

Committed to client service, Mr. Quazzo focuses on achieving the best possible outcome in every case, regardless of size or complexity. Some of his notable matters include defending the directors and officers of a mortgage bank against a $35 million breach-of-fiduciary-duty shareholder claim and representing the selling shareholders of a technology company against indemnity claims of $25 million. Mr. Quazzo also represented a major automobile company in a $3 million dispute with two suppliers involving the shipment of vehicles between California and Hawaii. In addition, he successfully defended sellers of a San Francisco commercial property against a title insurance company’s $3.3 million claim, obtaining a pretrial dismissal without payment by the sellers.

Mr. Quazzo devotes significant time to pro bono matters. His work on behalf of at-risk youth in the Bay Area through The Guardsmen earned him the organization’s Golden Eagle Award. He also received the Community Service Award from the Jack Berman Advocacy Center for legal work on behalf of victims of gun violence. In another matter, Marco successfully defended a beneficiary of his parents’ trust in litigation brought by other beneficiaries who sought to remove the client from his long-time home in San Francisco. The client obtained judgment in his favor following trial.

After earning his law degree from UC Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall), Mr. Quazzo served as a law clerk for the Hon. D. Lowell Jensen of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. He has been named a Northern California Super Lawyer for the following years: 2004, 2006 – 2012, 2015-2017 and 2019-2026 and has a 5-star AV Rating with Martindale-Hubbell.

Select Representative Matters

Complex Commercial Litigation

• 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.
• Secured summary judgment in U.S. District Court on behalf of an investment bank against a company that refused to pay a $2 million “success fee” after the company was acquired in a private equity transaction.
• 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).

Shareholder Litigation

• 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.   
• Defended the directors and officers of a mortgage bank against breach of fiduciary duty claims by shareholders who sought $30 million in damages.
• 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.
• Represented the general partner of a family investment partnership against claims of breach of fiduciary duty and fraud asserted by 15 limited partners.
• 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

• 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.
• 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.
• 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 the sellers paying nothing to the title company.
• 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.
• Represented two real estate developers in an eight-week jury trial in San Francisco Superior Court against claims of fraud and breach of contract.
• Litigated claims against a real estate broker for breach of fiduciary duty and fraud on behalf of a commercial property developer.
• 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.
• 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.
• Defended a leading university in a jury trial involving premises liability claims, and resolved the case by settlement two weeks into trial.

Education

J.D., UC Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall), (Order of the Coif) 

A.B., Harvard University
Magna Cum Laude

Bar Admissions

California

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

U.S. District Court, Northern, Central and Eastern Districts of California

Presentations

• 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
• Guest Lecturer, University of San Francisco Law School, Corporate Governance Seminar
• Faculty Member, University of San Francisco Law School, Intensive Advocacy Program
• Faculty Member and Lecturer, National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA)