2026, the New York Appellate Division, First Department, in Ahmed v Choudhry (2026 NY Slip Op 06518), upheld the dismissal of Saad Ahmed’s complaint, according to a judgment published on the legal database Justia on November 5. Ahmed had alleged that his mother and sister failed to honour promises involving a property in Pennsylvania and another on Long Island after his father, Mahmood Choudhry, died in Saudi Arabia in December 2009. A family dispute over inherited assets, property promises and two homes in the United States has ended with a New York court dismissing a man’s lawsuit against his mother and sister.
The appellate court unanimously upheld the earlier decision, ruling that several claims were filed beyond the applicable legal time limits.
In its November 5 ruling, the appellate court unanimously affirmed the earlier dismissal. Because his mother supposedly had no money and needed a place to live, he also alleged that his family misrepresented their financial circumstances, leading him to purchase a Long Island property. Because ahmed had failed to bring several claims within the prescribed limitation periods and had not demonstrated sufficient legal grounds to revive them, instead, it upheld the dismissal primarily.
The appellate court’s ruling did not establish whether the alleged family promises were made or whether the disputed representations were true. The judges noted that several claims, including those involving breach of contract, unjust enrichment and quantum meruit, were subject to a six-year statute of limitations. Ahmed did not dispute that the six-year period applied but argued that equitable estoppel and fraudulent concealment should prevent his family from relying on those deadlines.
Dispute over two properties and father’s estate
Ahmed alleged that his father’s estate had been distributed in 2009 or 2010, but claimed that certain assets had been concealed or misappropriated by his family members. Ahmed alleged that his family persuaded him to purchase it in 2016 by falsely claiming that they had no money and that his mother needed accommodation. He claimed that the arrangement involved promises of rental payments, but Shahla allegedly stopped making the payments in November 2020. Ahmed further alleged that he discovered concealed family assets in January 2019. He also stated that his mother and sister had repudiated their alleged agreement in 2021, leaving him without the property arrangements he claimed had been promised.
The dispute also involved the distribution of Mahmood Choudhry’s assets following his death, according to the court judgment. The second dispute concerned a property on Long Island.