Indian businessman asked by court to pay Rs 20000 Crore to four brothers, the reason is...

Five Indian brothers who have made a fortune in real estate and diamonds have been embroiled in an obscure 21-year legal battle that came to light this week when a multibillion-dollar US verdict—possibly the largest of the decade—was rendered.

Following a five-month trial, the jury decided that Haresh Jogani should split the shares of their Southern California real estate empire, which includes roughly 17,000 apartments valued at billions more, and pay his brothers Shashikant, Rajesh, Chetan, and Shailesh Jogani more than $2.5 billion (more than ₹ 20,000 crore) in damages. 

On Monday, the trial that concerns claims that Haresh broke a long-standing agreement with his siblings will continue with a punitive damages hearing that may increase the award. 

The 2003 lawsuit has already gone through five judges, 18 appeals, and several generations of lawyers in the Los Angeles Superior Court. Some of the attorneys are drawing parallels between it and the fictitious Victorian-era probate case that Charles Dickens wrote about in his 1852 novel Bleak House. With a new twist, Jogani v. Jogani is being referred to as the new Jarndyce v. Jarndyce.
Peter Ross, an attorney who represents Chetan and Rajesh Jogani said,  "At end of the book, there was no money, hence the name, Bleak House. That's not the case here. There's billions here that remain to be distributed."

The majority of multibillion-dollar verdicts in the US are against large corporations, which makes the case even more unique. The amount that each brother ends up walking away with depends on the fluctuations in the real estate market; flat prices have declined from their peak in 2022 as a result of rising borrowing costs and declining property values brought on by higher interest rates. According to MSCI Real Assets, the Los Angeles area's average flat price in January was $329,000, a 26% decrease from the peak in November 2022. 

Since the jury is still deliberating, defendant Haresh Jogani's attorney, Rick Richmond, declined to comment. Haresh Jogani argued that his brothers couldn't demonstrate they were in a partnership with him without a formal contract. However, the jury concluded that Haresh had breached an oral agreement. 

Oral agreements are customary in the diamond trade and among Gujaratis, according to testimony presented to the jury. Steve Friedman, an attorney for Shashi Jogani, "The law is you can have oral contracts that are just as valuable as written contracts."

Haresh Jogani moved to remove the judge as the trial was coming to an end, accusing her of misbehaviour and "racial animosity" towards his attorney. Judge Susan Bryant-Deason refuted allegations that she was "biassed or prejudiced for or against" any of the parties or solicitors in the case in a filing last week. She also denied having done anything improper. The motion is currently pending after she forwarded it to the supervising judge of the court. 

In addition to $1.8 billion to Shashi, $234 million to Chetan, and $360 million to Rajesh for breaking the terms of the real estate partnership, the jury also awarded $165 million in damages to the brothers Chetan and Rajesh for Haresh's breach of the diamond partnership.

According to Ross, the jury also determined that Shashi, who is currently 77 years old, owns 50% of the real estate partnership, with Haresh owning 24%, Rajesh 10%, Shailesh 9.5%, and Chetan, the youngest, 62, 6.5%. 

The properties brought in as much as $137 million annually in net operating income, according to 37-year-old Michael Friedman, who has been Shashi's attorney since 2014, the year he was admitted to the bar. Michael Friedman practices with his father, Steve. 

 He stated,"There's an enormous portfolio that Shashi built. And it sustains itself." Jogani v. Jogani, California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, Case No. BC290553.