Judgment against development cut in half

Sue Doyle

A $54.4-million judgment against a Newport Beach development company

was slashed by more than half to $23 million by a Superior Court judge

Friday.

William Lyon Co. was ordered by a jury in March to pay $54.4 million

to former employee John Markley, who had sued the firm for breach of

contract.

The developer hired Markley in 1983 to build apartment complexes and

then fired him 10 years later. The company sued Markley for $19 million

after he refused to pledge some of his ownership interests to help

William Lyon Co. pay off bank loans.

Markley filed a counter-suit against the company and won the

$54.4-million award. The developers appealed the judgment Thursday.

Markley has 20 days to decide whether to accept the $23 million.

If he accepts the new judgment, William Lyon Co. will pay it and end

the seven-year legal battle, said Don Morrow, an attorney for the

developer.

“I still think it’s too high, but it’s better than the $54 million,”

Morrow said. “We’ll make up our mind, depending on what he does.”

Markley’s attorney, Herbert Hafif, could not be reached for comment

Friday.