Lodha brothers settle brand dispute after three-month mediation

Lodha brothers have reached a deal to end their dispute, according to statements from both camps

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26 Aug, 2025 12:21

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Warring brothers and real estate magnates Abhishek Lodha, who runs Macrotech Developers, and Abhinandan Lodha, the owner of the plotted development firm House of Abhinandan Lodha (HoABL), are 'amicably settling' their dispute over the use of the 'Lodha' brand, according to statements from both camps.

The parties had undergone mediation under retired Justice R V Raveendran, who was appointed by the Bombay High Court. According to Abhishek and Abhinandan Lodha's spokespersons, both brothers agreed that Macrotech Developers is the sole owner of the brands "Lodha" and "Lodha Group", while Abhinandan's HoABL is the owner of the brand House of Abhinandan Lodha.

Further, both the brothers will not have any rights to each other's businesses, and both parties will 'communicate widely' that the two entities are not linked to each other, both parties said.

After years of wrangling, amid two family settlement agreements, Abhishek Lodha and Macrotech filed a brand infringement suit in January 2025 against Abhinandan and HoABL, accusing them of using the "Lodha" brand for its plotted development projects in Goa, Ayodhya, and elsewhere. Macrotech sought to stop HoABL from using the brand name and also asked for Rs 5,000 crore in damages in its filing to the Bombay High Court.

In its response, HoABL denied that it had used the brand "Lodha" for its projects, and the examples cited by Macrotech were used by third parties, such as brokers, for which HoABL should not be held responsible, and that Abhinandan and HoABL had followed the family settlement signed between the brothers.

The two brothers fell out after a number of differences, including finances and the direction of the business, when both worked together at Macrotech (then Lodha Group), and Abhinandan, who looked after sales and finances at the real estate major, exited the company in 2015.

Abhinandan and Abhishek signed a family settlement in 2017, with Abhishek remaining in charge of the Lodha Group, and Abhinandan leaving with cash and some real estate to start his own ventures, including what is now the House of Abhinandan Lodha, the plotted development firm.

The spat reached a head when HoABL bought a plot of land at Churchgate in southern Mumbai in December 2024, which Abhishek's camp alleged was a violation of the family settlement that had disallowed Abhinandan's group from entering vertical developments. Sources close to Abhinandan, on the other hand, said that the vertical development clause had expired in 2022, five years after the signing of the original family settlement.

During proceedings before the Bombay HC, Justice Arif S Doctor advised the parties to undergo mediation, due to the genesis of the matter being a dispute between two brothers.

The mediation process was not without hitches, with Macrotech alleging in a stock exchange filing that HoABL had forged the listed firm's board resolutions to obtain a no-objections certificate to change the names of two subsidiaries under HoABL. In response, HoABL denied the allegations, and filed a complaint with the Mumbai Police seeking an investigation into the documents that Macrotech had submitted to the stock exchanges as proof.

According to sources close to the development, the legal suit, as well as related proceedings and complaints are now expected to be withdrawn.

Abhishek Lodha's counsels in the matter were Janak Dwarkadas, Darius J Khambata, and Sharad Jagtiani, instructed by Veritas Legal. On the other hand, Abhinandan's legal team was led by Kapil Sibal, Mukul Rohatgi, Ravi Kadam, Veerendra Tulzapurkar, Aspi Chinoy, Karl Tamboly, and Siddharth Luthra, who were instructed by Rashmikant and Partners, and Karanjwala and Company.