Amit Doshi added another lawsuit to the infamous ongoing feud between himself and his former business partner Michael Besen.
Doshi sued Besen and his company New York City Management over control of a multifamily property at 94-16 34th Road in Jackson Heights, records filed in Manhattan state supreme court Thursday show.
Doshi and business partner Robert Farhadian are managing members of the LLC that owns the building, and Besen’s NYC Management began serving as managing agent of the property in 2001, according to the lawsuit.
Doshi and Farhadian are now trying to install Rikin Sheth of Berik Management as property manager, but Besen and NYC Management have so far refused to step aside, the lawsuit claimed.
He most recently sent Besen and NYC Management a letter on Jan. 8 “demanding that they turn over the management to Rikin Sheth,” but Besen has still not done so, according to court documents.
Doshi is suing Besen and NYC Management for breach of contract and seeking an injunction that would force Besen to turn over management of the six-story, 43-unit Queens property to Berik Management.
“Besen has no right to veto or otherwise interfere with the decision to terminate NYC Management,” the lawsuit reads.
Doshi declined to comment on the lawsuit, and Besen did not respond to a request for comment.
Besen and Doshi had been longtime business partners at the investment sales firm Besen & Associates, but their relationship took a nasty turn in May 2018, when Besen sued Doshi for $10 million over accusations that he had set up a secret “Doshi Account” to take nearly $1.5 million from the company for personal investments.
Doshi left the firm for Meridian Capital that summer and accused Besen of mismanaging the company on his way out the door.
The Jackson Heights property came up in Besen’s lawsuit as well, as he accused Doshi of trying to steal the property away from him by secretly forming a new company called Jackson Partners to take control of the building. The suit described his actions as “outright war” against Besen.
Ram Gupta, a former business partner of Besen and Doshi, filed a lawsuit of his own in March in an effort to end a partnership between himself, Besen and Doshi at two unprofitable Bronx properties. The suit accuses Besen of trying to “foist his nemesis Doshi on Gupta” so that Besen could walk away with ownership of the properties at 624 East 220th Street and 655 East 223rd Street.
Write to Eddie Small at es@therealdeal.com