A US court recently asked a businessman of Gujarat origin, Haresh Jogani, to pay ₹20,000 cr to four of his brothers in a business dispute case.
Five brothers including Haresh, Shashikant, Rajesh, Chetan, and Shailesh Jogani had a diamond empire in the USA and a disputed property in Los Angeles.
The dispute between the five brothers was stuck in court for 21 years.
In the verdict, Haresh Jogani has been ordered by the US court to pay $2.5 billion i.e. more than ₹20,000 crores compensation to his four brothers and shares of the Southern California property among themselves. The value of this property itself is in billions.
The jury awarded brothers Chetan and Rajesh $165 million, awarded compensation of $1.8 billion to Shashikant, $234 million to Chetan, and $360 million to Rajesh for breach of real estate partnership.
Jogani vs Jogani case
Haresh Jogani was accused of breaking the long-standing partnership with his brothers.
The Jogani family, originally from Gujarat, had spread their diamond business in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and North America. According to a complaint filed in 2003, Shashikant Jogani left for California in 1969 where he started a solo firm named James Business and started building a property portfolio.
However, the recession in the early 1990s and the 1994 Northridge earthquake weakened the portfolio, and four other brothers were bought in as partners.
The firm then embarked on a buying spree that eventually built up a portfolio of around 17,000 apartments with the brothers’ collaboration.
However, Haresh forced his brother out of the firm’s management and refused to give up his share.
Haresh argued that there was never a written agreement between him and the brothers.
The jury, however, after hearing the witnesses found that Haresh had breached the verbal contract.
Moreover, when the case was about to conclude, Haresh sought disqualification of the judge, accusing him of sexual animosity towards the lawyer. Judge Susan Bryant-Deason dismissed those charges last week.