ANAHEIM HILLS : Maglica Case Lawyers Conclude Arguments

The attorney for an Anaheim Hills woman seeking the largest palimony verdict ever urged jurors Tuesday to award Claire Maglica half of a $400 million flashlight empire, while the attorney for her former companion called her a liar who should get nothing.

The final statements came after more than six weeks of testimony in a case brought by Claire Maglica, 60, who shared a home and name with Anthony Maglica, 64, for more than 20 years, although they never married. An Orange County Superior Court jury in Santa Ana is expected to begin deliberations in the case today. .

“It’s time to do justice. Tony should have done it sooner,” said Claire’s attorney, John W. Keker.

He maintained that Anthony and Claire Maglica vowed repeatedly over their 23 years together to share everything, including Mag Instrument Inc., the flashlight business they built from a hole-in-the-wall machine shop and where Claire is executive vice president.

“No matter what you do, Tony’s going to be a very rich man,’ ” Keker said. “She’s asking for half of what they built together, and there’s enough money to go around.”

The attorney contended that even if Claire Maglica did sign a separate property agreement in 1977 vowing never to merge their assets, as Anthony claims she did, he acted in bad faith by coaxing her to do so without giving her a copy, advising her to see a lawyer, or making it clear to her that it meant she had no rights to the company.

Without her knowledge, he also prepared a will that granted her much less than she said he had repeatedly promised her, Keker said.

But attorneys for Anthony Maglica painted a different picture.

The oral agreement Claire claims the couple made to “live out of one pocket” never existed, and even if it did, it’s not an enforceable contract, said attorney Dennis M. Wasser.

To be legally binding, he said, a contract must be specific, with both parties sharing a common understanding of the terms.

“If I say to you, ‘I love you and I’ll always take care of you,’ that is not definite enough,” Wasser told jurors, referring to words Claire said Anthony uttered during a weekend getaway to Palm Springs shortly after they met in 1971. “Claire and Mr. Keker are asking you to convert words in a motel room into a contract and award her millions of dollars. That is not a contract. Those are words of love, words of passion. That is pillow talk.”

Claire Maglica contends that she put her faith in an oral agreement they made to share everything and that her trust did not erode until she caught Anthony trying to put stock in his children’s names in January, 1992. She filed her lawsuit within two years of that date, beating the statute of limitations for breach of contract.

Anthony is the sole shareholder in Mag Instruments Inc., which is based in Ontario.

Wasser countered that Anthony has always said he wanted total control of his company and property, and that Claire should have realized on many occasions before 1992 that he had no intentions of splitting the assets.

Wasser also urged jurors not to believe Claire Maglica’s testimony. In 1987, Wasser said, Claire submitted American Express invoices for reimbursement at Mag Instrument Inc. that had been altered to dramatically increase the dollar amounts. He prodded Claire about the documents when she took the stand.

“She did something fraudulent and deceitful and she lied to you about it on the witness stand,” Wasser said. “In order to rule for her, you have to be able to believe her story.”