A Maricopa County jury has handed Phoenix-based Gray Development Group a blockbuster win after a 12-day trial, with a judge entering a $323 million compensatory judgment against national multifamily player ZOM Living. At the heart of the dispute are five Arizona multifamily projects that Gray says its team conceived and planned before ZOM was ever invited into the deal.
According to The Real Deal, Gray claimed it turned over confidential market analyses, planning files and business relationships to ZOM under a confidentiality and non-circumvention agreement, only to be cut out when ZOM allegedly moved forward on the projects alone. The Real Deal reports that a unanimous jury sided with Gray, and a Maricopa County judge then entered the $323 million compensatory award.
The projects at stake
The properties at issue are clustered in Phoenix and Scottsdale and focus on high-end multifamily communities, according to Bisnow. That reporting lists a 416-unit Desert Ridge community, a 341-unit Biltmore project called Maizon, Old Town Scottsdale’s 362-unit Hazel and a 170-unit Azure in the Scottsdale Waterfront District. Bisnow notes the developments broke ground last year and are expected to deliver in 2027.
How the award grew to $323M
The numbers circulating right after trial did not all match. Gibson Dunn, which represented Gray, described a jury award near $296.4 million in its post-trial materials, while later reporting shows the court ultimately entered a $323 million compensatory judgment. The difference may reflect post-verdict adjustments such as interest or formal entries by the court, although public filings available so far do not explain the exact math.
What it means for Phoenix developments
Even as the legal fight plays out, the bricks-and-mortar side of the story is already underway. A ZOM Living release shows the company secured construction financing and broke ground on a Desert Ridge community in 2025 and holds parcels across Desert Ridge, Downtown Scottsdale and the Biltmore area. Bisnow reports that ZOM declined to comment on the judgment, while lenders, contractors and local partners assess how a nine-figure award could affect project timelines and contracts.
Legal next steps
The case is captioned Gray Services, LLC & Gray Development Group LLC v. ZOM Holding, Inc., Case No. CV2022-010650, according to Gibson Dunn, which served as Gray’s trial counsel. Bruce Gray told PR Newswire that “Contracts matter.” In large commercial cases like this one it is common for the losing side to pursue post-trial motions and appeals, so the real-world impact of the judgment will likely hinge on what happens in the next rounds of litigation.
Outside the courtroom, the ruling lands as a pointed reminder to developers and partners that confidentiality and non-circumvention clauses are not just boilerplate, they can carry serious financial consequences when relationships sour. For Phoenix’s apartment pipeline, the immediate concern is who will control construction and financing for the Desert Ridge and Scottsdale projects as the post-verdict phase unfolds.
