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Case file s1794 · Literature and art · 2016
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2016
Zaha Hadid: Zaha Hadid in Heydar Aliyev Cultural center in Baku nov 2013
Zaha Hadid. Dmitry Ternovoy. FAL, Wikimedia Commons.
Died
31 March 2016
Place
Miami, Florida · United States
Field
architecture · Visual art and architecture on the timeline
Legal tradition
English law (High Court, Chancery Division) · Common law
Historical event
Control of Zaha Hadid Architects after the founder's death
Religion
Zaha Hadid: Muslim (recorded as Islam on Wikidata; British Muslims, Iraqi Muslims on Wikipedia)
Member of
Royal Academy of Arts (Wikidata)
Literature and artGiven awayNowNorth AmericaUnited States

Zaha Hadid's business partner sued her three co-executors in London over a roughly £70 million estate and lost a key ruling in November 2020

Zaha Hadid died in Miami on 31 March 2016. Her will named four executors: Patrik Schumacher, her partner at Zaha Hadid Architects, Rana Hadid, developer Peter Palumbo and artist Brian Clarke. In November 2018 Schumacher began High Court proceedings to remove the other three and appoint independent executors. In a 20-page filing reported on 7 January 2019, he alleged that they forced him to agree to remove Hadid's name from the company and move the trademarks to the Zaha Hadid Foundation. He alleged they demanded £7.75 million from the practice for a trust and, in 2017, a £5 million dividend, and threatened to dismiss him if he refused. He alleged their "personal animosity" toward him shaped their decisions. A 2015 letter of wishes from Hadid said he should control Zaha Hadid Ltd "as far as practicable." The estate was valued at about £70 million at filing and £100 million in later reports. On 24 November 2020 Chief Master Marsh ruled against Schumacher, who lost his veto over an employee benefit trust that will oversee Zaha Hadid Ltd. Most of the assets go to the Zaha Hadid Foundation, which plans a museum and scholarships for Arab women in architecture. BD reported later that the dispute settled out of court.

What the law took from it

A letter of wishes does not bind executors, so a founder who wants one partner to run the firm must put that in the will itself.

Sources
  1. The National Archives, Find Case LawCourt record
  2. dezeen.comPress
  3. dezeen.comPress
  4. bdonline.co.ukPress

Cite as: celebrity.estate, “Zaha Hadid's business partner sued her three co-executors in London over a roughly £70 million estate and lost a key ruling in November 2020,” story s1794, https://www.celebrity.estate/zaha-hadid-2016, updated 30 October 2026.

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Where this case sits

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