Partner Rodney Drinnon Secures Major Judgement in Decade-Long Suit

McCathern Houston Co-Managing Partner Rodney L. Drinnon scored a recent significant victory for Osama Abdullatif (“Latif”) and Mokaram-Latif West Loop, Ltd. in a decade-long lawsuit against Ali Choudhri.

In 2012, Mr. Drinnon’s client initially filed suit when Choudhri claimed 50% interest on a piece of prime real estate in Houston’s Galleria area. Latif and Ali Mokaram, equal limited partners in Mokaram-Latif West Loop, Ltd., owned the property until Mokaram purportedly sold Choudri an interest in the property in relation to a separate business deal.

The ten years of litigation have multiplied into five separate cases. It has become one of Houston’s most prolonged legal battles, with multiple appeals and a defendant who has gone through over a hundred attorneys. It also has spilled over into every legal forum, including the Texas Supreme Court and U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The legal battle has become so contentious that a sitting appellate judge has been appointed by the Presiding Judge of the 11th Administrative Judicial Region of Texas—making this the sixth judge to oversee the proceedings.

Following a trial on July 5, 2022, Mr. Drinnon’s client was awarded $934,074.84 in attorneys’ fees related to a declaratory judgment action Choudhri had filed against him. The verdict also granted Latif sole control of the management of the building and recognized him as the sole limited partner—a significant victory for Mr. Drinnon’s client in what has been a novel-worthy battle.

The style of the case is Mokaram-Latif West Loop, Ltd. v. Ali Choudhri and Angel Valle, cause number 2012-27197 in the 333rd Judicial District Court of Harris County, Texas.