Former SC judge to mediate trademark dispute between Lodha brothers | Mumbai news

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Friday appointed former Supreme Court judge, Justice RV Raveendran, to mediate the trademark dispute between brothers Abhishek Lodha and Abhinandan Lodha after they agreed to participate in the process, indicating the possibility of an amicable settlement.

A single-judge bench of justice Arif Doctor said the mediation was the first scope of resolution between the two brothers, who are battling over the use of the brand ‘Lodha’ in their real estate businesses. The brand is associated with the real estate giant Lodha Group, founded by the brothers’ billionaire father, Mangal Prabhat Lodha, who’s currently a minister in the Maharashtra government.

Senior advocate Darius Khambata, representing Abhishek Lodha’s Macrotech Developers, and senior advocate Janak Dwarkadas, representing the House of Abhinandan Lodha (HoABL), informed the court on Friday that the brothers are willing to participate in the mediation process without any prejudice.

However, Dwarkadas questioned the significance of the mediation decision, implying that both parties should be bound by it. Khambata then submitted that Macrotech, being a public limited company, cannot be bound by the mediation decision. He then urged the court to add all 18 involved parties to the mediation so as to assign a broader perspective to the process and avoid any potential conflict in the future.

The court, however, was of the view that adding more people to the mediation might derail the process. “The mediation shall be between the two brothers first… If the dispute is settled between the two brothers, everything else will be settled. Hopefully, it will be solved and not end in 20 years of fighting…If the dispute gets settled between the two brothers, it will act as a domino effect for the other parties involved, leading to an overall resolution…However, it will be open for the mediator to add all the parties if the need arises.” If the mediation fails, the court will take up the matter further on March 21, the bench added.

Advocate Dwarkadas further requested the court to issue instructions to outline the modalities for the parties to follow during the mediation process. The court specified that everyone would have to follow the modalities, which need to be decided. “No one will be kept out of this order. This is an endeavour to resolve the matter amicably,” the court said.

Following the court proceedings on Friday, HoABL issued a statement highlighting that the matter should be resolved privately. “Mr Abhinandan Lodha continues to believe that family matters should not be settled in public. This is the reason he chose to maintain a dignified silence for over 10 years in the interest of the family. He does hope that his family honours all the commitments made to him as he has delivered not only on all his commitments but has also gone beyond, whenever called upon to help with advice, time, and money,” the statement read.

Abhishek Lodha also issued a statement, showing his commitment to the court’s order. “I am agreeable to go through the mediation process recommended by Honourable Justice Arif Doctor. Abhinandan is my younger brother and have a lot of love for him. I have always supported him in whatever manner possible and wished for his success. I hope this mediation process helps us reconcile the differences,” he said.

Macrotech Developers, the flagship company of the Lodha Group, has sought damages of over ₹5,000 crore from HoABL, a real estate consumer-tech company, alleging that it illegally used the brand names Lodha and Lodha Group.

Abhishek’s petition alleged that Abhinandan had been completely disassociated from the Lodha Group since 2015, when he set up his own business, Lodha Ventures. A family settlement dated March 31, 2017, outlined the terms of separation, which allegedly gave Macrotech Developers exclusivity over the Lodha brand. Abhinandan founded HoABL in 2021.

According to Abhishek’s petition, HoABL defrauded the Lodha Group by misleading its customers into believing they were associated with the Lodha Group’s real estate services. Moreover, the petition said, HoABL used the Lodha trademark illegally and unauthorisedly to advertise and sell real estate projects being developed by Macrotech Developers.

In response, HoABL denied using the name ‘Lodha’ for any of its projects in isolation. It told the court that there was no question of causing confusion among consumers, as the company was using the name ‘Lodha’ after Abhinandan Lodha’s own name.