Arizona Court Enters $323 Million Judgment Against ZOM Living Following Unanimous Jury Verdict

PHOENIX, May 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A Maricopa County court has entered a $323 million compensatory damages judgment in favor of Gray Development Group against ZOM Holding Inc., doing business as ZOM Living, following a 12-day trial, a unanimous jury verdict and post-trial proceedings related to a proposed business transaction.

The jury found ZOM liable on claims of breach of contract and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing stemming from a proposed joint venture tied to a planned pipeline of luxury multifamily and commercial projects in Phoenix and Scottsdale.

The lawsuit centered on a 13-project, $1.4 billion development pipeline originated and planned by Gray Development Group over more than a decade. In 2019, Gray invited Florida-based ZOM to participate in a joint venture involving the completion of five projects, which would have marked ZOM's entry into the Arizona market.

According to court findings presented at trial, the companies entered into a mutual confidentiality and non-circumvention agreement before Gray shared extensive sensitive and proprietary information related to the projects, including planning, market analysis, costs, financial data, local business relationships and operational strategies developed by Gray over decades in Arizona.

Evidence presented during trial showed that over a 10-month period while under contract, ZOM made hundreds of requests for confidential project and market information before circumventing Gray and pursuing the projects independently, ultimately displacing Gray from projects it spent years planning and developing.

"The jury sent a loud, clear, unanimous message," said Bruce Gray, President and CEO of Gray Development Group. "You can't enter into a deal, then go around the very people that made it possible and offered you a seat at the table. Contracts matter. ZOM did exactly what they promised not to do. But the system worked. I'm grateful to the jury for carefully weighing all the evidence during a long trial."

Gray Development Group permanently ceased operations in 2020 following its dealings with ZOM, ending a 30-year history as one of Arizona's leading multifamily developers. The lengthy litigation that followed culminated in this week's judgment.

ZOM currently has four large apartment communities under construction in Arizona, with a fifth project pending. They are ZOM's only known projects in the state. Gray argued at trial that the projects were conceived, planned, and developed by Gray prior to ZOM's involvement as part of a larger mixed-use development pipeline.

ZOM Living, headquartered in Orlando, develops multifamily and senior housing communities across the United States and operates regional offices in Boston, Dallas, Fort Lauderdale, Nashville, Phoenix, and Raleigh. ZOM is owned by Timeless Investments, the Amsterdam-based family office of Dutch businessman Hans van Veggel, which acquired the company in 1997.

About Gray Development Group

Gray Development Group was founded by architect Bruce Gray in 1991. The Phoenix-based company was the top-ranked multifamily developer in Arizona for more than a decade. The company designed and developed more than 15,000 apartment and condominium units throughout metropolitan Phoenix. Two Gray-designed developments — a Tempe midrise and a San Diego high-rise — received National Apartment Community of the Year awards.

SOURCE Gray Development Group