Jane Goldman has fired back at family members who are battling for control of her late father’s multi-billion dollar real estate empire.
The youngest of Sol Goldman’s four children moved to throw out a lawsuit brought by her nephew and sister, who depicted Jane’s control of the family fortune as a real-life version of a popular TV drama.
“Plaintiffs begin the complaint by comparing their allegations to the critically acclaimed television series Succession,” Jane’s attorneys wrote in a motion filed late last week to dismiss the case. “The comparison fits in one respect: both are works of fiction.”
Steven Gurney-Goldman — the son of Jane’s brother Allan Goldman, who died in 2022 — and Jane’s sister Amy Goldman Fowler sued Jane and another sister, Diane, last year claiming Jane had tried to short-change them out of their share of the family company.
The two had exercised options allowing them to sell their shares back to an entity that holds about 150 Goldman properties named Sol Goldman Investments, or SGI.
The value of those shares is determined by an appraisal. Steven and Amy alleged that Jane put pressure on Newmark, the appraiser, to deflate the properties’ value so that she could buy back the shares at a lower price.
In her response, Jane’s attorneys argued that the lawsuit failed to prove she acted improperly when it came to the appraisal process. They also argued that the appraisal did not specifically damage Steven and Amy, given that it equally affected all the family members who owned shares.
Jane’s attorney, Jason Cyrulnik, wrote in an email that Steven’s and Amy’s claims are a “meritless and brazen attempt to disavow Sol Goldman’s wishes for the family business and unfairly enrich themselves.”
“We look forward to further setting the record straight in court and vindicating Jane’s many years of faithful dedication to the business her father built,” he wrote.
A spokesperson for Steven and Amy declined to comment.
The case focuses on technical matters of the appraisal process. Steven and Amy’s lawsuit identified several discounts which they claim Newmark improperly applied to the portfolio. Jane’s motion to dismiss doesn’t address those specific issues, focusing instead on the legal mechanics.
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Outside of the legal arcana, the dispute is heavy with mud-throwing.
Steven and Amy’s lawsuit painted a picture of Jane as a power-hungry leader who refused to share control of the company with her family members.
Jane’s response noted that Amy chose to follow pursuits such as gardening instead of real estate (“funded by handsome distributions from the Goldman real estate enterprise generated by Jane’s management of the business”) and alleges Steven’s motivation for bringing the suit was because he was not allowed a management position after his father died.