Federal Judge Rules To Allow Foreclosure Proceedings On Jetall Capital-Owned Office Building
Despite a series of legal maneuvers, more of Jetall Capital CEO Ali Choudhri’s real estate seems to be slipping out of his grasp.
A bankruptcy judge last week overturned a Harris County temporary restraining order that prevented lender Veritex Community Bank from foreclosing on 50 Briar Hollow Lane, a two-building, 185K SF complex in the Uptown/Galleria area, The Real Deal reported.
Veritex Community Bank lent a Choudhri-owned LLC $20M for the Briar Hollow property in 2013 and won bankruptcy court approval on June 4 to proceed with foreclosure proceedings, according to TRD.
Choudhri responded that day by filing a temporary restraining order, which was granted, Harris County court records show, the fourth time the Jetall CEO filed for a restraining order on the asset since the company's legal battle with Veritex began.
However, later the same day, June 4, Veritex filed an emergency motion in bankruptcy court to nullify the restraining order. Judge Marvin Isgur ruled in favor of Veritex, dissolving the order, TRD reported.
Isgur also appointed a Chapter 11 trustee for the property, according to TRD.
The setback for Jetall comes ahead of a bankruptcy sale of its 285K SF office building at 2425 W. Loop S., part of the portfolio listed on its website. Choudhri gave Bisnow a tour of that building last summer.
Hilco Real Estate is advertising the bankruptcy sale of that building and collecting qualifying bids through Friday. It plans to hold a sale confirmation hearing on July 8.
Choudhri is also in a legal battle with a tenant at 1001 W. Loop S., another office building he is fighting to keep out of foreclosure, according to TRD. Xavier Academy is suing the company, claiming it was locked out of the property after telling Choudhri it was not interested in buying its rental space. Xavier Academy also claims it wasn't reimbursed for $715K in tenant improvement costs.
“Mr. Choudhri became angry, entered a tirade, and promised retaliation,” Xavier Academy founder Richard De La Cuadra said in a court declaration, according to TRD. “Mr. Choudhri had stated that he had been ‘nice’ to me but no longer if Xavier rejected his proposal.”
In a response to TRD, a Jetall spokesperson said, “The landlord has not been in any sort of default; the tenant is in default.”
The company also said it could provide court transcripts to prove its case, but those weren't obtained by publication time.
