Georges Marciano said he has filed an appeal with the California Supreme Court of a lower court ruling ordering the Guess Inc. co-founder to pay damages to five former employees who said they were defamed and suffered emotional distress when he sued them for embezzlement.

A Los Angeles jury last month awarded each employee $74 million for a total judgment of $370 million. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the decision last week.

Marciano, who is running for governor of California as an independent, said he was denied the opportunity to present a meaningful defense during the trial. The appeal was filed Wednesday, according to a news release.

Marciano sued the former employees for embezzlement, but Judge Elizabeth White dismissed the case. She let stand cross-complaints against Marciano, however, and then did not allow Marciano to speak in his own defense. He was also prevented from calling or cross-examining witnesses.

“I am taking this case to the Supreme Court because the constitutional protections that we all rely on have been denied,” he said in a statement. “I am concerned that if one judge can keep me from having my day in court, then the same injustice can be applied to all Californians.”

The former employees argued during the trial that Marciano continued to make false claims and sent harassing e-mails and letters to them and their families, even after separate investigations by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Beverly Hills Police Department found no wrongdoing by them