Riaz Mamdani's company to pay $2M in partial class action settlement
A company owned by real estate developer Riaz Mamdani will pay more than $2 million in a partial settlement over a class action lawsuit, allowing investors to recoup roughly half of what they lost in an alleged conspiracy.
But the deal states Mamdani and his companies don't accept any guilt or liability in the alleged scheme at the centre of the case, which involved a complex web of investments in a southeast Calgary strip mall.
As a result of the settlement, approved by Court of Queen's Bench Justice Alan Macleod earlier this month, all of the claims against Mamdani and his companies are dismissed.
Partner denies allegations
The class action continues against the remaining defendants, including Shariff Chandran, Mamdani's former business partner who denies the allegations against him.
"We see it as a real win for class members," said Andrew Sunter, a lawyer representing investors in the lawsuit.
"In a lot of these types of cases, they get pennies on the dollar, and this is a partial settlement with one of the defendants, and we're seeing a recovery of close to 50 per cent (of lost investments)."
But Frank Percival, a Calgary man who claims he lost $50,000 in the strip mall investment in 2008, said he has mixed emotions about the settlement.
"We can say we're happy that we won, but what did we win? We got half our money or less, and it's taken 10 years to do it," Percival said.
Mamdani declined an interview request. In a statement, he said he hopes investors will recoup their losses from the remaining defendants.
The real estate developer was shot six times outside his Upper Mount Royal mansion in December 2016 in what police later called an attempted murder, but investigators have made no arrests.
A long list of people had grievances against Mamdani, given that he, his wife and his companies have been involved in dozens of lawsuits. But it's unknown whether those cases had anything to do with the shooting.
The partial settlement involves a strip mall called Glenmore & Centre, located at 6624 and 6626 Centre Street S.E. According to the lawsuit, people who invested in the development were told they'd get steady returns every three months and would also receive a share of revenues from an eventual sale of the property.
Sunter said several investors put up hundreds of thousands of dollars for the project — in some cases their life savings — and allegedly never saw their initial investment again.
According to Sunter, an estimated 110 investors are owed roughly $4.5 million. His firm filed the lawsuit in 2012 and it was certified as a class action more than a year later.
None of the claims have been proven.
Mamdani and Chandran are named in a separate omnibus class action lawsuit that alleges 2,200 investors lost $180 million in a conspiracy involving 21 other projects. They both deny the allegations.
The Glenmore & Centre case was carved out of the larger class action by court order.
Chandran said in an interview the strip mall case has been dragging through the courts.
"If they (the plaintiffs) want to continue with it, we'll see where it goes," he said, adding he'll keep fighting the allegations.
According to court records, the partial settlement over the Glenmore & Centre lawsuit is a "compromise of disputed claims."
Strategic Group says case 'fully resolved'
The Strategic Group, Mamdani's flagship real estate firm, noted in a press release last week the case is now fully resolved against the company and its chief executive.
"It is our hope the plaintiffs will recover their losses," Mamdani said in the statement.
The release doesn't mention the multimillion-dollar settlement but notes the court approved a "mechanism" allowing for the payment of legal fees.
Glenmore & Centre Ltd., another of Mamdani's companies, agreed to pay $2.25 million in the partial settlement. While lawyers will take roughly $357,000, plus administrative costs, the remaining funds will go to investors.
They have until the end of November to file claims, which Sunter will review to ensure they're valid before submitting them to court for approval.
Sunter expects investors will start receiving money by late January 2019.
"Once we have administered this payout, we'll focus on seeing what additional recovery we can get for our clients," he said.
