Anthony "Tony" Maglica (Croatian: '' Ante Maglica'') (born 1930) is the owner and founder of

Mag Instrument Inc Maglite (also spelled Mag-Lite, stylized as MAG-LITE) is a brand of flashlight manufactured in the United States by Mag Instrument, Inc. located in Ontario, California, and founded by Anthony Maglica. It was introduced in 1979. Constructed princ ...

, the company that manufactures the

Maglite Maglite (also spelled Mag-Lite, stylized as MAG-LITE) is a brand of flashlight manufactured in the United States by Mag Instrument, Inc. located in Ontario, California, and founded by Anthony Maglica. It was introduced in 1979. Constructed princ ...

flashlight A flashlight ( US, Canada) or torch ( UK, Australia) is a portable hand-held electric lamp. Formerly, the light source typically was a miniature incandescent light bulb, but these have been displaced by light-emitting diodes (LEDs) since the ...

which was designed by Maglica. The Maglite is a powerful and durable flashlight that has become standard issue gear used by police officers in the USA.

Early life

Although born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, Maglica grew up on the island of

Zlarin Zlarin is a small island off the Dalmatian coast of Croatia near the mainland city of Šibenik. Administratively, it is part of Šibenik-Knin County. In the winter time, the island has a population of 284, but from March to October its population ...

, which is off the coast of

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. During the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, his family returned to their homeland.

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

ravaged Croatia, and in 1950 he returned to the United States, settling in

Ontario, California Ontario is a city in southwestern San Bernardino County in the U.S. state of California, east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino, the county seat. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire metropolitan area, ...

. Speaking little

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, he obtained work as a machinist. While working there, he learned that one of his bosses operated a side business machining hydraulic parts. Tony learned of a metal lathe for sale for $1000 and convinced the seller to accept a $125 deposit, most of his money at the time, with the remainder being paid off with monthly payments. That business grew into his own machine shop which he incorporated in 1974 called Mag Instrument Inc. Here he met Claire Halasz, his future partner in life and in business, when he hired her to decorate his machine shop. Although they didn't marry, Claire would eventually reside with him and take his surname. She had two sons, Stephen and Christopher, and one daughter, Jackie, who would come to know Tony as their stepfather.

Family Affairs

As the Maglite became popular and the company grew, Mag Instruments Inc. became a family operated company with Tony as President, Claire operating the marketing, personnel and purchasing departments, and Claire's sons, Stephen and Christopher Halasz, holding positions in the company as Vice President and Director of Research and Development, respectively. In 1992 though, there was a shakeup at the company when Claire discovered that Tony had been arranging to leave the company to his children from a previous marriage upon his death. This started a bitter family battle that would last over a decade and result in Claire and her sons leaving the company, Claire filing a palimony

lawsuit - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...

against Tony for $200 million, and Claire's sons starting their own flashlight company in 1997.

Palimony lawsuit

In 1992, after learning of Maglica's business plans, their relationship ended and Claire filed a palimony suit for, among other things,

breach of contract Breach of contract is a legal cause of action and a type of civil wrong, in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other party ...

, breach of

partnership A partnership is an arrangement where parties, known as business partners, agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments o ...

agreement,

fraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compens ...

, breach of

fiduciary A fiduciary is a person who holds a legal or ethical relationship of trust with one or more other parties (person or group of persons). Typically, a fiduciary prudently takes care of money or other assets for another person. One party, for exampl ...

duty and

quantum meruit ''Quantum meruit'' is a Latin phrase meaning "what one has earned". In the context of contract law, it means something along the lines of "reasonable value of services". In the United States, the elements of ''quantum meruit'' are determined by ...

in Orange County

Superior Court In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...

seeking $200 million in

damages At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognised at ...

. The lawsuit went to

jury trial A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a Trial, legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or Question of law, findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial in which a judge or Judicial panel, panel of judges makes all decisions. ...

, covered by

Court TV Court TV is an American digital broadcast network and former cable television channel. It was originally launched in 1991 with a focus on crime-themed programs such as true crime documentary series, legal analysis talk shows, and live news cove ...

to large and involved audiences, awarded Claire $84 million in the Spring of 1994. The judgment was appealed to the

California Courts of Appeal The California Courts of Appeal are the state intermediate appellate courts in the U.S. state of California. The state is geographically divided along county lines into six appellate districts.

where, in 1998, was reversed and remanded. The court stated that the award was incorrect because the damages should have been the value of her

services Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a pu ...

, not the amount of the benefit of her services. After being remanded and requiring a new trial, Claire

settled A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer. Settle ...

with Mag Instrument Inc in 2000 for $29 million.

Claire's sons and Bison Sportslights, Inc.

Claire's sons, Stephen and Christopher Halasz, were eventually forced to leave their positions at Mag Instrument, Inc. due to the souring relationship with Tony Maglica. In 1997, the brothers founded Bison Sportslights Inc in Denver, Colorado, seeking to remedy the problem of the "flashlight blackhole"; the dark area at the center of lens adjustable flashlights. The brothers released a product that demonstrated some efficacy to the problem, but were sued in 2002 by Mag Instrument Inc in ''Mag Instrument Inc. v. Bison Sportslights Inc et al. Central District Court of California, Case # CV-023187'' for stealing

trade secret Trade secrets are a type of intellectual property that includes formulas, practices, processes, designs, instruments, patterns, or compilations of information that have inherent economic value because they are not generally known or readily asc ...

s learned while working at Mag Instrument, Inc. and trying to poach employees. Bison Sportslights, Inc. were found liable for willful and malicious

misappropriation In law, misappropriation is the unauthorized use of another's name, likeness, identity, property, discoveries, inventions, etc without that person's permission, resulting in harm to that person. Another use of the word refers to intentional a ...

of trade secrets, malicious

breach of confidence The tort A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with criminal wrongs that are ...

, malicious

false advertising False advertising is defined as the act of publishing, transmitting, or otherwise publicly circulating an advertisement containing a false claim, or statement, made intentionally (or recklessly) to promote the sale of property, goods, or servic ...

, and malicious

unfair competition Unfair may refer to: * Double Taz and Double LeBron James in multiverses ''fair''; unfairness or injustice * ''Unfair'' (drama), Japanese television series * '' Unfair: The Movie'' * Unfair (song), a song by South Korean boy group EXO