For those who get excited by the inner workings of the Gottlieb family's personal crazyville, here's a treat from the Curbed inbox. Gottlieb grandson Michael Corbett is challenging his grandmother's will, which leaves the extensive if rundown family property portfolio -- last valued at $1 billion in 2000 -- to someone other than him. In case that's not inherently juicy enough, Gottlieb and his attorney are billing the case as "one of the largest will contests in history," "bigger than the Astor case," and something that will "determine the future of real estate in downtown Manhattan for years to come." Excited yet? The specifics: late megalandlord William Gottlieb left his property portfolio to his sister, Mollie Bender, who died in July 2007. In one version of her will, she divided the portfolio equally among her two children and two grandchildren, one of whom is Michael Corbett. But the final version of her will leaves all of the property to her son Neil Bender instead. Corbett claims Bender used "undue influence and fraud" to get his mother to disinherit the rest of the family. The showdown will begin this Thursday afternoon.
· All William Gottlieb coverage [Curbed]
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