Ali Choudhri’s lender is trying to foreclose on his office building again, and this time, Choudhri is asking the court to consider his health.
The embattled Houston-based developer has so far evaded foreclosure of 1001 West Loop South, the former Xerox building that Choudhri owns and has his office.
Toronto-based lender Romspen filed its latest foreclosure notice on May 30. The auction is scheduled for July 2. The lender claims Choudhri defaulted on an $18.5 million mortgage dated September 2019.
Romspen has been attempting to foreclose on this property for more than a year.
The lender unsuccessfully filed for foreclosure the first time in May 2023. It filed again in June. Then again this past February.
So far, Choudhri — via entities related to him and his company Jetall Capital — has stymied these attempts with various legal maneuvers.
First, he filed for a restraining order, claiming his subsidiary wasn’t informed of the sale. Then, he filed for bankruptcy in February, which staved off the foreclosure. This past March, Choudhri filed a lawsuit alleging that the transfer of the property (in 2019) was flawed.
On June 12, his lawyer filed a motion to delay a hearing related to the March lawsuit to “[prevent] a foreclosure sale” until after the suit is decided. His lawyer wrote that Choudhri had a stroke on June 2 and would be restricted from work until July 7.
The property at 1001 West Loop South is a Class B office building that was built in 1979. It spans 255,000 square feet.
This is just one of the ongoing legal battles the developer is facing.
In October 2023, Choudhri was accused of fraud, racketeering, bribery and theft in a federal lawsuit related to 829 Yale Street.
He’s also battling another lender about the building located at 2425 West Loop South.
The National Bank of Kuwait has been trying to foreclose on a $52 million loan for that building for more than a year. Last month, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas ordered Hilco Real Estate to conduct a bankruptcy sale of the property.
Earlier this month, Choudhri lost a temporary restraining order that protected a Post Oak asset from foreclosure. Despite multiple attempts to stall the proceedings, bankruptcy Judge Marvin Isgur ruled in favor of Veritex Community Bank, which provided a $20 million loan for 50 Briar Hollow Lane. Judge Isgur appointed a Chapter 11 trustee for the property.
Choudhri is also the subject of a lawsuit from tenant Xavier Academy.
The school claims Choudhri failed to reimburse it for $716,000 in improvement costs. It also claims it was locked out of the property after Choudhri offered to sell the space it was renting.
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