'Fine of Rs 2072 crore', big decision of US court in the dispute of five brothers of Indian origin

A US jury has ordered huge damages worth billions of dollars in a legal dispute with five brothers of Indian origin. The case involves five brothers and their significant assets in Los Angeles real estate, Bloomberg reports.

After a lengthy lawsuit, one brother, Haresh Jogani, has been ordered to pay more than $2.5 billion (roughly Rs. 2,072 crores) in damages to his brothers. Additionally, it will also have to share its assets, which include approximately 17,000 apartments. Their value is more than billions of US dollars.

The judgment comes in a 21-year-old land dispute in which Haresh Jogani was ordered to pay Rs 2,000 crore in damages to his four brothers and divide the shares of their property empire in Southern California, Bloomberg reported.

The trial, which began in 2003, ultimately came to a jury verdict. Before this, the case went through 18 appeals, several lawyers and five judges in the Los Angeles Superior Court. The lawsuit alleged that Haresh Jogani had violated his long-standing partnership with his brothers. According to reports, the hearing on punitive damages has also been listed on Monday, hence there are speculations that the existing fine of Rs 2,000 crore may also be increased.

Jogani brothers, natives of Gujarat, had made their mark through the diamond trade in Europe, Africa, North America and the Middle East. According to the complaint filed by Shashikant Jogani in 2003, he moved to California in 1969 and started his firm in the gemstone business and property portfolio.

In the early 1990s, when it was incurring losses during the recession, Shashikant Jogani brought his brothers on board and made them partners in his firm. According to the complaint, Haresh Jogani terminated this oral agreement and "forcibly removed" his brother (Shashikant Jogani) from the management. Also refused to pay them.

According to Shashikant Jogani's complaint, this was when the firm embarked on a buying spree, eventually building a portfolio of around 17,000 apartment units. Haresh Jogani, on the other hand, argued that without a written agreement, his siblings could not prove that they had a partnership with him. However, the Los Angeles court held that Haresh breached an oral contract. The jury member acknowledged that verbal agreements are in vogue both between the diamond trade and the Gujarati community.