Toledano, Israeli Backer Trade Third Suit Over Cutler Bay Megaproject
Two lawsuits became three in under two months, pitting BH Group's Isaac Toledano against Israeli investor Yaakov Morad over the $1.5B Cutler Bay project and a separate Aventura office deal.
BH Group’s Isaac Toledano and Israeli investor Yaakov Morad have sued each other three times since June over their capital partnership on SouthPlace City Center, the $1.5 billion mixed-use redevelopment of the former Southland Mall site in Cutler Bay, The Real Deal reported August 12. Morad’s entity BH Apirion LLC filed the newest suit against Toledano and four of his affiliates in state court July 6 and moved it to federal court this week, alleging it put more than $13.5 million into the megaproject starting in 2022 and has “nothing to show for it.”
Why it matters
Three lawsuits in two months between a Miami sponsor and its Israeli equity partner is a warning sign for anyone raising offshore capital on a South Florida megaproject. BH Apirion’s suit alleges Toledano misled Morad, leaning on his limited English and a family tie, the two men’s children were briefly married, to secure the capital, then failed to deliver the equity and returns promised. Toledano’s suit, filed about a month earlier, claims Morad fell behind on capital calls, first by more than $720,000 and now, he says, closer to $2 million. A third dispute, filed June 23 by Morad and his affiliate Apirion Real Estate, accuses Toledano of flipping a 28,000-square-foot Aventura office building to them at an inflated price during a 1031 exchange. None of the allegations has been proven in court. The fight shows how fast a relationship underwriting a deal can curdle into litigation once a project’s returns come into question. Toledano is no stranger to protracted capital-side fights: BH Group’s Transit Village land buy in West Palm Beach only closed this month after a separate multi-year dispute with Palm Beach County went to arbitration.
The numbers
SouthPlace City Center is a roughly 105-acre, $1.5 billion buildout at 20505 South Dixie Highway meant to add thousands of apartments, a hotel and retail on the old Southland Mall site over seven phases. BH Group and American Landmark broke ground on the first residential phase in February 2025. BH Apirion’s suit puts its investment in the project at more than $13.5 million since 2022. Toledano’s capital-call suit against Morad alleges a shortfall that started above $720,000 and has since grown to roughly $2 million by his account. Dollar figures in the Aventura dispute were not disclosed in the reporting reviewed.
What’s next
All three cases remain active, with the newest now in the Southern District of Florida after removal from Miami-Dade circuit court. None has a trial date. Watch whether Toledano’s other partners on South Florida projects, including American Landmark on SouthPlace itself, respond publicly, and whether the federal case survives a venue challenge before discovery begins.