Area law firm announces trial victory in union case

Two months ago, an Oakland County jury returned a verdict, after a mere 30 minutes of deliberation, awarding Security Police and Fire Professionals of America (SPFPA) more than $500,000 in damages, including nearly $400,000 in attorney's fees, concluding 2-½ years of litigation by SPFPA against a disgruntled former employee. Farmington Hills-based Young, Garcia, & Quadrozzi represented SPFPA, an international union of some 27,000 private police, security, and fire professionals. The case involved numerous breaches of a prior settlement agreement between SPFPA and its former member Steven Maritas, primarily related to repeated use of SPFPA's trademarked name and acronym in hundreds of internet posts. Prior to trial, the firm successfully obtained a ruling from Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Martha Anderson that the agreement was valid and had been breached. As a result, the jury's role was to determine SPFPA's damages and attorney's fees. "We are very pleased with the jury's verdict and the outcome of the case," said David Garcia, a shareholder in the firm and lead trial counsel in the case. "SPFPA retained the firm to aggressively prosecute this case, after two prior lawsuits against Maritas that resulted in settlement agreements that Maritas habitually disregarded. "The jury's verdict, which awarded to SPFPA 100 percent of the damages and fees sought, was an unmistakable statement as to the magnitude and malice of Maritas' online statements against the union." Young, Garcia, & Quadrozzi, is a compact litigation boutique that focuses on complex business litigation. For nearly 30 years, the firm has represented a diverse array of clients across a broad range of industries. Published: Tue, Jan 25, 2022