A bitter dispute between the Hershey Friedman-controlled Azorim company and the private company Cameron Holdings has now come to an end: following an arbitration process between the parties conducted by Attorney Ram Caspi, Cameron purchased Azorim's share of a prestigious plot of land in the heart of the Romema neighborhood in Jerusalem.
At the heart of the conflict is a land reserve that Cameron purchased in 2005, on the corner of Shari Yisrael and Torah Mitzion streets, on which it planned to build a luxury residential project called Jerusalem Heights, intended for the ultra-Orthodox population, mainly from abroad. The company is headed by the ultra-Orthodox entrepreneur Mordechai Bruiner.
Not far away, companies such as Azorim itself, Africa Israel, and B. Yair are building projects for an affluent Haredi audience.
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In order to promote the project, Cameron sought to contract with a real estate company that would work to realize the project, by obtaining financing and carrying out the construction. In 2006, she contracted with Azorim, which was then controlled by Shaya Boymelgreen, and in an agreement signed between the two, Azorim purchased 50% of the rights to the project for $11 million (about NIS 50 million). However, since then, the project has stalled, a pit has remained in place, and a sharp conflict has erupted between the companies.
After the agreement between the companies was signed, the hotel that operated on the land was demolished, and in 2008, apartments in the complex were even marketed and dozens of apartments were registered, but shortly thereafter the global economic crisis broke out, and the controlling owners in the areas changed, and Hershy Friedman stepped into Boymelgreen's shoes (both of them, by the way, are also ultra-Orthodox Jews).
The companies filed mutual claims: Cameron sued Azorim for compensation for damages it suffered, while Azorim sought to dilute Cameron's share of the land without compensation. According to Cameron, Azorim failed to meet its obligations, failed to obtain bank financing and financial support, took out a bank loan of 12 million shekels at the expense of the property "while making a promise that was broken that the project would not be harmed," failed to properly handle the preparation of the sales agreements and specifications for marketing the project, thwarted the amendment to the urban development plan ("and even made false representations to Cameron on the subject"), failed to act properly in planning the project, and burdened it with private expenses.
Cameron requested a final separation between the parties and to receive compensation, even partial, for the damages that Azorim caused her, and also requested the appointment of an accountant as an objective external investigator to examine the financial conduct.
""Indifference to debts""
Azorim, on the other hand, claimed that "Cameron's conduct is full of many and varied fundamental violations, inconceivable indifference to its obligations, and a clear attempt to derail the project." According to Azorim, it invested tens of millions of shekels in the project and made efforts to realize it, and it is Cameron who violated the agreements: it failed to market the project, neglected to promote the amendment to the urban development plan, did not transfer the land to Azorim when it was free of any third-party rights and claims, did not deposit the advance payments it received into the project account, took loans from Azorim and refuses to repay them.
At the same time, Azorim also personally sued Cameron's manager, Mordechai Bruiner, as a guarantor for her debts.
The disputes were decided by an arbitrator, Attorney Ram Caspi, who decided to accept Cameron's demand to hold a closed bidding process between the parties for Azorim's share of the project.
In a recent bidding process, Cameron won the rights to areas of the land for NIS 58.2 million, an amount that indicates a value of NIS 116.4 million for the land, which is intended for the construction of approximately 130 apartments.
Caspi will continue to discuss additional disputes between the parties related to financial expenses. Cameron, which now intends to act to implement the project, will repay a loan of 21 million shekels in respect of a loan that was provided to it within 90 days. Azorim's financial statements indicate that the company did not lose money, but did not make a profit from the project either.
Cameron is represented by attorneys Ofir Tzabari, Divon Farkash and Nati Lev from the Tzabari-Yuval & Co. law firm, Mordechai Bruiner is represented by attorney Chen Livnat from the Livnat Meir & Co. law firm, and Azorim is represented by attorneys Ram Jean and Yaniv Dekel from the Amar Reiter Jean & Co. law firm.
