In a dramatic legal confrontation, two California residents have filed a lawsuit against their landlord, accusing them of breach of contract and fraud. Alpesh M. Patel and Nikunj A. Patel lodged the complaint in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco on February 14, 2025, targeting M. Dattani Credit Trust and Kaushik Dattani as defendants.
The plaintiffs, Alpesh M. Patel and Nikunj A. Patel, allege that they entered into a commercial lease agreement with the defendants for managing the Haveli Hotel in San Francisco. According to the complaint, this agreement began on April 1, 2017, with an initial monthly rent set at $7,500. However, during the pandemic period, it was verbally agreed that the rent would be reduced to $5,000 per month. The plaintiffs claim that starting July 2024, the defendants refused to accept rent payments and subsequently threatened eviction. This refusal allegedly escalated when the defendants served a "5 Day Notice to Pay or Quit" in August 2024.
The complaint further accuses the defendants of failing to address illegal activities stemming from another property they own—the Golden Corner Market—located below the hotel managed by the plaintiffs. The market is said to attract disruptive elements that have adversely affected hotel operations. Despite numerous reports made by the plaintiffs about these disturbances, including criminal activities such as theft and vandalism linked to market clientele, no remedial action was taken by the defendants.
Alpesh M. Patel experienced direct consequences of this environment when he was robbed outside Golden Corner Market on January 21, 2025—a robbery that resulted in personal losses amounting to $9,000 in cash along with business documents. Additionally, confrontations between Kaushik Dattani and the plaintiffs reportedly included aggressive behavior and threats intended to coerce them into signing documents without proper review or legal counsel.
The lawsuit charges multiple causes of action against the defendants: breach of oral contract regarding reaffirmation of loans; common counts for money had and received; fraud through intentional misrepresentation; false promises; intentional infliction of emotional distress; and negligent infliction of emotional distress. The plaintiffs are seeking damages not less than $250,000 alongside other reliefs such as special damages and attorney fees.
Representing Alpesh M. Patel and Nikunj A. Patel is Peter F. Samuel from Samuel & Samuel law firm based in Fair Oaks, California. The case has been assigned Case ID CGC-25-622398 under Judge Sahar Enayati's jurisdiction.