NYC real estate heirs not shortchanged on their share of $2 billion family fortune: judge

A real-life “Succession” drama took a twist after a Manhattan judge dismissed claims that the daughter and grandson of a real estate mogul who once owned the Chrysler Building were cheated out of their share of the $2 billion fortune of the family.

In addition to the famous Manhattan skyscraper, father of four Sol Goldman’s massive holdings also included the Stanhope Hotel and 13 million square feet of Big Apple real estate. Goldman died in 1987 at the age of 70.

Amy Goldman, 70, a big Democratic donor, and her nephew, Steven Gurney Goldman, sued Amy’s sister Jane and Sol Goldman Investments in November, alleging that Jane manipulated a contractually mandated evaluation process for their actions, making them short. -changed.

A Manhattan Supreme Court judge ruled on Aug. 9 that the company could not have breached its contract — because the business itself was not actually a party to the agreement.

“The court was hard-pressed to find a single case in which a court allowed a breach of contract claim to proceed against a non-signatory entity,” the judge said in the ruling.

An appraisal done in 2022 valued Steven and Amy’s shares at $91 million each, instead of the roughly $130 million each had sought.

“After decades of being content to enjoy the benefits of (Jane Goldman’s) leadership and business, they’ve come back to say, ‘No, we’re not happy with that,'” the lawyer said. SGI David Elsberg for The Post.

The judge dismissed all claims against defendant SGI, but did not rule on other claims in the original litigation, including one alleging mismanagement.

Judge Melissa Crane described the original complaint as “three lawsuits” in one, according to the ruling, and found that some of the allegations belong in Surrogate’s Court.

“We are pleased that the Court upheld our claims against Jane Goldman for her unlawful and improper attempts to exercise autocratic control over Solil and her breach of fiduciary duty in connection with the SGI valuation,” Ryan Rakower, Steven’s attorney, said in a statement. statement to The Post.

“We intend to pursue assessment claims against those responsible for the misconduct and look forward to bringing our trust and success claims against Ms. Goldman in the Surrogate’s Court,” he added.

After their father’s death, Jane ran the family business and shared ownership with Diane, Amy and their brother Allan. When Allan died in 2022, his son Steven, 31, tried to gain more control, but Jane resisted.

“In what is best described as a real-life parallel to the television show ‘Succession’… Jane Goldman embarked on a reckless and illegal scheme to wrest control of New York’s largest private real estate empire from members of his family,” Amy and Steven claimed in court papers.

Sol Goldman’s empire was the largest private real estate portfolio in the city at the time of his death.