The wife of a $100 million investment tycoon may pursue a divorce in Texas after the state Supreme Court ruled that his secret attempt to obtain a Sharia divorce did not adequately notify her.
According to a ruling issued Friday, Mohammad Ali Choudhri and Hira Azhar married in Pakistan in 2008 in an arranged marriage.
Choudhri was 28 at the time and had lived in Texas since he was three, but traveled overseas to find a bride. Azhar was 18 when the couple married, the court document said.
Azhar, now 36, moved to Houston in 2010 after securing a visa. She has alleged that Choudhri subjected her to physical and emotional abuse throughout their marriage, the ruling said.
The real estate mogul, now 46, sent Azhar to Pakistan in 2013 to renew her visa. While she was abroad, he pursued a divorce under Sharia law, according to the filing.
Under Islamic law, a husband may unilaterally divorce his wife by saying or writing, “I divorce thee” three times.
Rather than telling Azhar that he intended to end the marriage, Choudhri published a notice in a small Pakistani newspaper for five days, the ruling said.
Azhar never saw the notice and did not learn about the divorce until two years after it was finalized in May 2013, according to the court document.
Her lawyers told KPRC at the time that Choudhri paid her only $50, despite the couple accumulating $100 million in assets during their marriage.
Mohammad Ali Choudhri married Hira Azhar in Pakistan in 2008 through an arranged marriage, according to a Texas Supreme Court ruling
Azhar moved to Houston in 2010 to join Choudhri. Public records indicate that they lived together in this $1 million mansion owned by the real estate mogul’s parents
Azhar returned to Texas in June 2015 and filed for divorce in Harris County, according to the ruling obtained by the Daily Mail.
She also asked the court to divide the couple’s marital property.
The Harris County court dismissed her petition after recognizing the Pakistani proceedings under the legal doctrine of international comity, the filing said.
International comity is a legal principle under which courts may recognize and enforce judgments issued by foreign countries.
The Harris County court also rejected Azhar’s request for a division of the marital estate, according to the Supreme Court opinion.
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Azhar appealed to Houston’s First Court of Appeals, but the appellate court upheld the lower court’s decision.
After more than a decade of legal battles, the Texas Supreme Court has now ruled in Azhar’s favor and overturned that decision.
Choudhri sent Azhar to Pakistan to renew her visa in 2013 and pursued a Sharia divorce while she was there. She was reportedly left with just $50
The Texas Supreme Court concluded that the notice Choudhri provided to Azhar was “constitutionally inadequate.”
‘The notice in this case, involving five days of publication in a single obscure outlet, does not suffice,’ the justices wrote in an opinion issued Friday.
They argued that foreign judgments are not automatically entitled to be recognized in Texas, especially if they conflict with state policy.
‘As a matter of law, the notice provided here is constitutionally inadequate, and far short of what our public policy demands,’ the court wrote.
‘Other countries are welcome to conclude otherwise, but their judgments are not entitled to comity in a Texas court.’
The justices added that ‘no foreign judgment is entitled to comity when it contradicts the fundamental guarantees of the Texas and United States Constitutions.’
They further ruled that Azhar ‘should be able to pursue divorce in Texas under Texas law.’
The case will now be sent back to the trial court for further proceedings.
Choudhri is the founder and CEO of Jetall Capital and has acquired more than $1.2 billion of real estate assets across the US, Mexico, Europe and Dubai, according to his website
The real estate tycoon (above with his mother and other relatives) has lived in Texas since he was three years old, the court filing said
Choudhri, founder and CEO of Jetall Capital, has acquired over $1.2 billion of real estate assets across the US, Mexico, Europe and Dubai, according to his website.
But despite his apparent riches, the mogul has been involved in multiple legal disputes over the years.
He was arrested by US Marshals in April last year in connection with bankruptcy litigation. He was also sued in a US court by the National Bank of Kuwait.