A real-life “Succession” drama has taken a turn after a Manhattan judge threw out claims that the daughter and grandson of a real estate mogul who once owned the Chrysler building had been low-balled for their share of the family’s $2 billion fortune.
In addition to the famed Manhattan skyscraper, father of four Sol Goldman’s massive holdings also once included the Stanhope Hotel and 13 million square feet of Big Apple real estate. Goldman died in 1987 at age 70.
Amy Goldman, 70, a big-time Democratic donor, and her nephew, Steven Gurney Goldman, sued Amy’s sister, Jane, and Sol Goldman Investments in November, claiming Jane manipulated a contractually mandated appraisal process for their shares, causing them to be short-changed.
A Manhattan Supreme Court judge ruled Aug. 9 that the company couldn’t have breached its contract — because the business itself was not actually a party to the deal.
“The court was hard pressed to find a single case where a court allowed a claim for breach of contract to proceed against a non-signatory entity,” the judge stated in the ruling.
An appraisal done in 2022 valued Steven and Amy’s shares at $91 million each, instead of the roughly $130 million apiece they had sought.
“After decades of being content to enjoy the benefits of [Jane Goldman’s] leadership and from the business, they turned around to say, ‘No, we’re not happy with that,’” SGI attorney David Elsberg told The Post.
The judge dismissed all claims against defendant SGI, but didn’t rule on other claims in the original litigation, including one alleging improper management.
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 sustained our claims against Jane Goldman for her unlawful and improper attempts to exercise autocratic control over Solil and breach of fiduciary duty in connection with the SGI appraisal,” Ryan Rakower, Steven’s attorney, said in a statement to The Post.
“We intend to pursue the appraisal-related claims against the individuals responsible for the misconduct, and look forward to bringing our trust and estate-related claims against Ms. Goldman to the Surrogate’s Court,” he added.
After their father’s death, Jane helmed 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 has engaged in a brazen and illegal scheme to wrest control of the largest privately owned real estate empire in New York City from her family members,” 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.
