Purported billionaire property tycoon Mohamed Hadid is so broke he doesn’t have the money to tear down his controversial Bel Air mega-mansion, his lawyer claimed in court on Wednesday.
LA city prosecutors have called for the demolition of the half-built house – dubbed the ‘Starship Enterprise because it’s so huge – and that teardown would cost around $5 million, the court in Santa Monica heard.
But 71-year-old Hadid ‘can’t afford it,’ his attorney, Bruce Rudman told LA Superior Court Judge Craig Karlan.
Judge Karlan is overseeing a civil lawsuit against the father of supermodels Gigi and Bella Hadid brought by neighbors whose attorneys asked for a receiver to be appointed to take over the demolition of the house.
That receiver would charge Hadid an upfront fee of $500,000, according to Rudman, who said his client can’t even afford that sum. ‘He doesn’t have the money,’ he added.
Mohamed Hadid, 71, is so broke he doesn’t have the money to tear down his Bel Air mega-mansion, his lawyer claimed in court on Wednesday
LA city prosecutors have called for the demolition of the half-built house – dubbed the ‘Starship Enterprise because it’s so huge – and that teardown would cost around $5 million, the court in Santa Monica heard. But 71-year-old Hadid ‘can’t afford it,’ his attorney, Bruce Rudman told LA Superior Court Judge Craig Karlan
Judge Karlan is overseeing a civil lawsuit against the father of supermodels Gigi and Bella Hadid brought by neighbors whose attorneys asked for a receiver to be appointed to take over the demolition of the house
Hadid could get bank financing to knock the house down and build another on the same site – which would cost about $30 million
Ariel Neuman, attorney for the neighbors who want the giant 30,000 sq ft ‘eyesore’ torn down, scorned Rudman’s claim that Hadid is broke.
‘It’s amazing to me because he (Hadid) just bought a multi-million home in Beverly Hills,’ Neuman told the court.
‘We don’t accept this explanation. We don’t accept Mr. Hadid’s word for anything.’
Rudman argued that Hadid could get bank financing to knock the house down and build another on the same site – which would cost about $30 million – but only if the city’s Building and Safety Department would guarantee permits to build the new house, something the city refuses to do.
He said: ‘With just the current house demolished and no permits for a house to be built in the future, the bank would foreclose (on the current loans Hadid took out to build his colossal mansion) and the property would have to be sold.’
Rudman added that Hadid could also get bank financing to pay the $1-$2 million for retro-fitting the mansion’s current support piles which Hadid’s own structural engineer, Carl Josephson, found are deficient because they were not driven deep enough into the bedrock.
Neighbors have been fighting for years for the demolition of the property because of all the alleged unapproved construction. The development of the home has also been an eyesore to nearby residents
The 71-year-old is facing a civil lawsuit brought by angry neighbors who claim the half-finished project is not only an ‘eyesore’ and a ‘monstrosity’, but also a dangerously unstable hazard to their homes
Court ordered demolition work has already begun on an illegal third floor of the property – seen here in exclusive DailyMail.com photos
But again, the city has rejected the developer’s proposal of retro-fitting the support piles, saying the problem can only be solved by tearing down the whole building to get to the piles and replace them.
DailyMailTV revealed that Judge Karlan visited the construction site last week to see first hand the progress on the removal of the home’s illegally-built third floor and pool deck, a partial demolition he had ordered to make the building safer and bring it into line with local planning regulations.
He also wanted to check out neighbors’ claims that illegally graded slopes, unapproved retaining walls and inadequate foundation supports all make the colossal site so ‘frightening’ and ‘precarious’ that Hadid’s own architect said, ‘I’m worried that building will slide down the hill and kill someone.’
A glum looking Hadid, flanked by his two attorneys, was photographed following the judge around the property.
Commenting in court Wednesday on his visit to the site, Judge Karlan said he was ‘struck’ by the 30-40 degree steepness of the hill on which the house sits and ‘a little disconcerted’ by the number of piles supporting the building which are tilted at angles rather than standing up straight.
‘If these piles failed and if this house came down the hill, I am positive in my mind that it would inflict severe damage on the (neighbors’) properties below, if not destroy them.
‘Are these piles structurally safe? What would happen if there was a 6.0 earthquake?’
DailyMailTV revealed that Judge Karlan visited the construction site last week to see first hand the progress on the removal of the home’s illegally-built third floor and pool deck, a partial demolition he had ordered to make the building safer and bring it into line with local planning regulations
A glum looking Hadid, flanked by his two attorneys, was photographed following the judge around the property
Hadid is father to supermodels Gigi and Bella Hadid
The saga of how Hadid set out to build one of the biggest and most expensive luxury homes in LA has been full of controversy since he bought the hilltop plot in 2011 for $1.9 million
Rudman insisted that while the house’s foundation does not comply with building codes, ‘the building is not unsafe’.
Judge Karlan continued the hearing to November 20 when he’ll decide if a receiver should be appointed to supervise demolition of the house.
The civil case is running parallel with a criminal case in which Hadid has already pleaded no contest to illegal construction and is serving three years probation on condition he bring the house into compliance with building regulations – or tear it down – within that time.
But earlier this month LA city prosecutors filed a motion in the criminal case calling for the massive home to be completely demolished by April 1 next year..
The judge in the criminal case, Judge Neetu Badhan-Smith, scheduled a hearing for December 13 to rule on the motion.
The saga of how Hadid set out to build one of the biggest and most expensive luxury homes in LA has been full of controversy since he bought the hilltop plot in 2011 for $1.9 million.
