21-Year Legal Battle Winds Down With 17,000-Unit Portfolio Broken Up, $2.5B In Damages Awarded

A two-decade legal battle between five brothers has resulted in a jury finding that Haresh Jogani should portion out ownership stakes in a roughly 17,000-apartment portfolio and pay his brothers Shashikant, Rajesh, Chetan and Shailesh Jogani more than $2.5B in damages. 

The five-month trial and 21-year legal saga concerning allegations that Haresh breached an agreement with the other brothers isn't over, Bloomberg reported. A punitive damages hearing scheduled for Monday will add to the award, though the amount to be added will be decided during the hearing. 

"The jury gave us everything our client asked for," Steven R. Friedman, attorney for Shakishant, told Bisnow. "We're very satisfied."

A spokesperson for Larson LLP, which is representing Haresh Jogani, declined to comment until the jury concludes all of its deliberations.

Shashikant Jogani moved to California in 1969 and set up a gemstone business. His family had long been in the diamond trade in his native India. In addition to the gem business, Shashikant also amassed a notable portfolio of apartments, Bloomberg reported. In 1994, the Los Angeles Times called him one of Los Angeles' largest residential landlords. 

The recession in the 1990s followed by the 1994 Northridge earthquake, which killed 16 people in apartments he owned, created mounting losses for Jogani. His four brothers joined him as partners and after that, grew the apartment portfolio to nearly 17,000 units, Bloomberg reported.

The brothers were working together until Haresh “forcibly removed” Shashikant  from managing the firm and refused to pay him, according to Shashikant's complaint. Haresh argued that, because the brothers never had a written agreement, there was no proof that they had ever been partners.

But in the trial, the jury was presented with evidence that oral agreements are common in both Gujarat, India, where the family is from, and the diamond business in which they operate. 

Ultimately, a jury awarded $2.5B in damages to the brothers, in various amounts to each brother, and also that half of the real estate partnership should go to Shashikant and that Haresh should have 24%. The remaining ownership was parceled out between the other three brothers, with the youngest brother receiving the smallest share at 6.5%, Bloomberg reported. 

Lawrence Ecoff, the attorney for Shailesh Jogani, said he was "extremely pleased" with the jury verdict. Representatives for the other brothers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.